Offshore Banking, Offshore Investment & Savings
Offshore Investment and Saving and Planning Ahead
Published on 09 January 2008Category: Offshore Investment and Saving
The vast majority of people who can and do regularly take advantage of offshore investment and saving schemes are expatriates or those who live in a tax free location or who lead a fairly international lifestyle, living, working and travelling through multiple locations. For these sorts of individuals, saving and investing offshore makes a great deal of sense.
But what happens when these individuals decide to repatriate, to move back home, or even move to a higher tax nation for example? There is more to going offshore than just making the decision based on your circumstances today...which is why this article is about offshore investment and saving and planning ahead.
The World’s Best Tax Havens
Published on 06 January 2008Category: Offshore Tax Havens
The world is full of tax havens – the UK can be a tax haven for non-domiciled individuals for example, and certain states in America are even tax havens for those who do not reside therein but who use the states as places to register their business for example.
However, the UK and US are not high on the list for most people when is comes to considering the world’s best tax havens; naturally enough the locations typically synonymous with low tax that we think of are jurisdictions and nations such as the the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Switzerland, Lichtenstein and Monaco. But in actual fact, some of the best tax havens in the world are far less glamorous…
RBS Coutts Offshore Private Bank
Published on 04 January 2008Category: Offshore Banking
From the first of January 2008 one of the leading players in the world of offshore private banking has changed its name from Coutts & Co to RBS Coutts…as you can guess, the name change has to do with the fact the RBS group now owns Coutts which is commonly referred to as ‘The Queen’s Bank’.
RBS acquired Coutts and Co when it took over NatWest back in 2000, but until now the bank has continued to trade under its original name by which it has been known since 1822. The significance of the name change is quite far reaching; many clients are believed to have been unhappy with RBS for even considering renaming this incredibly famous and historic offshore private banking institution.
Offshore Banking and HMRC
Published on 03 January 2008Category: Offshore Banking
The partial taxation amnesty offered by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) last year to UK residents with undeclared offshore bank deposits and financial assets has proved relatively successful in terms of the taxation and fines raised. However, the amount paid into the Revenue’s coffers to date is actually far short of HMRC’s initial predictions.
According to the Sovereign Group, partly as a result of the fact that the amount of revenue received by HMRC is well below that expected, the British tax authorities are currently contemplating extending the partial reprieve to include customers of over 170 additional banking institutions - although they are likely to face opposition from the banks in question. There is a fine line between the banks’ requirement to supply information about account holders suspected of illegally avoiding taxation due and their legal duty to maintain their customers’ personal privacy. When it comes to offshore banking and HMRC however, the Revenue is not in the business of letting outstanding taxation slip through its fingers.
Cyprus is Most Attractive Offshore Tax Haven
Published on 02 January 2008Category: Offshore Tax Havens
According to a recent survey conducted by KPMG, Cyprus is one of the most attractive offshore tax havens in Europe.
Together with Ireland and Switzerland, Cyprus enjoys relative transparency in its tax structures, suffers lower levels of taxation change and upset annually compared to other European countries, and has the highest percentage of local citizens happy with the level of tax legislation in place according to the survey.
Tax Haven Update from the OECD
Published on 28 November 2007Category: Offshore Tax Havens
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, (OECD), has been reporting in two areas of policy development and legislation advancement and effectively a tax haven update from the OECD has been produced from the data reported.
It is clear that the organisation’s aims to crack down on harmful tax practices and on the ability of individuals to evade taxation by banking, doing business or residing in certain countries are becoming more and more successful.
Expatriate Tax Saving in Hong Kong
Published on 26 November 2007Category: Expatriate Tax Saving
Hong Kong has made itself more competitive once again – in keeping with its plans to maintain its position as the most competitive business environment in the region it has cut its taxes and expatriate tax saving in Hong Kong is now very possible!
Following Singapore’s tax reduction announcements earlier in the year, Hong Kong was forced to go further if it wanted to remain head and shoulders above the regional competition and retain and attract new business. As a direct result, Chief Executive Donald Tsang has announced that from 2009 taxes on salaries and company profits will be cut to 15% and 16.5% respectively.
Offshore Bank Accounts for City Bonuses
Published on 13 November 2007Category: Offshore Banking
It’s that time of year again when all the headlines are about to be dominated by tales of magnificent bonuses received by the best in the banking industry in the City. Jealous journalists may question the thinking behind the million pound bonus, but for those in receipt of the cash the fact of the matter is, they face high stress in a job that most of us would not actually want to get up in the morning and do!
If you’re in receipt of a cash lump sum or a bonus what’s the best way to protect that cash? Pop it into property, gamble it back on the stock market, lock it away in a long-term savings plan – or are offshore bank accounts for city bonuses the way to go? In this article we examine the potential benefits of offshore bank accounts for those with a cash lump sum to squirrel away.
Offshore Tax Havens in Europe
Published on 04 November 2007Category: Offshore Tax Havens
According to the latest Sovereign report, offshore tax havens in Europe are competing to win and retain ever more business - and as the competition heats up, so the attraction of the various European offshore jurisdictions is increasing.
For consumers and clients this is excellent news particularly for those involved in international business who require registration or banking services in a reputable location to achieve and maintain their own clients’ confidence. In this article we’ll take a look at the improving tax haven landscape in Europe.
Offshore Trusts in Bahamas and BVI
Published on 03 November 2007Category: Offshore Trusts
Both the governments of Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands (BVI) have been working hard in 2007 to make their particular offshore tax havens especially attractive to those seeking offshore trust solutions. Because there is big business to be gained by making the laws of your jurisdiction tax attractive and highly competitive when it comes to the attraction and retention of offshore trust business, it makes sense for these locations to be diversifying away from their current relatively heavy focus specifically on the offshore IBC business.
In terms of offshore trusts in the Bahamas and BVI now, it’s possible for the establishment of PTCs which are Private Trust Companies which, when created can specifically allow the person establishing the trust, (the settlor), greater control over the assets within the trust and the ongoing management of it. The Bahamanian bespoke PTC legislation makes this jurisdiction particularly attractive for those seeking offshore trust solutions for a family group for example.