Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Tax Havens
Tax Havens
Tax Havens
There are only two things you can be sure of in life: death and taxes
Eire Isle of Man Jersey Alderney Guernsey Monaco Gibraltar Madeira Andorra Luxembourg Liechtenstein Malta Cyprus
Africa
Bahamas Bermuda Turks & Caicos U.S. Virgin Islands British Virgin Islands Anguilla Antigua Nevis Montserrat Barbados Grenada Netherlands Antilles Aruba Panama Costa Rica Cayman Islands Belize
Pacific Rim
80 Raffles Place, #1 6-20 UOB Plaza 2, Singapore 6438 0838 048624 24 Raffles Place, 26-04 Singapore 048621 Clifford Cent re, 6535 3382 62210592
6438 2023
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5
OCRA (Singapore) Pt e Limit ed MOSSACK FONSECA & CO. (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD. ACCEPTOR PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORS
INSINGER DE BEAUFORT MANAGEMENT (SINGAPORE) PTE 24 Peck Seah St reet , #05-01 /05 Nehsons 6226 2236 LTD Building, Singapore 07931 4
Political and Economic Stability Infrastructure Confidentiality Taxation Modern Corporate Legislation
Issue of bearer shares Optional audit of accounting records Minimal captialisation requirements Appointment of nominee directors and officers Maintenance of a local registered office and resident agent Minimal or optional corporate filing obligations Flexibility for holding meetings of shareholders and directors Ability to transfer the corporation from one jurisdiction to another
International Trading Arrangements Investment Companies Licensing Arrangements For Intellectual Property Shipping Services Consultancy Services Finance And Banking Captive Insurance
Agency commissions Transfer pricing of goods Confirming house To purchase plant and equipment for hire or leasing to an offshore contractor or for a particular project
Investment Companies
To hold investments in
Publicly Quoted Companies Foreign Real Estate Underlying Subsidiary Associated Companies
Licensing Arrangements
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property such as patents, copyrights, designs, computer software and technical know how can be owned by an offshore company
The offshore company will then licence the intellectual property to third parties
Shipping Services
These registries offer low cost registration fees and tax exemption on income earned from shipping activities
Consultancy Services
Captive Insurance
Banks and Financial Institutions passing on greater responsibilities to the intermediaries. Legislation against criminal activities Moral Issues More requirements for banking relationship.
Tax Competition
Sovereign right to determine how income is taxed within countries borders
Tax Harmonization
Macau From a gambling enclave to a offshore tax haven 1st Nov 1999 Licensing system for offshore institutions LDA (limited company by shares) can apply for the offshore permit Can open an office at Macau Full exemption from income tax Additional Requirements
At least engage 5 resident staff Occupy an independent office Documents to be translated to Chinese & Portuguese Annual audits to be prepared by Macau registered auditing firms.
Located approximately 80 km east of Puerto Rico Worlds premier offshore centre with over 290,000 companies incorporated in the last 10 years Legal system based on English common law No taxes levied on IBC companies with the exception of the annual government licence fee which is US$300 Must have a Registered Agent and Registered Office in the the BVI, provided by a licensed trust company At least one director and corporate directors are permitted No requirements for a Register of Directors to be kept at the Companies Registry Details of the directors do not appear on any public records
Company should have at least one shareholder and bearer shares are allowed No requirements for Annual Returns, Annual Meetings or Audited Accounts
Mauritius
An Offshore Company must have at least two directors and two shareholders. Corporate Directors are not permitted Must appoint a Mauritian resident as company secretary Must prepare audited accounts and file it with the Mauritius Offshore Business Activities Authority Audited accounts have to be filed within 6 months after financial year-end Non-compliance will entail a revocation of the offshore licence Offshore companies that wish to utilise Mauritius international tax treaties must demonstrate that management and control are exercised in Mauritius
Mauritius
Register of Directors and Members must be kept at the Companies Registry Offshore companies incorporated after 1 July 1998 are subject to taxation at a rate of 15% as a Tax Incentive Company Must have a Registered Office and Agent in Mauritius
Mauritius
INTERNATIONAL COMPANY
Corporate directors are permitted Precluded from issuing bearer shares Register of Directors, Members and Officers must be registered with the Registrar of International Companies Must have a Registered Office and Agent in Mauritius
Samoa
Chinese character names are permitted in addition to English names Companies may pay their licence fees for 5, 10 or 20 years in advance. Substantial discounts are offered to companies that elect to take up this offer Must have a minimum of one director, one shareholder and a secretary Corporate directors are permitted and bearer shares are also allowed Must have a Resident Agent and Registered Office in Samoa, provided by a licensed trust company Shareholders may waive the requirement for annual returns and/or audited accounts The Offshore Banking Act 1987
Samoa
The International Insurance Act 1988 The Samoan International Companies Act 1987 Debt is specifically defined in the Act as excluding a tax of any foreign government. No double tax agreement with any other country
Gibraltar
The status of HNWI and residency is particularly Attractive for individuals of various nationalities such as British, German, Canadian, Swiss and French. HNWI will only pay tax on the the first of 45000 of Assessable income with a minimum tax payable per annum of 10,000. To qualify for the status of HNWI
Approved residential accommodation in Gibraltar To submit a Curriculum Vitae qualification work experience and 2 references Banker to confirm that 1 million worth of bank deposits are available
Bermuda
Bermuda tax haven company is used for public listing and is accepted by Hong Kong and Singapore stock exchanges.
