Month: January 2018

Isle of Man

The Isle Of Man Aircraft Registry: 10 Years of Success

Posted on | by Charlotte Clabon

The Isle of Man Aircraft Registry was established by the Isle of Man Government in 2007, primarily to bring additional economic prosperity to the Isle of Man’s private sector. From a very small beginning, the team now comprises around 20 aviation specialists with the business ethos of ‘Safety and Service’.

Currently led by the Director of Civil Aviation, Simon Williams, the registry continues to grow and expand its services, while continuing to meet the highest regulatory standards for a private aircraft registry.

  • The Isle of Man Aircraft Registry has registered more than 925 aircraft since commencing operations and is now the 6th largest private/corporate aircraft registry in the world.
  • The Registry was named ‘Best Global Aviation Registry’ in World Commerce Review Magazine’s 2017 awards. The panel considered: product innovation, ongoing customer support and best practice as part of its core criteria.

Services Offered by the Registry

The Registry specialises in quality private and corporate business jets, with a tailored process, including the following key services:

  • Registering aircraft
  • Mortgage services
  • Licence validations, changes and renewals
  • Certificates of Airworthiness for Export, and Deregistration
  • Flight operations – supporting gaining the necessary operational approvals
  • Registration of aircraft between commercial leases
  • Approving the airworthiness of aircraft

Benefits of Registration in the Isle of Man

The Register

  • The largest European based private and corporate aircraft register
  • Neutral nationality registration prefix ‘M’
  • Competitive scheme of charges
  • Secure mortgage register
  • High service levels and a quality international reputation
  • No insurance premium tax

The Jurisdiction of the Isle of Man

  • The Isle of Man is on the OECD ‘white list’ of countries complying with the global standard for tax cooperation and exchange of information and is a jurisdiction with high regulatory standards
  • Clear and simple taxation regime
  • European time zone
  • Stable legal and political environment
  • Professional infrastructure with experience in aviation finance

Aircraft Regulatory Standards in the Isle of Man

  • As a Crown Dependency of the United Kingdom (UK), the Isle of Man falls wthin the UK’s ratification of the Chicago Convention.
  • International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Standards and Recommended Practices are implemented in the Isle of Man and all of the information required under the ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) is maintained and updated in the Isle of Man.
  • The Isle of Man was audited by the ICAO in 2009 as part of the UK USOAP inspection. It performed very strongly with results comparable to countries with safety regulatory regimes that have been in existence for far longer.

Summary

The key advantages of the Isle of Man Aircraft Register is that it is a commercial registrar, complying with high regulatory standards, with a very supportive Government, in a Moody’s Aa2 rated jurisdiction. Registrar staff have a strong technical and customer focused approach.

The ‘M’ reg itself is an additional benefit, with many owners choosing to customise the use of the ‘M’ on their private jet to link to business or family names. The M prefix can also be transferred on to the next private jet when buying a new aircraft.

Additional Information

If you require any further information regarding the above article, please speak to your usual Dixcart contact or to David Walsh at the Dixcart office in the Isle of Man.

Dixcart Management (IOM) Limited is Licensed by the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority.

Malta-nomad-residence-permit

New Malta-Ukraine Double Taxation Agreement now Ratified and Additional Attractive Malta DTAs

Posted on | by Charlotte Clabon

A new Double Taxation Agreement between Malta and the Ukraine was ratified in 2017 and was made effective as from 1 January 2018.

As a result of this DTA, tax advantages for both countries are available and the Maltese holding company regime may prove attractive to Ukrainian investors. This DTA allows for dividends to be taxed in the country of source, at a withholding tax rate of 5%, if the volume of shares held is greater than 20%.

Taxation of Income

The tax treaty provides a low withholding tax rate on dividends, interest and royalties.

  • Dividends

Withholding tax for dividends is capped at 15%. A lower rate of 5% applies to dividends received by a company owning at least 20% of the capital of the company paying the dividends.

