Isle of Man Offshore Corporation

Background

The Isle of Man is located between Great Britain and Ireland. It is an island in the Irish Sea and part of Western Europe. The island is approximately three times the size of Washington DC. The climate is overcast one third of the time with mild winters and cool summers. The Isle of Man is currently a British crown dependency with a parliamentary democracy. The capital of the country is Douglas.

Tourism, offshore banking, and manufacturing are important parts of the economy. The Isle of Man has free access to the European Union markets.

Incorporating in the Isle of Man

The Isle of Man is becoming one of the leading offshore financial centers. The financial services industry is well regulated by government agencies. There is a low income tax rate for companies. There are four types of companies in the Isle of Man. These company types are: Limited By Shares, Limited by Guarantee, Limited by Guarantee and having a Share Capital, and Share Capital with Unlimited Liability.

Limited liability allows the owners of the company protection against the loss of personal assets. A company that is limited by shares is the most common company formed in the Isle of Man. The liability of the members are limited the amount of shares that are held.

In the Isle of Man companies are designated as either private or public. Private companies may not issue shares to the public. Public companies must annually offer its shares for sale to the public. All companies must have a minimum of two directors that must be individuals. One company secretary is also required.

The first step in forming a corporation is name approval by the Isle of Man government. Law requires that company names must have a suffix stating whether the company has unlimited or limited liability. The Memorandum of association must then be filed.