In addition to the obvious benefits of the Isle of Man's stable political and economic environment the benefits of the Isle of Man as a jurisdiction for aircraft (high quality private and corporate jets and high quality twin turbine-engine helicopters which are not used for commercial air transport) registry are primarily:
- Operating Costs – the low priced costs involved in operations from the Island
- A Register where registration grants the right to use the single "M", politically neutral, prefix
- Exceptionally efficient and high personal service standards from an internationally respected registry which is available "all hours"
- The beneficial tax regime (both in terms of VAT planning and corporate tax) which exists in the Island
- A secure Aircraft charges register.
Also helpful is that the Isle of Man is in the same time zone as the UK and never more than one hour different from Europe.
Of the above reasons, then the beneficial tax regime afforded by the Isle of Man is arguably the most significant.
Like the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man has retained a 0-10% tax regime for companies with the standard rate of corporate tax being 0%, and no capital gains tax. Unlike the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man has VAT.
An Isle of Man VAT registered business may enjoy the following benefits:
- With a Certificate of Approval for Duty Deferment the deferral of import VAT for 15 days after the month end
- Import to the Isle of Man
- VAT zero rating
- Reclaim VAT on Isle of Man and UK expenses.
Some further benefits of registering in the Isle of Man are:
- No Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) vs 6% in the UK
- No exchange controls.
There are a large number of aircraft management and administration businesses on the Isle of Man to cater for the growing demand for Manx registered aircraft. These businesses can assist with the likes of ensuring local management and control remains in place, VAT administration, crew arrangements and payrolling, insurance and brokerage arrangements, intra-group chartering (subject to compliance with specific User Agreements and only between related group companies) and all manner of registration and structure maintenance.
This culmination of factors has meant the Isle of Man Aircraft Registry has experienced very significant year on year growth with over 478 aircraft now registered and 16 Authorised Airworthiness Surveyors employed in Switzerland, UK, USA and the Isle of Man.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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