G7 taxation proposals vs zero-10

[The Dog's Dangly Bits]

4 minutes ago, 2112 said:

HRH The Chief Minister pleads and presents this as a disaster. I’m sorry but the Tresury bods should be been doing whatever they do. At present it seems nothing but whinging has been done, instead of devising new policies - unless new policies are being devised by the big four accountants. 
 

 

The island has actually done pretty well over the last 15 years in relation to the changing external tax environment and the outward pressures.

Like it or not, Bell took the stance that the island would have to change and that started with exchanging of information to the UK over 15 years ago.

The island has also done well to encourage business here that isn't wholly reliant on zero 10.    A number of the CSPs have diversified from purely this.   Legislation changes in the UK from a tax perspective have helped with that.   And the island is still a place of expertise.   

I'm not convinced the USA will get away with bullying countries and dictating their tax rates anyway.

[The Dog's Dangly Bits]

1 hour ago, Derek Flint said:

I honestly don’t know. Could we have taken an incredibly strong position and suffered blacklist status and notoriety? Would it have been that bad? One would hope the numbers were run.

Only someone who has taken a fat government paid salary and pension could seriously contemplate the above as an option.

[pongo]

2 hours ago, Derek Flint said:

I said then that Government had to be incredibly careful that the Island didn’t just become ‘a nice place to live’. 

Good broadband (compared with most rural places elsewhere) makes the island an excellent place to work from as an independent contractor. The clients and other colleagues can be anywhere else on earth.

Negligible tax advantage. But if we lock up the house and go abroad for a few months we won't get burgled.

[pongo]

1 hour ago, The Dog's Dangly Bits said:

I'm not convinced the USA will get away with bullying countries and dictating their tax rates anyway.

Perhaps not this time but sooner or later. I believe the island can transition.

[SleepyJoe]

2 hours ago, Derek Flint said:

I honestly don’t know. Could we have taken an incredibly strong position and suffered blacklist status and notoriety? Would it have been that bad? One would hope the numbers were run.

many years ago, I remember talking to Anne Craine about the way things were going. I said then that Government had to be incredibly careful that the Island didn’t just become ‘a nice place to live’. There had to be good incentive for people to make the move, and for the population to steadily grow. And for that, there has to be good incentive for businesses to physically base themselves on the Island. I think that there are fewer reason than ever for the latter. Even setting up a £50m fund failed to attract anything significant.

I’m increasingly of the opinion there needs to be a significant resetting of perspective for the Island. Almost a period of hibernation, reformation of local and national government, a policy of thrift and a time for some reflection and redefining of what the Island is going to be in the future. The ‘nice place to live’ model might be the only sustainable one, and with a more streamlined public service just might be the best option. I for one can’t identify the ‘next big thing’ that the Island can jump on, but one thing is for sure, there’s a real risk that if taxation is normalised then there is a real problem ahead.

not seeing much public airing of this in manifestos either.

My impression is that the idea of the IOM being a 'safe green digital safe haven at the very centre of the British Isles' has support, but there's a debate to be had about both the funding & amount of green digital infrastructure investment necessary to make the island a bigger draw as a regional centre for online enterprises

It'll be very interesting to see what the KPMG report offers on this & any routes to expand digital markets. Don't think they'll be reporting until after the general election, so there won't be too much coverage in manifestos & there isn't likely to be the amount of policy debate during the GE run up on issues concerning the economy that we might wish for

[Derek Flint]

3 hours ago, The Dog's Dangly Bits said:

Only someone who has taken a fat government paid salary and pension could seriously contemplate the above as an option.

Really? Is that the best you can do?

2 hours ago, SleepyJoe said:

My impression is that the idea of the IOM being a 'safe green digital safe haven at the very centre of the British Isles' has support, but there's a debate to be had about both the funding & amount of green digital infrastructure investment necessary to make the island a bigger draw as a regional centre for online enterprises

It'll be very interesting to see what the KPMG report offers on this & any routes to expand digital markets. Don't think they'll be reporting until after the general election, so there won't be too much coverage in manifestos & there isn't likely to be the amount of policy debate during the GE run up on issues concerning the economy that we might wish for

You may have caught my daughter being interviewed recently for making the Forbes 30 under 30 list. She works in the digital space and did say in the interview about being able to to her job anywhere effectively. Nobody asked her why therefore she wasn’t doing it from the Isle of Man? 

