Mediaboss Marketing

by Stephen Ritch

Two leading figures in the Islands finance sector will be exchanging working lunch reservations for Indian reservations when they trek through the Grand Canyon this May on a challenge to help raise funds for Junior Achievement Isle of Man.

Boston Group CEO Greg Ellison and Deloitte Isle of Man partner-in-charge Sarah Sanders, both Junior Achievement directors, have volunteered to take part in the trip organised by specialist charity challenge event organisers Global Adventure Challenge. Mr Ellison and Ms Sanders, the charitys treasurer, are both meeting all their costs personally to ensure all money raised goes to Junior Achievement to support its work to equip the Islands young people with the essential skills they need when they leave full-time education.

They will be part of a group travelling from the UK to Phoenix where the eight-day challenge includes trekking in the Grand Canyon and descending into the Indian reservation of Havasupai, famed for having the last post office in the US still serviced by mule train.

No stranger to more extreme forms of exercise, having taken part in number of full and half marathons, ex-professional rugby player Mr Ellison is also noted for his fleetness of foot having won the Islands Essentially Dancing competition in 2009 with his memorable samba routine. Ms Sanders, however, although no stranger to the workings of Junior Achievement having taken part in the charitys company programme while a student at Ballakermeen High School, admits to being rather less familiar with the demands of physical exercise, explaining that hitting 40 in 2012 inspired her to rise to the challenge.

Mr Ellison said: It takes a tremendous fundraising effort for Junior Achievement Isle of Man to raise the more than 300,000 thats needed every year to reach in the region of 5000 students. In this the charity shows real innovation, raising money from the Blake concert, The Next Big Thing and the forthcoming Harry Potter-themed two-day event. Against this background Sarah and I decided to roll our sleeves up, get involved and help raise funds for and the profile of Junior Achievement.

Ms Sanders said: Junior Achievement plays a vital role in developing young peoples entrepreneurial skills - more important than ever before, given the current difficult economic climate and contracting jobs market. Its innovative approach also helps raise students levels of ambition and open their eyes to opportunities.

Mr Ellison added: Isle of Man plc needs young people entering the workforce prepared and motivated. Junior Achievements support for students from primary school age through to 18 is an essential supplement to the good work of the schools through the curriculum.

To sponsor Sarah Sanders visit http://www.charitygiving.co.uk/sarahsanders.

To sponsor Greg Ellison visit http://www.charitygiving.co.uk/gregellison.

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Junior Achievement’s Treks Appeal

by Department of Economic Development

THE Isle of Man pensions industry has maintained what it calls a dignified silence on the new QROPS regime due to come into force on 6th April 2012 but has now revealed its approach to the proposals. Shortly after the news broke in early December the Isle of Mans Association of Pension Scheme Providers (APSP) released a short statement in support of the consultation and its intended purpose whilst announcing a determination to work towards a fully compliant solution. Chairman of the APSP Stuart Clifford explains what has been going on behind the scenes since then: We have maintained a dignified silence so far and deliberately so. The overriding reason is that nothing has yet been finalised and we feel we cant progress legislative or procedural changes until such time as we have the final HMRC framework in which to do so. Anything else, we believe, runs the risk of leaving us too exposed. It was a consultation, after all. That doesnt mean weve been idle, though. We have with Isle of Man Government lined up a number of options, depending on what emerges on UK Budget Day, but have taken to keep these in the locker. In the best traditions of the islands freedom to flourish ethos, all parties are poised and ready to swiftly implement whichever planned solution is best suited to the new QROPS regime. Clifford says that this wait-and-see approach is entirely consistent with the spirit of the new rules: What we saw in December was HMRCs clear intention to prevent abuse in the QROPS market and we welcomed it. As a jurisdiction we have never been in the non-compliant category, whether by letter or spirit, nor do we ever intend to be. If anything changes between the draft and final rules we dont want to get inadvertently caught out. Our pensions industry is growing and has many facets to it beyond QROPS, which is evidenced by the calibre of clients which have chosen the Isle of Man for domiciling their pension schemes. We dont want to run the risk of taking a step back by jumping the gun. It may seem overly pragmatic but in the pensions world that is a virtue. John Shimmin MHK, Minister for the Isle of Man Department of Economic Development, says: The Government recognises the importance of the pensions industry and will continue to support the APSP in ensuring that we remain competitive whilst maintaining our excellent reputation. Given the strength and depth of the Isle of Mans pensions propositions, only its Section 50C schemes which were introduced in 2010 are potentially affected by HMRCs proposals. Schemes approved under other Isle of Man tax legislation are unaffected, and will continue to be QROPS compliant post April. -ENDS-

