OPW INTERVIEW - Apr 4 - Brian Donegan is the Business Development Manager for IT with the Isle of Man. He works for the IOM government. The Isle of Man is taking an interest in the internet dating industry. - Mark Brooks
What do you do?
6-7
years ago the Isle of Man became involved in igaming and very quickly
turned that into a successful sub-sector of our IT industry. It's
currently responsible for 10% of our GDP and employs 700 people with an
average income of £55,000. There are a number of things that made the
Isle of Man attractive for the igaming industry to locate here - no
corporate tax and a very strong IT infrastructure. We have a strong
interest in finding other verticals that can complement what we've been
doing . Internet dating is transactional based, there is no product to
ship, and it doesn't seem to have a great deal of regulation. As a
government, we offer 40% grant assistance to companies that relocate to
the Isle of Man across a basket of headings like hardware, software and
setup costs.
Tell me about the infrastructure regarding the Internet.
We do very well. We only use 10% of our total Internet capacity.
To
enjoy the benefits of having a corporation in the Isle of Man you need
to have a couple of executives based in The Isle of Man. Is that
correct?
If
you're going to have a business established in the Isle of Man, the
idea of having a brass plate is unacceptable. You need to have some real
substance, and so those two people should actually be middle management
caliber.
In general, what can you tell us about the Isle of Man?
The
Isle of Man sits in the Irish Sea, just off the northwest coast of
England. There are 85K people in the island. The island is a Crown
Dependency of the UK, but we are independent in terms of our economy.
How about VAT?
VAT
is at the standard rate of the UK, so it's at 20%. VAT is not an issue,
largely because the lower cost associated with doing business in The
Isle of Man offsets the cost of VAT.
What are the personal taxes?
They start
at 10% rising into 20% at the highest for all employees. For high net
worth individuals we have a tax cap. If it exceeds £600,000 they pay no
more than £120,000 tax per annum. Whether you earn £600,000 or
£600,000,000, once you hit that benchmark you pay no more than £120,000.
How much does it cost for business-oriented property and personal, roughly?
You
can buy a very attractive four-bedroom detached executive home in and
around the capital Douglas for £500,000- £600,000. It equates very well
with the UK market.
There is a selection of modern steell and smoked glass buildings in our business parks, and they reflect very well in relation to competitiveness compared to the UK, probably 30-40% lower than mainland UK prices.
How
would that work for an American born company that relocated to the Isle
of Man that continue to do a majority of its business in the USA?
The VAT issue is really only an issue for European area, so out with the European it' not an issue.
What should people do if they want to find out more?
Contact
me in the first instance, and I would be more than happy to help them
and give them additional information and advice. My e-mail is
Brian.Donegan@gov.im.
I would also encourage readers to ask questions, and Brian if you'd like to keep an eye on the posts when we run it for 2 or 3 days and that is another way people can contact you I'm sure.