Caymand Islands
NESDAQ accepts companies incorporated in Cayman Islands. Popular destination for offshore mutual funds, offshore banking and captive insurance. Note :
Letter of good standing has to be issued by the lawyer/accountants for the appointment of directors. The statutory registers are to be maintained in the Registered Office of the company at the respective countries.
Netherlands
Corporate Headquarters
The government does not tax income/profits, dividend received from subsidiary and gains and losses from sale of its shares of a foreign based company established in Holland.
The exemption only applies if the non-resident corporation makes direct investment and holds a continuous and substantial interest in the principal of at least 5%.
International accounting firms with worldwide connections establish their headquarters in the Netherlands. United States company or corporation in other country use the Dutch subsidiary as a foreign base company for operating branches or subsidiary in third countries.
Offshore Trust
Most favored Tax Havens for operating Offshore Trust are Registration of the trust and
US$ 3500
Minimisation of tax liabilities on income derived by the trust Reduction of liability to asset or wealth taxes, such as estate or gift taxes and capital gains taxes Enhanced privacy and confidentiality Ability to develop a flexible asset protection plan Flexibility in planning of family or marital asset allocations Enhanced environment for diversification of investment portfolios Flexibility of income or capital distributions amongst family members
Offshore Trust
Own shareholdings in offshore based corporate entities Hold investment portfolios either through personal family trusts or private investment unit trusts Facilitate the conversion of offshore income to capital Own life assurance policies issued on the life of the Settlor Provide a mechanism for accumulation of tax effective retirement benefits under a personal or employer sponsored pension, superannuation or provident fund
Facilitate the tax effective accumulation of income and capital for a charitable or non-charitable purpose
Protect offshore assets and liquid onshore assets from claims against the Settlor or beneficiaries
First offshore jurisdiction to enact legislations to facilitate asset protection under the International Trusts Amendment Act 1989. Further amendments were enacted in 1991, 1996 and 1989. As a result, the Cooks Island currently has the most modern international trust legislation. Particular emphasis on the protection of assets, the protection of beneficiaries and flexibility of control by the settlor.
An international trust will not be void or voidable as a consequence of the settlors bankruptcy notwithstanding any law to the contary in the settlors domestic jurisdiction. If there is an improper transfer, the creditors may only claim damages from the trust. As a general rule, foreign judgements cannot be entered against a international trust in the Cook Island.
The transfer of property takes place more than 2 years after the date upon which the creditors cause of action arose: or The transfer takes place within 2 years from the date of the cause of action accruing to that creditor and the creditor fails to bring that action within 1 year from the date of such transfer.
The settlor may retain certain powers and benefits without invalidating the trust. The interest of a spendthrift beneficiary in an international trust may not be attacked by a creditor. A trust will not be set aside because it avoids forced heirship rules in the settlors home jurisdiction. Co-trustees may make valid decisions as a majority rather than unanimously. Title to trust property may be held by a single co-trustee. The settlor, beneficiaries and the international trust are not subject to any form of taxation in the Cook Islands.
Private Foundation
Panama Foundation Liechtenstein Foundation Austria Foundation
Founder(s) Supervisory Bodies (Protectors)
Foundation Council
Asset Manager
Beneficiaries
They are not subject to any form of taxation, assessment or levy in the Republic of Panama. Law does not require the names of the real Founders, Beneficiaries or Protectors to be revealed. No annual meeting of the Founders, Beneficiaries, Protectors or supervisory bodies is required. Not required to file annual income returns or financial reports. No restrictions on maximum assets allowed. Allowed to carry out any kind of civil or commercial transactions, anywhere in the world and in any currency.
To assist governments to respond to harmful tax competition OECD issued in May 1998, a report on harmful tax competition. The report set forth guidelines dealing with harmful preferential tax regimes and makes a series of recommendations for combating harmful tax practices. The factors are
No nominal effective tax rate Lack of transparency Absence of requirement of substantial domestic activities
To commit to the OECD plan to eliminate harmful tax regime. To indicate a detailed plan indicating how it will achieve transparency and effective exchange of information on all tax matters. Any regimes attracting business without substantial domestic activity must be eliminated.
To ensure authorities have access to regarding beneficial ownership of all companies within its jurisdiction. Required to set up legal mechanisms so that financial accounts will be drawn up in accordance with internationally accepted accounting standards.
To establish a legal mechanism that allows information to be provided to the tax authorities of OECD countries for investigation and prosecution of criminal tax matters. Any restrictions on the ability of entities qualifying for preferential tax treatment to do business in the domestic market will be removed.
To establish a legal mechanism that allows information to be provided to the tax authorities of OECD countries for the determination, assessment and enforcement of all tax matters. Any restrictions that deny the benefits of preferential tax treatment to resident taxpayers, to entities owned by resident taxpayers, or to income derived from doing the same type of business in the domestic market, will be removed.
A foreign trust, is one where the Settler : Non Resident Beneficiaries : No New Zealand Beneficiaries Income : No New Zealand Source of Income Trustees : New Zealand Trustees Neither the trust nor the beneficiaries are liable to New Zealand Income Tax. With effect from 01/04/2005 the provision to the income tax authorities will come into force. In future foreign trust will need an IRD number, keep records for New Zealand tax purposes, provide information when it is set up or appoint New Zealand trustees.
There are only two things you can be sure of in life: death and taxes