 |
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Type
of entity: |
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Private LTD |
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Type
of law: |
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Common |
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Shelf
company availability: |
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Yes |
|
|
Our
time to establish a new company: |
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1
– 5 days |
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Minimum
government fees : |
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£360 |
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Corporate
taxation: |
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0%
- 10%
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Double
taxation treaty access: |
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Only
UK |
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Standard
currency: |
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GBP |
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Permitted
currencies: |
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Any |
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Minimum paid up: |
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1 |
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Usual authorised : |
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£2,000 |
|
|
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Minimum
number : |
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2 |
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Local required : |
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No |
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Publicly accessible records : |
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Yes |
|
|
Location of meetings
: |
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Anywhere |
|
|
|
|
Minimum
number: |
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1 |
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Publicly
accessible records: |
|
Yes |
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Location
of meetings: |
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Anywhere |
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Required: |
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yes |
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Requirement
to prepare: |
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Yes |
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Audit Requirements : |
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Yes, but
with some exceptions |
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Requirement
to file accounts: |
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Yes |
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Publicly
accessible accounts: |
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No |
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Requirement
to file annual return: |
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Yes |
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Change
in domicile permitted: |
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Yes |
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General Information
The Isle of Man, situated in the centre of the British Isles, is an internally self-governing dependent territory of the British Crown which is not and never has been part of the United Kingdom. It is however, part of the British Isles. Tynwald, the Island's 1,000 year old Parliament, makes its own laws and oversees all internal administration, fiscal and social policies. External issues, such as foreign representation and defence, are administered on the Island's behalf by the UK Government and the Island makes an annual payment for these services.
As a British Crown dependency, the ultimate responsibility for the Island's good government is vested in the Crown but by long standing convention, the UK Government does not legislate for the Island except with the specific consent of the Island's Government. More information can be found at www.gov.im.
» Population
The population of the Isle of Man is approximately 80,000.
» Political Structure
Tynwald (Parliament) legislates on all domestic matters including taxation. Tynwald consists of two branches, known as the Upper and Lower. The Legislative Council, (Upper) consists of ten Members and is elected by the lower house, Members include the President of Tynwald, the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man, HM Attorney General and HM Queen Elizabeth II. The House of Keys, (Lower) has twenty-four Members who are elected and serve a five-year term. HM Queen Elizabeth II holds the title Lord of Man, and is ultimately responsible for the governance of the Island. All legislation passed by Tynwald has to have Royal Assent before being enacted.
» Infrastructure
and Economy
There are regular daily air and ferry services to the UK and Ireland.
The economy is in its 26th year of growth the key sectors being financial services and professional services, Banking generates around one quarter of the Island’s gross domestic product.
In the last few years new economic activities have been developed, such as aircraft registration and most significantly, e-gaming and other areas of e-commerce due to an infrastructure of world-class telecommunications and services which cater for the full range of modern corporate voice and data communication requirements.
The Isle of Man has been awarded Triple “A” Ratings from Standard and Poor and Moody’s.
» Language
The official and spoken language is English.
» Currency
The Manx Pound, which is on par with the UK Pound and freely exchangeable.
» Exchange Control
None.
» Type of Law
Common Law, based on English Common Law.
» Principal Legislation
The Companies Acts 1931 to 2004
COMPANY INFORMATION
»Type of
Company for International Trade and Investment
The Private Limited Company must have two directors who must be natural persons but may reside anywhere in the world.
»Procedure
to Incorporate
Submission of Memorandum and Articles of Association, together with "Form I" nominating the first directors and secretary, and advise of the situation of the Registered Office and the form giving name approval.
» Restrictions
on Trading
Private Limited Companies are not permitted to:
- Undertake banking or insurance activities or any other activity that might suggest an association with same, without a licence
- Undertake investment business other than the investment of the company's own assets without a licence.
- Neither solicits funds from the public nor offer their shares or membership to the public without a licence.
icence.
» Powers of Company
An Isle of Man company has all the powers of a natural person.
» Language
of Legislation and Corporate Documents
English.
» Registered
Office Required
Companies must maintain a registered office in the Isle of
Man.
» Shelf Companies
Available
Yes.
» Time to Incorporate
One to five days, subject to name approval.
» Name Restrictions
A name which is deemed to be undesirable,
misleading or offensive.