Due to its full imputation tax system, Malta does not withhold tax on distribution of dividends, irrespective of the nationality, domicile or residence of the beneficial owner of those dividends.

  • Interest and Royalties

Interest and royalty income is subject to a maximum 10% withholding tax.

The country of source has a limited primary right to tax the income, while the country of residence has a secondary right, with the obligation to grant relief from double taxation.

According to the Maltese Income Tax Act, interest and royalties received by non-residents is exempt from Malta tax and therefore no tax is withheld on such payments.

Additional Attractive Malta Double Tax Treaties

Malta has a network of over 70 double tax treaties.

In addition to the Ukraine, Cyprus and Switzerland have particularly beneficial double tax treaties with Malta.

Malta-Cyprus Double Tax Treaty

Foreign companies seeking to establish a certain type of entity in Europe, for example a company established for financing activities, should consider establishing a Cyprus company and managing it from Malta. This can result in double non-taxation for the passive foreign sourced income.

  • The Malta-Cyprus Double Tax Treaty contains a tie breaker clause that provides that the tax residence of the company is where its effective place of management is. A Cyprus company with its effective place of management in Malta will be resident in Malta and would therefore only be subject to Cyprus tax on its Cyprus source income.

It will not pay Maltese tax on non-Maltese passive source income not remitted to Malta. It is therefore possible to have a Cyprus company resident in Malta that enjoys tax-free profits, as long as the proceeds are not remitted to Malta.

Malta-Switzerland Double Tax Treaty

Malta’s holding company regime, coupled with the beneficial Double Taxation Agreement between Malta and Switzerland, provides a number of advantages when a Malta company is used to hold shares in a Swiss subsidiary.

The key features of the Double Taxation Agreement are:

  • The standard withholding tax on dividends paid from Switzerland is 35%. The agreement provides for a withholding tax exemption on dividends from Switzerland to a Maltese company, where the Maltese company directly holds 10% or more of the Swiss company’s capital for at least one year. Both companies must be subject to taxation.
  • Interest received in Malta is taxed at 35%. However a shareholder can claim a refund from the Maltese tax authorities in respect of a substantial element of the taxation paid by the Maltese company relating to dividend payments to shareholders.  This results in low net Maltese taxation on interest, generally an effective Maltese tax rate of 10%.
  • There is no withholding tax on royalties. This, coupled with Malta’s tax refund regime and unilateral double tax relief, in the form of a flat rate tax credit, results in very low net Maltese tax on royalty income.

Additional Information

If you would like additional information regarding the double tax treaty between Malta and Ukraine, or other Maltese Double Taxation Treaties, please contact Sean Dowden or Jonathan Vassallo at the Dixcart office in Malta: advice.malta@dixcart.com or your usual Dixcart contact.