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

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Isle of Man Pragmatic on the New QROPS Regime

by Eric Hollreiser

PokerStars today announced that it has acquired the Douglas Bay Complex in Onchan, Isle of Man which has served as the companys corporate headquarters since 2005.

Isle of Man Chief Minister Hon. Allan Bell, MHK, said, We are pleased that PokerStars has taken this step as it underlines their commitment to maintaining their headquarters here in Isle of Man. PokerStars has been a welcome civic and community leader as well as an important employer.

PokerStars are proud to call Isle of Man our home, said Mark Scheinberg, PokerStars Chairman of the Board. We chose the Isle of Man as our corporate headquarters because it is among an elite group of countries that is at the forefront of e-gaming and provides a strict and rigorous licensing framework for our industry. We feel very much a part of the local community and look forward to strengthening our ties even further.

The Douglas Bay Complex is a well-known landmark in Onchan and it sits on the site of the former Douglas Bay Hotel, which stood for nearly 100 years before a fire ravaged the building in 1988. The hotel served thousands of UK and European vacationers and was the home to the legendary Texas Bar, which featured live music and was the sometime rehearsal and performance space for the Bee Gees. The current office design of 60,000 square feet and 325 car park spaces opened in 2003 with the primary tenant as Royal Skandia Life Assurance company. PokerStars first occupied the building in August 2005 with 4,000 square feet and now occupies 20,000 square feet and employs more than 200 people in the Isle of Man.

-ENDS-

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

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PokerStars Acquires Headquarters Property In Isle of Man

06 March 2012

The South African Revenue Service has disclosed that a protocol to facilitate the exchange of tax information within the existing double taxation agreement (DTA) between South Africa and Austria has recently entered into force, as have tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs) with Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Jersey and San Marino.

Signed on various dates last year, the TIEAs between South Africa and Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Jersey and San Marino were effective from February 27, February 23, February 26, February 29, and January 28, 2012, respectively. The amending protocol to the South Africa-Austria DTA (which was originally signed on March 4, 1996, and entered in to force on February 6, 1997) was effective from March 1, 2012.

The new TIEAs and DTA protocol, incorporating the internationally-agreed Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development standard for the exchange of information for tax purposes, will apply to taxes of every kind and description imposed in all of the countries.

They will give the tax authorities of all countries a greater ability to exchange taxpayer information, providing that a tax authority cannot refuse to provide information solely because it does not require the information for its own domestic purposes, or because the information is held by a bank or similar institution.

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South Africa Extends Its TIE Network

WESTPAC has sent more jobs overseas in a bid to boost profit levels.

The Finance Sector Union today warned that another 119 IT jobs were axed at Westpac as the bank sought to reduce costs.

Most of the jobs are based in New South Wales, with fewer than 20 positions in Victoria lost.

"Some of these workers have been in these jobs for years,'' FSU national secretary Leon Carter said.

"The only reason they are losing their jobs is because our most profitable bank thinks it can now get the job done more cheaply offshore.''

Mr Carter said the banks were involved in a race to the bottom, putting profits ahead of loyalty to skilled and long-standing employees.

A Westpac spokesman said today staff working in the affected parts of the bank were told last week their jobs would go.

The decision to axe those roles, which supported IT development and systems maintenance, came after a review that started in November 2011.

Those affected would be offered retraining for redeployment into roles in other parts of the bank, if possible, or receive their full benefits and entitlements.

"We are committed to retaining our core highly skilled technology workforce in Australia,'' Westpac head of group media relations Paul Marriage said.

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Westpac sends more jobs offshore