Mediaboss Marketing

by Mariel Norton

The Isle of Man Government’s Treasury Minister has provided an in-depth presentation of the 2012 Manx budget to representatives of the Island’s financial services industry, at a packed breakfast briefing hosted by Lloyds TSB Offshore.

The event was held at the Claremont Hotel on the morning of Friday 24th February and was extremely well attended, building upon the significant reputation that the Lloyds breakfast briefings have developed as a valuable source of information and access to decision makers.  The Hon Eddie Teare MHK, Minister for the Treasury, walked attendees through the state of the Manx economy and expanded upon some of the changes made in the latest budget and the reasoning behind them, before taking questions from the audience.

The Minister’s view of the economy was cautiously positive.  He made it clear that the plan to balance the budget by the 2015/16 tax year was based upon forecasts of Government revenue which he felt were very reliable, and which were in turn based upon an economic growth forecast of around 3% per annum.  Mr Teare also emphasised the fact that the renegotiation of the VAT agreement had now left the Island with an appropriate and steady income, which actually had the benefit of making forward planning easier than it had been under the previous arrangement.  He concluded by saying: “The easiest thing for any government to do is to put taxes up, rather than to address its own spending.  We want to do the hard work; we want to get our costs down.”

When questions were put to the audience, the mood was generally positive, with many congratulating the Minister on a sensible budget before asking their question.  One area of contention related to figures shown by the Minister which suggested that public sector pay was on average 14% higher that pay in the private sector.  This was addressed by one attendee, alongside the issue of ‘gold plated’ final salary pension schemes.  The Minister’s response was that immediate change to the pension scheme to funded arrangements was not feasible, but that a further review would be necessary in the medium term, and that the public sector pay figures were distorted by the number of high-end professionals on the Government’s payroll compared to the private sector.

Questions were also asked regarding the continued ‘subsidy’ of the construction industry from the capital expenditure fund.  To this the Minister replied that construction was one of the first to be hit by the recession but was also likely to be one of the first to recover, with a number of large private developments currently in planning.  As such, the current Government investment in bricks and mortar was a ‘bridging’ operation, intended to ensure that skilled staff were not lost to the UK in the interim.

Trevor Kirk, Head of Corporate Banking at Lloyds TSB Isle of Man, represented the hosts of the event.  He commented: “I am very thankful for the Minister taking time out of what must be a really hectic schedule in budget week to present to all of our clients and introducers.  I am also very pleased that so many were able to make it along, and hope that they found it as informative as I did.  It is certainly encouraging, and a great benefit of our jurisdiction, that we can have access to such a key decision maker – even to the extent of being able to ask questions and provide direct feedback.  As a bank dedicated to keeping our clients informed as part of our service offering, we are proud that we are able to facilitate these opportunities.”
 
-ENDS-

In Other Isle of Man News

If you'd like to send any information or news releases to us then please feel free to do so and we would be more than happy to consider sharing your news with the Isle of Man!

Send your Isle of Man news to:webmaster@manx.net

© Manx Telecom Ltd 2012

Manx Telecom Ltd, Isle of Man Business Park, Cooil Road, Braddan, Isle of Man IM99 1HX
Registered in the Isle of Man Reg no.5629V Vat Reg no GB 003-2919-12

More here:
Treasury Minister Briefs Business Leaders

Douglas, Isle of Man (PRWEB UK) 28 February 2012

Expatriate savers have a new best buy notice savings account to choose from thanks to offshore savings expert, AIB International Savings based on the Isle of Man.

The new 32 Day Saver account has been launched as part of a comprehensive review of the Company’s product range and a dedication to provide consistently competitive award winning savings accounts.

In exchange for 32 days notice on withdrawals, savers can enjoy a rewarding interest rate on their offshore savings account. The sterling 32 Day Saver pays 2.55% gross % p.a. and is a Moneyfacts best buy* when compared against the interest rates from other notice savings accounts available offshore. The 32 Day Saver is also available in US Dollars (USD) @ 1.85% and Euros (EUR) @ 2.55%.

Gary Quaggan, Head of Retail Service & Operations at AIB International Savings commented, “We have a strong history of developing award winning offshore savings accounts for expatriates and are focused on continuing to deliver consistently competitive best buy accounts.”

He went on to say, “The 32 Day Saver account provides our customers with another best buy savings account, in a choice of currencies, backed by our commitment to deliver outstanding value and service.”

For more information on AIB International Savings Limited and the 32 Day Saver account visit http://www.aibinternational.co.im.

###

Go here to read the rest:
Isle of Man based AIB International Savings Limited Launch 32 Day Notice Offshore Savings Account

27 February 2012

The Isle of Man government has announced that it may work with a number of other countries in order to help reduce the compliance burden of the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) on the jurisdiction's financial services industry.

Responding to the incoming rules, the Isle of Man government has said that it wishes to assist businesses both to comply with FATCA and reduce compliance costs where possible. The government said an initial analysis had indicated that the inter-governmental partnership approach announced by several European governments and the US should be explored by the Isle of Man government.

