The Isle of Man is well known as a financial centre of excellence and is reputedly a world class place to invest in this respect. It has also been repeatedly voted as the Best International Financial Centre several times. It is also a great place to settle in since it has won the accolade of being one of the first five European Cities of the Future by a reputed foreign investment magazine and was also the European winner of the Banking Financial Centre of the Future. It has great telecoms infrastructure which includes 4G mobile (The latest technology), broadband in practically all homes as well as as several high speed cable links which link all the major hubs on an international level. The island also has a world renowned Ship register which is also at the very top of the White List of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in Paris and which deals with Port State Control. It has also consistently ranked in the high positions for performance as regards to its maritime flag.Although the Isle of Man is still considered as a tax haven, it is probably the most open country with regards to the sharing of financial services expertise and has also embarked on a major collaboration with the World Bank as well as the Commonwealth Secretariat in the sharing of expertise in the financial services sector with other smaller countries. When coupled with the Isle of Man’s extremely strong track record of compliance with the internationally recognized standards of financial regulation, the Isle of Man has also gained recognition from OECD countries that have placed it on the white list whilst it has also repeatedly received positive assessments from the IMF. Although the Isle of Man is considered as being a separate jurisdiction, it is certainly not a closed or a secret one and in fact has no secrecy laws with regards to banking. An ideal place to set up your company if you are a tax nomad and have nothing to hide, then.The Isle of Man has also undergone a considerable number of external and independent assessments to ensure that its financial services sector and register of corporate companies is fully compliant with international standards. The island is also considered to be a bulwark in the international pursuit of financial crimes, money laundering as well as terrorist financing. It continues to fully co-operate along those lines. Among the assessments carried out on the Isle of Man’s financial structure one may include the UK Home Office review of all financial regulations which was carried out in 1999 by a Financial Action Task Force which focused exclusively on money laundering. The IMF also gave the island a completely clean bill of health from the IMF in 2003 while a review made in 2009 confirmed the island’s high standard of financial sector supervision, international co-operation as well as the fighting of money laundering.The Isle of Man has also ensured that it remains vigilant to the standards of tax transparency which have been developed by the OECD in 2000. The island has also signed a large number of tax information agreements with other countries, definitely much more than other similar jurisdictions. The Isle of Man continually delivers on the commitment of being fully transparent with regards to its financial information. In fact the Isle of Man is considered to be amongst the top tier of jurisdictions among other countries such as Germany, the United States and the UK.The Isle of Man Companies Register is one of the oldest in the world having been set up in 1865. It was originally part of the General Registry but is now part of the Financial Supervision Commission which is whole responsible for administration and the regulation of all the limited liability companies, limited partnerships, foundations and business names. The legislation in the Isle of Man is based on the 1931 Companies Act. This has been amended several times along the years to ensure that it remains fully conversant and compliant with today’s fast paced business needs.There are several advantages for registering a company in the Isle of Man. The FSC has also created a database which has all the company records which dates back to 1865. This excellent service provides a very fast and efficient manner in which financial services practitioners can access all the company records which include all the Isle of Man Companies, llc’s as well as International Business Companies. There is the possibility of checking available company names, submit an application to reserve a company name and access general information on the business climate in the Isle of Man.The system’s launch is an essential part of the programme which is ongoing and which is intended to improve the service offered by the Registry of Companies which is excellent for both international as well as local users and continues to reinforce the Isle of Man’s status as an important business centre. With an international reputation for being politically independent for over a thousand years, the Isle of Man has combined this independence with a second to none reputation of being one of the finest centres for offshore financial services. Additionally those companies and organisations which have been established under Isle of Man law have become widely used on an international level. This is probably due to the fact that the Isle of Man has one of the most sophisticated laws relating to business in the offshore regime and is among the finest jurisdictions in the world with regards to this sector.The Isle of Man is also a jurisdiction which practices Common Law and operates under the basis of Manx law. This law is derived from several other legal branches including Gaelic Brehon Law as well as Norse Udall Law. This legal influence has also been absorbed into English law and the Isle of Man has applied the English principal of equity which developed in the English law courts since the 17th century. Thus the island is practically identical in its legal structure to that of England and also follows such legal opinions and case law precedents.A major part of the Isle of Man’s success is its professional services industry. With a second to none legal system and a judiciary that has the highest international reputation, the court decisions and judgements are of great importance even at an international level. There is also an excellent accountancy profession with several major firms in this sector established on the island. There is also a very active Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators with a world class banking sector. The Financial Services industry is also a top class jurisdiction which is replete with several different sectors and functions.