St Kitts

Mandarin: Nevis Economic Citizenship Requirements

Posted on | by Charlotte Clabon

聖基茨和尼維斯聯邦投資入籍

一般程序如下

主要申請人必須填寫政府頒發的四份表格 (C1、C2、C3和C4)。

家屬申請人只需填寫三份表格 (C1、C2和C3)。

C1表格

所有申請人必須填寫，記錄每個申請人的詳細個人資料。 （該表第C57項問題詳細說明了必須隨申請表格一起提交的補充資料或證明文件）。

C2表格

所有申請人必須填寫。主要是確定申請人的身份。

表格應由公證員，律師或國際著名銀行的兩名高級職員用英文填寫。

C3表格

所有申請人必須提交，由法醫填寫。

（包括兒童在內的所有申請人必須隨申請材料一起提交艾滋病毒檢測報告原件，檢測報告不得超過三個月）。

C4 表格

該表格有關託管賬戶，由主要申請人填寫。

證明文件

所有申請人都必須提供：

  1. 艾滋病毒檢測證明，這將作為C3表格的一部分提供（僅適用於16歲以上者）。
  2. 現行護照的認證複印件，註明姓名、照片、居民身份/國籍、簽發日期和地點、有效期限、護照號碼和發證國家。如果申請人有多本護照，則必須提供所有護照的認證複印件。
  3. 現行國民身份證的認證複印件。
  4. 六張最近六個月內照的護照用照片（具體要求請參閱申請表）。
  5. 完整出生記錄的原始摘錄或完整出生證明的認證複印件（包括家長父母親詳細資料、戶籍登記、戶口簿等文件）。
  6. 現有國籍的警方證明原件（除非您可以提供令人滿意的證據表明您從來沒有在那里居住過）和在過去十年內住過一年以上的任何國家的警方證明原件。在您遞交申請時，警方證明必須不到六個月; 或者如果您不能提供警方證明原件，就必須用英語和母語兩種語言提供一份單獨的法定聲明，詳細說明您為獲取您和隨行家屬是否在原籍國被判過刑或定過罪，或被指控違法的證明所做的各種努力。該法定聲明也應得到能證明您人格的其他材料的支持。
  7. （如果適用）入伍當兵證件的認證複印件。如果居住國有義務兵役制，但申請人被豁免，申請材料中應當包括豁免文件作為證明。
  8. 姓名更改證明的認證複印件（如果適用，即法定聲明、收養證明等）。
  9. 為支持任何表格中所填內容被要求以證明、解釋或任何其他方式進行陳述的任何材料。

僅主要申請人需要提供：

  1. 確認申請人已經指定尼維斯事務所為其及其隨行家屬申請入籍身份和護照的代理律師的授權書。
  2. 簽了名的C4表格原件。
  3. 銀行證明原件（由國際著名銀行提供。不得超過六個月）。
  4. 專業介紹信原件（可由律師、公證員、特許會計師或律師提供。 不得超過六個月）。
  5. 居住地證明原件（如註明詳細地址的近期水電費賬單或銀行對賬單的認證複印件，或者由銀行、律師、特許會計師或公證員提供的書面確認函）這不得超過6個月。
  6. 12個月的銀行對賬單，表明有投資能力。
  7. 財富來源證明（即如果其財富來自私人公司，他們則需要提供認證的公司法定文件，並證明主要申請人擁有股份等）。
  8. 已婚申請人同時申請需要提供以下材料：
    1. 結婚記錄的原始摘錄或結婚證書的認證複印件。
    2. 離婚文件的認證複印件（如果適用）。
  9. 如果客戶購買房地產，那麼還需要提供：
    1. 已執行的購銷協議
    2. 已執行的託管協議
    3. 已交押金的收據證明。

補充文件的翻譯

關於補充文件，如果原件不是英文，必須附上認證翻譯。指南指出，“認證翻譯“是由以下任何一方所提供的翻譯：

“正式獲得法院、政府機構、國際組織或類似的官方機構認可的專業翻譯人員。”

或者“如果翻譯是在沒有官方認證的翻譯人員的國家完成的，那麼翻譯是由唯一或主要業務是從事專業翻譯（即非個人譯員）的翻譯公司所翻譯的。翻譯必須在公司信箋上附上以下聲明：

“ 謹確認所附英文翻譯真實而準確地翻譯了原件，特附上原件副本 “。

該聲明必須由該翻譯公司一名以上的董事簽字，簽名還必須經過公證員的認證。遵照1961年10月15日的海牙公約 “廢除外國文件合法化要求” ，公證員的認證必須印有其認證印章。

請注意，所有非英文的印章都必須翻譯和認證。

護照申請

一旦獲得國籍，申請人必須申請護照。

所需要的表格和證明文件如下：

  1. 填寫護照申請表並簽名
  2. 2.兩張護照用照片（措辭請參閱適當的表格）
  3. 警方證明（一旦獲得國籍，尼維斯事務所自當索取）
  4. 國籍證書原件或經公證複印件（一俟獲得公民身份批准，便予簽發）
  5. 經公證的出生證 – 我們建議申請人在申請入籍時提供出生證一式兩份。