Its all down to lifestyle at that age. Unless you live a particularly outdoors/ sporty one, it’s not going to particularly appeal. And London still has massive draw. We did try and persuade her to move up North and maybe base in Manchester, but to no avail. London is where it is at for progressive digital companies. I don’t think the Island will draw sufficient numbers to its shores to make a fiscal impact 

[SleepyJoe]

Your daughter is surely correct

The Digital City Festival in Manchester is a growing thing - I know the bloke who directs it - but they've made the mistake of concentrating on Manchester rather than the whole of the north-west

There is the opportunity for the IOM to become the preferred place in the region to base new & existing digital enterprises

Question is - besides green hosting & infrastructure + professional service expertise, what else could draw online enterprises here?

[GD4ELI]

9 minutes ago, SleepyJoe said:

There is the opportunity for the IOM to become the preferred place in the region to base new & existing digital enterprises.

What can the IOM offer above that found in NW England? An advantage of a hub is regular contact with lots of others in your area of work, I know - I've worked at one.

The IOM isn't an ideal place to start out.

[GD4ELI]

21 minutes ago, Derek Flint said:

Really? Is that the best you can do?

You may have caught my daughter being interviewed recently for making the Forbes 30 under 30 list. She works in the digital space and did say in the interview about being able to to her job anywhere effectively. Nobody asked her why therefore she wasn’t doing it from the Isle of Man? 

Its all down to lifestyle at that age. Unless you live a particularly outdoors/ sporty one, it’s not going to particularly appeal. And London still has massive draw. We did try and persuade her to move up North and maybe base in Manchester, but to no avail. London is where it is at for progressive digital companies. I don’t think the Island will draw sufficient numbers to its shores to make a fiscal impact 

When you've grown up on a small Island London is an amazing place to live in for a few years, even more.

[pongo]

10 minutes ago, SleepyJoe said:

Question is - besides green hosting & infrastructure + professional service expertise, what else could draw online enterprises here?

Green hosting. Lol. 

Everyone uses either Azure, AWS or the Google Cloud.

1 minute ago, GD4ELI said:

When you've grown up on a small Island London is an amazing place to live in for a few years, even more.

Yes. But you do also grow out of it.

[pongo]

4 minutes ago, GD4ELI said:

What can the IOM offer above that found in NW England?

Not being in NW England. It's a dump for the most part.

[GD4ELI]

6 minutes ago, pongo said:

Not being in NW England. It's a dump for the most part.

Including the Yorkshire Dales, North Pennines, Lake District?

You must love Douglas  .

[GD4ELI]

10 minutes ago, pongo said:

Yes. But you do also grow out of it.

Indeed, but not so many return to the IOM, maybe because they've established family and friends over there.

[SleepyJoe]

22 minutes ago, GD4ELI said:

What can the IOM offer above that found in NW England? An advantage of a hub is regular contact with lots of others in your area of work, I know - I've worked at one.

The IOM isn't an ideal place to start out.

Co-investment on 'green' capital equipment as one incentive perhaps? There must be others to encourage online enterprises to base their backroom services & registered offices here 

Youngsters in the digital field generally can be at whatever trendy hub/hotspot they like, that's the beauty of online working

[GD4ELI]

6 minutes ago, SleepyJoe said:

Co-investment on 'green' capital equipment as one incentive perhaps? There must be others to encourage online enterprises to base their backroom services & registered offices here 

Youngsters in the digital field generally can be at whatever trendy hub/hotspot they like, that's the beauty of online working

I use solar and OVO for electricity - 100% renewable, there are plenty of green sites where you can rent servers nowadays. Setting up a UK limited company is very cheap as are good accountants. The IOM must be able to offer a special 'something', hard to know what that could be.