about

Established in 1979 and one of the pioneers in the formulation of the provision of international corporate services from the Isle of Man, over the past 40 years Aston International Limited has become the longest running independent licensed service provider of Isle of Man companies, trusts and foundations.

We are a family-run, specialist international corporate and trust service provider and we administer entities in a number of jurisdictions (including England & Wales), while providing a full range of fiduciary, trustee, management, administration and accounting services from our head office in Douglas.

David and Robert Griffin are the second generation to lead this family business with both having now provided over 30 years’ service each. Tony Doyle and Tracy Duncan themselves also bring over 30 years of professional and financial industry experience to our board of directors. As you will appreciate, longevity, stability and experience are key to our offering, together with a practical and helpful manner. Our directors work closely with our clients and their advisors, building productive lasting relationships with all concerned.

We have qualified and experienced professional staff such as Accountants, Chartered Secretaries, Compliance and Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, many of whom are vetted and approved by the Island’s regulatory body as key staff members.

We are proud to have kept our family roots and independence. We are one of the few remaining privately owned service providers of significant size in the Isle of Man that has not taken investment from a private equity firm. We hope this allows us to continue providing a more personal, flexible and tailored service.

The Isle of Man – An overview

The Isle of Man is a self-governing dependent territory of the British Crown, occupying a central position in the Irish Sea and also in the British Isles. With a population of around 85,000, the Island is 52 kilometres (33 miles) long from North to South and 22 km (13 miles) wide from East to West.

The first language of the Isle of Man is English (its historic language is Manx Gaelic which has been revived in recent years), we are in the same time zone as the UK and have numerous daily flights to the UK and European connections.

The Island has exceptional communications and digital telecommunications infrastructure that fully considers the requirements of technology businesses, together with standalone power provision.

A well established and experienced offshore financial centre allows access to a network of highly knowledgeable and professional practitioners across many financial service sectors and a sophisticated banking and fiduciary infrastructure.

The Isle of Man is the only entire nation to be designated a UNESCO Biosphere, has extremely low rates of crime and unemployment and has been named one of the happiest places in the world to live.

The Island is also home to the oldest continually running parliament in the world (Tynwald), having an unbroken existence from 979 after being established by the Vikings and could therefore be considered one of the most stable jurisdictions possible.

THE ISLE OF MAN – INTERNATIONAL STATUS, CURRENCY AND TAX

The Isle of Man has a unique constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom which enables it to elect its own Government, make its own laws, levy its own taxes and control expenditure.

The nurturing of a low personal and company taxation policy has led to the establishment of a vibrant and successful finance centre and therefore it is fitting also that it should issue its own currency, the Manx pound, which is equivalent in value the United Kingdom pound (which is also freely circulated alongside the Manx pound).

The Isle of Man is a Crown dependency, holding a sovereign rating of AA2 from Moody’s and a rating of AA+ from Standard & Poor’s. It has been recognised by the IMF as a well-regulated offshore finance centre of excellence. The Island’s government is committed to promoting and enhancing its reputation as a well-respected international business centre.

The legal system is based upon English common law as in the UK and is therefore well recognised and accepted by most international lawyers. This makes it ultimately much easier for Isle of Man companies to enter into legal proceedings internationally; in addition complex legal opinions are rarely required to confirm what actions an Isle of Man company can take.

Taxation of companies is at the rate of 0% with the exception of income derived from banking business or land and property in the Isle of Man, where a rate of 10% is applicable. There no taxes on Trusts, nor capital gains or inheritance taxes.

The Isle of Man has an associated status with the European Union which enables free trade between the Island and the EU Member states. The IOM also represents the only jurisdiction where you can register for VAT in the EU and not be required to pay any corporation tax or ultimately any capital gains tax.

Trusts and companies

The Trustee Act 1961 is closely based upon UK Trust Law. Further amendments have allowed for unlimited duration, protection from foreign legal claims and purpose Trusts to be established.

There are two types of Isle of Man Company which can be formed under the Companies Act 1931 (which are similar to UK Companies) or under the Companies Act 2006 (which are similar to a BVI International Business Company) and can only be incorporated by licenced CSPs.

There is various other legislation that covers Foundations, LLCs, Partnerships and Protected Cell Companies, which can be utilised depending upon specific structure requirements.

Neither 2006 companies nor Trusts currently have public registers of beneficial interests.