- A name that is similar to or identical to an existing company. A name that is known to exist elsewhere. A name that implies illegal activities. A name that implies royal or government patronage.
- Is identical to a company or business name already registered in the Isle of Man.
- Is descriptive of a business activity but not distinctive;
- Is identical to a company known to exist elsewhere;
- Is grandiose and imply the company is in some way pre-eminent in its field;
- Is not conducive to the good name of the Isle of Man;
- Contains words which imply royal patronage or connection; e.g. Royal, Royalty etc
- Do not contain an approved suffix, where one is required
- Imply the company will be undertaking a regulated activity, without holding the appropriate licence;
- Many names require justification or high capitalisation to allow use. Words such as "International", "European" or other words indicating an international presence will only be approved if the Company is incorporated with an authorised capital of £100,000, which must be paid up.
- Use of the words "Trust", "Trustees" or "Fiduciary" will only be approved if the company is incorporated with an Authorised Capital of £250,000, which must be paid up.
- Use of the word "Holdings" will only be approved if the Company can provide documentary evidence that it holds 51% or more of an underlying company within six months of the incorporation date.
- Use of the word "Group" will only be approved if the company can provide documentary evidence that the company owns a group of companies.
Full information can be found at
www.gov.im/lib/docs/ded/companies/companiesreg/masternameguidanceaugust2005.pdf
» Language
of Name
Names can be expressed in any language using the Latin alphabet, if the Registrar of Companies is in receipt of an English translation and the name is not considered undesirable.
» Names Requiring
Consent or Licence
The following names or their derivatives require consent or a licence: bank, building society, savings, loans, insurance, assurance, reinsurance, co-operative, council, Chamber of Commerce, trust, municipal and finance or their foreign-language equivalents.
» Suffixes
to Denote Limited Liability
Limited or Ltd.
» Disclosure of Beneficial
Ownership to Government Authorities
The identity of the beneficial owners of the Isle of Man Company may remain confidential if corporate shareholders are engaged to act as the shareholder on behalf of the ultimate beneficial owners. This confidentiality is maintained as long as the company and its ultimate beneficial owners are not involved in any criminal activity.
Compliance
» Authorised and Issued
Share Capital
Private Limited Companies have a minimum authorised share capital of £2,000 or its currency equivalent, this being the maximum for the minimum capital duty payable upon incorporation. The minimum issued capital is one share of par value.
» Classes of Shares Permitted
Private Limited Companies may have registered shares, preference shares, redeemable shares and shares with or without voting rights.
» Taxation
With effect from 6th April, 2006 Private Limited Companies normally pay income tax at 0% and there is no withholding tax on payment of dividends to shareholders.
Companies that are in the business of banking, insurance or are connected with the business of Isle of Man property pay corporation tax at a rate of 10% and a withholding tax at the same rate is imposed if the dividend is paid to a non resident individual or corporate body.
All Private Limited Companies pay an annual charge of £360.
» VAT
Isle of Man companies may be registered for VAT purposes and the VAT prefix will be "GB", which is recognised in Europe.
Foreign companies may be registered on the "F" register in the Isle of Man and then apply for VAT registration.
» Double
Taxation Agreements
Apart from a limited treaty with the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man is not party to any double tax treaties.
» Financial Statements Required
Whilst there is no requirement to file audited financial statements with the authorities, it is important to note that a company is required to keep financial records, which reflect the financial position of a company.
If accounting records are kept at a place outside the Isle of Man they must be sent to the company's registered office in the Isle of Man at not less than 6 month intervals.
Failure to maintain accounts or make them available for inspection at a company's registered office is an offence punishable by imprisonment or a fine.
The Assessor of Income Tax reserves the right to call in the financial records for inspection.
» Directors
The minimum number of directors is two; they may be of any nationality or residence. Bodies corporate may not be appointed as directors.
A Company Secretary is required and must be a natural person but may be of any nationality and reside anywhere in the world.
The minimum number of shareholders is one.
Other Tax Planning Entities
Other business entities used for international tax planning include:
- Hybrid Companies
- Limited Liability Companies(LLC)
- New Manx Vehicles Companies(NMV)
- Partnerships
- Trusts
Further information on these alternative structures are available on request.
Information Downloads
Disclaimer
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the details contained herein are correct and up-to-date, it does not constitute legal or other professional advice. OCRA Worldwide does not accept any responsibility, legal or otherwise, for any errors or omission.
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