|
Lowtax
Network Content Update | Issue XXXV | 22 May 2008 |
|
Dear Colleague, This week:
I hope you find this update useful. Please remember that you can customise your mailing preferences by visiting your own profile page to choose from 29 offshore tax and law subjects in order to receive just the information you want. You can also unsubscribe completely by following the instructions at the bottom of this page. Kind regards, |
Tax-News.com
Headlines
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Offshore
Isle of Man Not in EU Fiscal Area The Isle of Man is an English speaking dependency of the British crown but has never formed part of the United Kingdom. The Isle is politically stable and enjoys parliamentary government without party politics. Its 1,000 year-old parliament, Tynwald presides over the Island's domestic affairs including, specifically, taxation. Britain is responsible for the Island's defence and foreign affairs. The island forms part of the EU single market and VAT area but is otherwise not part of the EU fiscal area. The Isle of Man has an English common law type legal system and tends to follow English legislation. There is an infrastructure of sophisticated legal and other professional services. The Isle has a Financial Supervision Commission with a great deal of experience in overseeing and regulating sensitive financial areas. The island's currency is the pound and there are no exchange controls. There are frequent flights to a number of UK airports. Economy Buoyant; Taxes Reduced! The Isle of Man’s gross domestic product increased in the fiscal year 2004/05 by 5.2% in real terms, representing the 22nd consecutive year of economic growth. Over a period of some years, the government has been gradually abolishing corporate income tax altogether, and as from 2006 it applies only to financial institutions. There is no capital transfer tax, no surtax and no corporation tax, no wealth tax, no death duty, no capital gains tax and no gift tax. Value added tax is collected by the Isle of Man Customs & Excise at the same rates which apply in the United Kingdom. In July, 2007, international ratings agency Standard & Poor's renewed its 'AAA' international credit rating on the Isle of Man, reflecting the island's robust economy and strong fiscal position. IOM Lowtax Specialisations The Isle of Man has strong banking, investment fund and captive insurance sectors, with a well-developed advisory and financial infrastructure. There are a number of business formats, Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies (LLCs). There is an active trusts sector, and in 2001 the island began to offer on-line gambling licences. The Isle of Man v. the EU and the OECD? The Isle of Man's unique situation with regard to the EU is both a strength and a weakness. The island will remain a favoured base for holding and trading companies working into the EU, and for e-commerce activity; but it has the EU and the OECD to contend with. Along with Jersey and Guernsey, however, the Isle of Man responded to its inclusion on the OECD's black-list by making it clear that it will not be pushed around to the detriment of its offshore sector, and in making its 'commitment' to the OECD in December 2001 the Island made it clear it would only agree to information-sharing if its major offshore competitors do so too. After the EU agreed to a mixed information-sharing and withholding tax regime under its Savings Tax Directive in early 2003, the Isle of Man decided, along with Jersey and Guernsey, to apply a withholding tax to the returns on personal savings. Learn more in our full Isle of Man Knowledgebase. |
|
|
Special Offer! 25%
OFF: |
|
Directory |
|
Offshore
Gibraltar Is In The EU . . . Gibraltar is self governing but remains a colony of the United Kingdom, and entered the EU along with the UK. It does not belong to the EU's VAT, CAP or common external tariff regimes. However Gibraltar has implemented much EU financial legislation and can apply Common European Passport regulations in the insurance, banking and fund management spheres. In practice there are sometimes difficulties connected with the long-running row between the UK and Spain over Gibraltar's status. At a meeting in Barclelona in November 2001, boycotted by Gibraltar, British and Spanish Foreign Ministers agreed on a fast timetable for developing new sovereignty proposals. But by mid-2002 Jack Straw and Ana Palacio, newly-appointed Spanish foreign minister, were battling to save the talks from collapse. Each side has a non-negotiable position which is unacceptable to the other: for the Spanish it is the need for them to give up their long-term aspiration to regain full sovereignty over Gibraltar; and for the British it is the need to accept some degree of Spanish control over their military base on the Rock. In a referendum held by the Gibraltar government in November, 2002, nearly 99% of votes were cast against the joint sovereignty being planned between Britain and Spain. By mid-2003 it was clear that the age-old stalemate between Britain and Spain had been re-established, and British Foreign Office minister Denis MacShane suggested that there is unlikely to be a resolution to the Gibraltar question for at least thirty years. "I don't think the people of Gibraltar will approve any steps on sovereignty until there has been a long period of calm and good relations with Spain," said Mr McShane. In September 2006, agreement over a number of outstanding issues relating to Gibraltar was reached between the UK's Minister for Europe, Geoff Hoon, Spanish Foreign Minister Migel Angel Moratinos and Gibraltar's Chief Minister, Peter Caruana. Areas covered by the agreements included the expanded use of Gibraltar Airport, the full inclusion of Gibraltar in EU air liberalisation measures, recognition by Spain of Gibraltar's '350' international dialling code and unblocking by Spain of Gibraltar mobile telephone roaming in Spain. Meanwhile, in December 2006, Gibraltarians accepted a new constitution for the jurisdiction, which aimed to give it more autonomy from the United Kingdom over its own internal affairs. In a referendum, 60.24% of those who turned out voted 'yes' to the new constitution, while 37.75% voted to reject it. 60.4% of Gibraltar's 20,061 registered voters turned out to vote. The constitution, agreed in April of that year by then UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Peter Caruana, and between Gibraltar's two main political parties later in the year, saw the UK retaining international responsibility for Gibraltar. However, the new constitution ceded certain powers previously in the possession of the British government to Gibraltar, and allowed the jurisdiction to have its own independent judiciary. The official language is English but Spanish is widely used. The British military and naval base once dominated Gibraltar's economy but no more, leaving behind a highly-educated population with high unemployment. The excellent port facilities have not yet been fully re-utilised. Tourism has become a major contributor to the economy, particularly visits by cruise ships. The airport connects with the UK and some other destinations, but it's necessary to cross into Spain for wider connections. Learn more in our full Gibraltar Knowledgebase. |
