Offshore Tax Havens
Offshore Tax Havens by Shelter Offshore in Money Offshore
Published on 19 July 2008
Everyone knows that offshore bank accounts, corporations, trusts and strategies can be - and are - used by the super wealthy to evade taxation, but just how widespread the illegal use of these perfectly legitimate structures and solutions is, is suddenly becoming apparent as offshore taxation scandals are now rocking the US and Germany.
It’s a well-known fact that offshore solutions can offset taxation and even improve an individual’s tax status when used legitimately, and it is also well-known that many super wealthy illegally report their use of such structures to specifically avoid tax – but just how widespread the problem was is only now coming to light. If you thought offshore taxation was boring we can tell you that it is anything but as we reveal some of the scandals rocking the tax world currently.
Published on 23 June 2008
The Isle of Man has long been considered a tax haven by the very nature of the fact it’s an offshore haven where one can conceivably save tax! However, when is a tax haven not a tax haven?
Well, in the case of the Isle of Man they refute the label ‘tax haven’ because of the negative connotation it implies, and the jurisdiction has even gone so far as to lobby the Multistate Tax Commission Executive Committee in the US and attempt to have the OECD reclassify the Isle of Man…
Published on 22 May 2008
The Isle of Man has won the ‘Best International Financial Centre’ award at the 9th annual International Investment Fund & Product Awards 2008. The Isle of Man Treasury Minister, Hon. Allan Bell MHK was presented with the Award at a dinner for international finance professionals in London on 13 May 2008.
This just reinforces the generally accepted industry perception that the Isle of Man is not to be beaten when it comes to the best offshore tax havens and financial centres in the world. It is so well regulated and yet so competitive that time and time again, readers of Shelter Offshore seeking a strong and safe haven for their business and financial affairs select the Isle of Man.
Published on 15 April 2008
The Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Hong Kong officially enjoys the highest level of economic freedom in the world according to a recent survey conducted by the Heritage Foundation in association with the Wall Street Journal; and as a result, Hong Kong is emerging as an exciting offshore business centre.
The latest figures relating to the amount of foreign direct investment received and the number of new local companies registered in Hong Kong in 2007 really highlight just how successful the government of the special administrative region of China has been in creating an attractive fiscal environment. And according to offshore industry sources, despite the predicted 2008 global financial slowdown, Hong Kong is still positioned to expand as an offshore tax haven.
Published on 05 March 2008
The tiny Principality of Lichtenstein located deep in the heart of Western Europe is considered an uncooperative offshore tax haven by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - and now that reports abound about Lichtenstein bank data allegedly being sold to the UK and German tax authorities, could it just be that the jurisdiction has suddenly become unattractive too?
Until recently Lichtenstein was considered one of the most private and secure offshore tax havens in the world with significant penalties certainly incurred by anyone who dared break the location’s secrecy laws. Now it seems that external pressure from the OECD as well as an internal violation of the fundamental laws protecting the security of the Principality’s ‘customers’ could be putting more pressure on Lichtenstein than it can bear.
Published on 13 February 2008
According to comprehensive data relating to the development of various sectors of the offshore fiscal industry in the Isle of Man, this particular well-regulated and respected offshore tax haven is continuing to assert its dominance in the international financial services arena.
We have collated the pertinent facts and relevant data from the recent updates about the development of offshore financial business in the Isle of Man as part of our offshore tax havens update, this will enable individuals to assess and compare jurisdictions as they do their due diligence on which global centres offer them and their assets the most secure and competitive location for investment, insurance, banking etc.
Published on 10 February 2008
According to an in-depth report by Reuters, the US are planning an intensive crack down on offshore tax havens preferred by their elite and wealthy citizens.
The report focuses on Senator Carl Levin’s drive to stop taxation being avoided offshore by some of America’s most successful and affluent individuals. The Senator is proposing legislation and law changes to prevent offshore schemes being promoted in America, and he is also pushing for penalties to be placed on legal offshore centres in the same way as illegal offshore money laundering locations are penalised. So, offshore tax havens are to be targeted – but what does this mean for the average American tax payer?
Published on 06 January 2008
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…
Published on 02 January 2008
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.
Published on 28 November 2007
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.
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