The government said a high-level FATCA working party has already been formed, comprising of officers from the Chief Secretary's Office, the Department of Economic Development, the Financial Services Commission, the Insurance and Pensions Authority, the Office of the Data Protection Supervisor and the Treasury. The government further announced that initial contact has been made with the US and UK Treasury on the matter.

Manx Treasury Minister Eddie Teare, said: ?FATCA is a piece of legislation likely to have profound implications for global tax co-operation. I am committed to ensuring that we provide the best possible environment for business in the Isle of Man, and how we deal with FATCA as a government is vital to the business environment.?

He added: ?On FATCA implementation we intend to work closely with the UK on areas of mutual interest and we will look to adopt best practice as it develops. I also feel that we face almost identical issues in relation to FATCA as Guernsey and Jersey, and I have asked the working party to contact and work going forward with their counterparts in the Channel Islands. Finally, I expect to keep businesses in the Isle of Man fully informed of our progress through regular bulletins and dialogue.?

FATCA was enacted by the US in March 2010 and is intended to ensure that the US tax authorities obtain information on financial accounts held by US taxpayers at foreign financial institutions (FFIs). Failure by an FFI to disclose information would result in a requirement to withhold 30% tax on certain US-connected payments to non-participating FFIs and account holders who are unwilling to provide the required information.

A participating FFI will have to enter into an agreement with the US Internal Revenue Service to provide the name, address and taxpayer identification number (TIN) of each account holder who is a specified US person; and, in the case of any account holder which is a US-owned foreign entity, the name, address, and TIN of each substantial US owner of such entity. The account number is also required to be provided, together with the account balance or value, and the gross receipts and gross withdrawals or payments from the account.

A notice issued by the US Treasury and the IRS now provides a timeline for FFIs and US withholding agents to implement the various requirements of FATCA. Specifically, an FFI must enter an agreement with the IRS by June 30, 2013, to ensure that it will be identified as a participating FFI in sufficient time to allow withholding agents to refrain from withholding beginning on January 1, 2014.

Withholding on US source dividends and interest paid to non-participating FFIs will begin on January 1, 2014, and will be fully phased in on January 1, 2015. Due diligence requirements for identifying new and pre-existing US accounts (including certain high-risk accounts, including private banking accounts with a balance that is equal to or greater than USD500,000) will begin in 2013, and reporting requirements will begin in 2014.

In a statement responding to the US government's announcement of February 8, 2012, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom jointly issued a statement in support of the underlying goals of FATCA. The five nations agreed, in order to mitigate compliance costs for financial institutions, that they would explore a common approach to FATCA implementation through domestic reporting and reciprocal automatic exchange of information, based on existing bilateral tax treaties.

.

Visit link:
IoM Mulls FATCA Implications

The Isle of Man’s chief minister says he wants to turn the Manx economy into an enterprise zone attracting new sources of business from abroad, as the island braces itself for major cuts in government jobs and services

After four months in the post, Chief Minister Allan Bell believes he is past the “pulling the duvet over my head” phase in what are difficult times and claims he is leading the island forward.

The Isle of Man (Other OTC: MAGOF.PK - news) budget this month included serious and unpopular cuts to government staff numbers and salaries after several economic setbacks.

Mr Bell sought to prepare the island with a pre-budget announcement that explained exactly how he plans to steer the island through what he admits will be “the most challenging year it has faced for a generation”.

He said the government wages bill, standing at well over £300 million, would need to be cut by 10 per cent within three to four years, adding: “We are probably going to be losing services that many of us grew up with and loved for many years. But that’s a fact of life.”

Housing, health care, pensions, welfare, planning and judicial systems will all come under the chief minister’s scrutiny, as he warned: “There will be no sacred cows. There will be nothing that can be ring-fenced. Where savings can be squeezed out they must be squeezed out.”

On top of the problems caused by a global economic downturn, last year the UK adjusted its VAT-sharing agreement with the island, costing the Manx government approximately 40 per cent of its annual income.

The loss in revenue was compounded by Standard & Poor ’s credit ratings downgrade in November (Stuttgart: A0Z24E - news) to double-A plus, in which the Isle of Man was judged to be “constrained by its undiversified small economy, which makes it more vulnerable to external shocks”.

Focusing on the island’s positives, the chief minister is seeking to reassure his people that they can look to the future with confidence.

“There are no quick and easy answers to the problems which confront us,” he says. “However, we must take courage from knowing our economy is still in a position of relative strength, that we have a high quality of life and that we are a haven of peace and political stability.”

Mr Bell has taken on board the criticisms of Standard & Poor’s and is seeking to bring new business opportunities.

“The island is currently researching business opportunities with India, China and Russia,” he says, “and in doing so hopes to generate new income streams, particularly in the clean tech and bioscience technology fields, that will add to revenue already boosted by an increase in personal tax.”

