Economy of the Isle of Man
Offshore banking, manufacturing, and tourism form key sectors of the economy of the Isle of Man, a British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea.
The government's policy of offering incentives to high-technology companies and financial institutions to locate on the island has expanded employment opportunities in high-income industries. As a result, agriculture and fishing, once the mainstays of the economy, now make declining contributions to the Island's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Banking and other services now contribute the great bulk of GDP. The stability of the Government and openness for business make the Isle of Man an attractive alternative jurisdiction (DAW Index ranked 3).
Trade is mostly with the United Kingdom. The Isle of Man has free access to European Union markets for goods, but only has restricted access for services, people, or financial products.
The Isle of Man is a high tax economy with low capital gains tax, wealth tax, stamp duty, death duty or inheritance tax[1] and income tax rates of 10% and 20%; corporation tax is at 0%.[2][3][4]
Gambling
The Isle of Man has also recently entered the online gambling industry. In 2005 PokerStars, one of the world's largest online poker sites, relocated its headquarters to the Isle of Man from Costa Rica. In 2006, RNG Gaming a large gaming software developer of P2P tournaments and Get21, a multiplayer online blackjack site, based their corporate offices on the island.
The Isle of Man Government Lottery operated from 1986 to 1997. Since 2 December 1999 the island has participated in the United Kingdom National Lottery.[5][6] The island is the only jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom where it is possible to play the UK National Lottery.[7] Since 2010 it has also been possible for projects in the Isle of Man to receive national lottery Good Causes Funding.[8][9] The good causes funding is distributed by the Manx Lottery Trust.[10] Tynwald receives the 12p lottery duty for tickets sold in the Island.
Filmmaking
The Manx government also promotes island locations for making films by contributing to the production costs. Among the most successful productions funded in part by the Isle of Man film industry were Waking Ned, where the Manx countryside stood in for rural Ireland, and films like Stormbreaker, Shergar, Tom Brown's Schooldays, I Capture the Castle, The Libertine, Island at War (TV series), Five Children and It, Colour Me Kubrick, Sparkle, and others. Other films that have been filmed on the Isle of Man include Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Keeping Mum.[11]
Radio and television
The British television show Top Gear frequently tests high-powered cars on the island because many of the rural roads do not have speed limits.
Electricity
Since 1999, the Isle of Man has received electricity through the world's longest submarine AC cable, the 90 kV Isle of Man to England Interconnector, as well as from a natural gas power station in Douglas, an oil power station in Peel and a small hydro-electric power station in Sulby Glen.
Tourism
Tourism in the Isle of Man developed from the advancement of transportation to the Isle. In 1819 the first steamship Robert Bruce came to the Isle, only seven years after the first steam-vessel in the UK. In the 1820s the tourist scene was growing due to betterment of transportation capabilities.[12]
Statistics
GDP: purchasing power parity: $2.113 billion (2003 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: NA%
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity: $28,500 (2003 est.)
GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture:
1%
industry:
13%
services:
86% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%:
NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.6% (2003 est.)
Labor force: 39,690(2001)
Labour force—by occupation: agriculture, forestry and fishing 3%, manufacturing 11%, construction 10%, transport and communication 8%, wholesale and retail distribution 11%, professional and scientific services 18%, public administration 6%, banking and finance 18%, tourism 2%, entertainment and catering 3%, miscellaneous services 10%
Unemployment rate: nominally 2.0% (January 2016)[13]
Budget:
revenues:
$485 million
expenditures:
$463 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.)
Industries: financial services, light manufacturing, tourism
Industrial production growth rate: 3.2% (1996/97)
Electricity—production: 329 GWh (1999)
Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro:
0%
nuclear:
0%
other:
0% (1999)
Electricity—consumption: 287 GWh (1999)
Electricity—exports: NA kWh
Electricity—imports: NA kWh
Agriculture—products: cereals, vegetables, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry
Exports: $NA
Exports—commodities: tweeds, herring, processed shellfish, beef, lamb
Exports—partners: UK
Imports: $NA
Imports—commodities: timber, fertilizers, fish
Imports—partners: UK
Debt—external: $NA
Economic aid—recipient: $NA
Currency: 1 Isle of Man pound = 100 pence
Exchange rates: Manx pounds per US$1: 0.6092 (January 2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996), 0.6335 (1995); the Manx pound is at par with the British pound
Fiscal year: 1 April – 31 March
See also
Notes
- ^ Direct Tax - Isle of Man Government Isle of Man Finance
- ^ New Assessor Of Income Tax - Isle of Man Government
- ^ Herbert, Ian (4 March 2006). "Forget Monaco: Isle of Man cuts tax to tempt super-rich". The Independent. London.
- ^ "Interview With Brian Donegan, Director Of Foreign Investment, Isle Of Man Government". OnlinePersonalsWatch. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ Can I Play The National Lottery On The Isle of Man?
- ^ UK National Lottery Diary
- ^ National Lottery FAQ:Can I play while overseas?
- ^ Manx charities to benefit from lottery
- ^ APPENDIX 4: CORRESPONDENCE ON THE NATIONAL LOTTERY BILL Paliment.uk
- ^ Manx lottery Trust
- ^ Past Productions - Isle of Man Film
- ^ Birch 1964: 32
- ^ Isle of Man Labour Market, January 2016 Retrieved 3 March 2016
References
- Birch, Jack William (1964). Isle of Man. Publications of the University of Bristol. Cambridge University Press.