For many, the Isle of Man has proved itself a mature and sophisticated international offshore financial centre which has access to markets world-wide. Having considered the relevance of financial services to the Island’s economy, continuing to develop this sector by upgrading legislation for the use and regulation of Isle of Man offshore business entities has been of great importance. By so doing, the Isle of Man intends to remain an offshore jurisdiction of excellent repute, retain the confidence of stakeholders while being keeping astride with new standards. Isle of Man efforts to offer quality offshore business entities and services were evidenced in the results of an assessment programme conducted on the financial sector in 2008/2009 by the IMF which stated that the Isle of Man was in large part compliant with the majority of recommendations made by the Financial Action Task force.
Isle of Man companies and legal entities are considered as either resident or non-resident depending on whether they operate and are managed and controlled in Isle of Man. Though in many offshore jurisdictions non-resident offshore companies are not liable to tax due to the fact that taxes may be applied on a territorial basis, in Isle of Man taxes generally tend to be applied across the board, thereby making almost all the same benefits applicable to all Isle of Man companies. Up till 2006, all Isle of Man offshore and onshore business entities were subject to taxes until significant fiscal changes were implemented.
For instance, both resident and offshore business companies were made exempt from wealth tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax in 2006. Effective that same year (assessment year 2006/7), Isle of Man offshore companies were made not liable to income earned from trading and non trading activities, but the Distributable Profits Charge may be applicable to the beneficial owners of an offshore company if they are residents of Isle of Man. This Charge is not a corporate tax and was established to keep up Isle of Man’s income tax revenue given that corporate income tax is set at a 0% rate. For income earned from all banking activities and land and property located in Isle of Man however, a corporate rate of 10% is applicable.
|
Copyright © TaxHaven.org |