“My aspiration is to ensure the island as a whole becomes an enterprise zone committed to promoting innovation and entrepreneurialism and I have tasked my minister for economic development, John Shimmin, to deliver this.

“We must clear away impediments to economic growth, ensuring that our policies and processes facilitate rather than inhibit the future prosperity of our island.

“My vision as chief minister reflects my longstanding ambition to maintain a prosperous and caring society based on fairness, opportunity for all, social cohesion and quality of life.

“Our top priorities have to be: delivering further economic growth and diversification to provide new income for government and jobs for our people; living within our means by achieving a balanced budget and protecting the vulnerable in society.”

This piece was originally published in the Telegraph Weekly World Edition.

See the original post here:
Isle of Man looks East in challenging times

LONDON – If Chico & Rita wins the Oscar for best animated feature Sunday night, it will be a real long-shot victory – especially since the movie is up against big-budget features like Paramount’s Rango and DreamWorks Animation’s Puss in Boots and Kung Fu Panda 2.

But then Chico & Rita already has a long history of overcoming the odds.

Oscar-winning Spanish filmmaker Fernando Trueba – his Belle Epoque was named best foreign-language film in 1994 – and artist and designer Javier Mariscal, along with U.K.-based animation production label Magic Light Pictures, have been working on Chico & Rita, a love story set to the beat of Cuban jazz, since as far back as 2003. And back then few would have bet on its commercial viability – let along its eventual Oscar chances.

PHOTOS: Academy Awards 2012 Nominees

At the start, the biggest challenge facing the filmmakers was that the story they wanted to tell – that of a young piano player’s fractious love affair with a jazz singer that takes them from Cuba to New York, Paris, Hollywood and Las Vegas – sounded too adult for an animated movie.

There were just no immediate precendents: Waltz With Bashir, set amid the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, and Persepolis, which followed a young Iranian girl’s coming-of-age, were still in the future. And the fanciful French film The Triplets of Belleville was only just beginning to peddle its way to global success. Additionally, Mariscal had never made a movie, while Trueba had never directed an animated film. And so when they approached potential backers at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, there were no immediate takers.

But Trueba tells The Hollywood Reporter he never had any doubts that an animated feature was possible. “I was always talking to Javier [Mariscal] about making a movie and one day I saw his drawings of Havana, Cuba. And then I knew, that’s what to do, write a love story about a singer and a piano player and work with him and his drawings,” Trueba says. “We had the desire, passion and music to work together and that made it easy to spend so much time together on this to do it. We’re still friends now."

The adult content they envisioned might have made it a tough sell, but “we never thought about it being live action, not for a second,” Trueba continues. “It was always going to be an animation for us.”

Magic Light Pictures, set up in 2002 by former Aardman Animations executive and producer Michael Rose and producer Martin Pope, also became convinced of the project’s potential. And so, the new animation house created a promo and pitch while Trueba and Mariscal began assembling a top flight Spanish creative team.

PHOTOS: 10 Inappropriately Sex Cartoon Characters

One key player who was drafted early on was Spanish novelist, TV and film writer Ignacio Martinez de Pison, who began polishing the script. The filmmakers also brought in art department whizz Tonno Errando, who joined them as a co-director.

Producer Christina Huete, Trueba’s wife, helped nurture the project by finding financing from Spanish broadcasters TVE and TV3.

Further financial support came from the Isle of Man, where Steve Christian headed up the government-supported film financing and production group.  Magic Lantern’s Pope and Rose had produced two previous films on the Isle of Man, so they knew Christian well. And by the 2006 edition of Cannes, Christian and the Isle of Man’s CinemaNX were on board, joining the tapestry of Spanish financiers and backers that had been assembled, and the project’s budget of €10 million ($13 million) was within reach.

“We pitched the project to distributors and financiers and everyone who saw the script and the early teaser trailer loved it but everyone said it was very risky financially,” Rose recounts. “So a lot of people told us to go and make it and then they’d talk.”

Pope says Christian’s belief and backing and the Spanish deals drummed up by Huete allowed the project to reach critical mass, financially.

It still took several more years for all the pieces to fall into place – the film sold to Walt Disney International in Spain, where it eventually grossed more $1 million during its theatrical release. And HanWay, the British sales and finance house, sold it elsewhere around the world.

The movie’s actual physical production took more than two years, although Pope puts that into perspetive, explaining, “Clearly 2½ years for an animation is relatively quick."

Eventually, after the movie played the Toronto International Film Festival in 2010, it sold to the small U.S. distributor GKids, who entered it in the Oscar race.

Its nomination was greeted by both disbelief and joy by Rose and Pope, allowing them to make their second visit to the Oscars in just two year’s time. Last year, their short film The Gruffalo was nominated in the best animated short film category.

“It’s a wonderful reward for the last seven years,” Rose says. “We commit ourselves [at Magic Light] to doing very few projects so we can try and make them of the highest quality and this feels like we are reaching the standards we aim for.”

More here:
The Making of 'Chico & Rita': How a Low-Budget Animation Beat the Odds to Compete for Oscar