Top 10 Offshore Headlines from UK A recent judgment of the Royal Court of Jersey demonstrates its approach to an application to set aside a trust and certain gifts made under it on the grounds of mistake. A Jersey law trust. A Jersey corporate trustee. Divorcing beneficiaries, both of whom are resident in a foreign jurisdiction. What should you do? What shouldn’t you do? The International Monetary Fund – the most authoritative voice on world financial affairs – has given the Isle of Man ‘a clean bill of health’ with commendations for both the Financial Supervision Commission and the Insurance and Pensions Authority for the way in which they oversee the Island’s finance sector. Historically, offshore funds have been used as investment vehicles to minimise the impact of UK tax by keeping income profits offshore. The following table is intended to provide a quick high level comparison of the different company law requirements applicable to the incorporation and operation of companies in a number of offshore jurisdictions. Guernsey benefited from the flight to quality during the worst of the financial crisis but is now looking to establish itself as the domicile of choice for the next generation of MENA funds. The Isle of Man’s strategy of striking bilateral tax agreements with other jurisdictions continues to seek out new partners. The latest TIEA (tax information exchange agreement) has been concluded with New Zealand. The Finance Act 2004 radically changed UK pensions. It heralded a raft of new measures aimed at simplification and came at a time when, across Europe, other jurisdictions were also realising that change was necessary to meet the rising costs of pension provision. One definition of ‘corporate governance’ is that it is ‘the process of regulating and overseeing corporate conduct and balancing the interests of all internal stakeholders and other parties who can be affected by the corporation’s conduct in order to ensure responsible behaviour by corporations and to achieve the maximum level of efficiency and profitability for a corporation.’ The onshore world still views the world's IFC's with deep suspicion, blaming them in part for the multitude of onshore scandals and fiscal difficulties that have arisen over the years. The majority of IFC's cleaned up their acts many years ago; but old prejudices are hard to dispel, apparently. | 
