Ernst & Young have launched e-Com Island, a new Website devoted to the growing E-Commerce industry in the Isle of Man.

The Isle of Man is widely regarded as the best regulated offshore financial centre and has a pro-active government which positively encourages and supports the growth of E-Commerce.

Commented Chief Minister Donald Gelling on the passing of the Electronic Transactions Act: "We recognise that E-Commerce is an area which offers significant opportunities for growth and further diversification complementing our flourishing economy. The government is committed to providing an attractive and supportive environment for Internet based businesses and we are pro-actively encouraging the further development of E-Commerce on the Island."

e-Com Island details the many benefits of conducting E-Commerce from the Island and has comprehensive information on the legislation and government incentives for the growth of the industry including:

  • The 2000 Electronic Transactions Act
  • The E-Commerce Banking Licences
  • Online Gambling Regulation Bill
  • Appointment and role of the E-Envoy and Consultative Committee
  • E-Commerce Fund, Training and Support Programmes
  • Government Incentives and Financial Assistance Schemes

Through e-Com Island the elements and infrastructure which has put the Island at forefront of the telecommunications revolution can be accessed.

For example; the Island has taken steps to ensure the resilience and reliability of its network, with two new fibre optic cables to the UK and Ireland. These two cables have increased by a factor of 16 the Island’s band-width - the UK fibre link alone, with its 1.2 Tera bits per second capacity, is capable of carrying up to 10 times the current transatlantic Internet traffic.

And, through Manx Telecom, the Isle of Man aims to be the first country to launch a 3rd generation mobile telecoms network (UMTS), details of which are on the e-Com Island site.

The detailed, easy to navigate and well presented e-Com Island site provides considerable information on all the Island’s professional support services, such as: secure servers, designers, software and solutions suppliers, encryption and on-line payment facilities and the professional services of Ernst & Young.

Of the many unique features of e-Com Island two are particularly useful, the e-Com Library with many downloadable documents from E&Y and the Isle of Man Government and the e-Com News Room, which is an exclusive E-Commerce news gathering service for the Isle of Man compiled by Ernst & Young in conjunction with Isle of Man Newspapers.

One of the many advantages of the Isle of Man is its highly favourable tax regime, with the standard tax rate being just 12% and an upper rate of 18%, and the government intends to reduce this still further. These tax benefits are dealt with in E&Y’s linked TaxCentre Website, which includes the unique TaxOmeter, an interactive cross-border Income Tax calculator. TaxCentre provides access to all of E&Y’s International Tax Planning, Corporate and Consultancy Services.

e-Com Island is one of seven major new websites launched by Ernst & Young from the Isle of Man.

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