Isle of Man – Overview

The Isle of Man is an established international finance centre with a secure base built upon political stability, economic independence, low taxation and a firmly established fiscal and regulatory environment. The sophistication of the Isle of Man as an international finance centre is fully supported by a modern infrastructure and the Island is one of the few such centres whose government objectives for economic growth are matched by the space and labour resources needed to sustain them.

The emergence of the Isle of Man as a major international finance centre has come about largely as a result of the Isle of Man Government's willingness to attract business by implementing facilitative legislation where appropriate and refining the existing legal position in other cases. The result is a sophisticated but flexible regulatory environment within which to do business.

The Isle of Man Government has introduced new investment and taxation vehicles, together with a new and dynamic taxation strategy. Additionally, to encourage inward investment further, the Isle of Man Government has embarked upon a strategy to establish the Isle of Man as a leading e-commerce platform in the offshore world.

Modern infrastructure coupled with experienced professional services mean the Isle of Man is a mature financial centre offering low establishment and operating costs in an attractive tax environment.

The Island's positive image had been further reinforced by Moody's and Standard & Poor's "AAA" accreditation. The Isle of Man is an ‘approved jurisdiction’ for the purposes of the listing Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Research conducted by Hemscott in November 2010 showed the Isle of Man to be in first place in respect of the largest number of non-UK AIM top 100 companies. Other accolades include the ‘Best International Financial Centre’ Award at the 9th annual International Investment Fund & Product Awards 2008 and The Isle of Man has been recognised as ‘the leading offshore centre’ in The City of London’s second Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 2).

• OECD/G20 'White List' 2009
• 26 years of economic growth averaging 6% per annum
• Population of 81,000
• Unemployment typically less than 2%
• GDP per capita against the EU 15 is 37% higher for 2008/09
• Rated AAA from Standard and Poor's and Moody's
• Personal tax cap of £115,000 per annum, per individual
• 93% satisfied or very satisfied with the Isle of Man as a place to live
• 2011 - Year of the Commonwealth Youth Games

Contact:

Andrew Corlett
Fort Anne
Douglas
Isle of Man IM1 5PD

Tel: +44 1624 638300
Fax: +44 1624 638333

law@cains.com