Typically, our clients use the following types of offshore companies for international business structure & tax planning:

• Very low or zero tax offshore companies in jurisdictions often described as tax haven islands, such as the various types of offshore company that can be formed in offshore company formation centres such as the BVI or British Virgin Islands, Belize or the Seychelles & Brunei.
• Companies incorporated in jurisdictions which offer both offshore & onshore companies & which may be subject to favourable tax and/or specific offshore requirements. Example:

Mauritius has two types of company that are used  for offshore companies & international tax planning. The Mauritius Offshore Company GBCII pays zero tax & is effectively a tax haven company, similar in many respects to a BVI company, while Mauritius GBCI company is tax resident for tax purposes and typically used for double tax treaty and international tax planning.

Hong Kong, although generally not considered a tax haven, has a favourable tax regime which effectively means that well-structured, managed & controlled Hong Kong Companies can be used for undertaking offshore business and international business without paying tax in Hong Kong provided that any profits arising aren't made in Hong Kong. This type of tax regulation is known as "territorial taxation".

• The LLC or limited liability companie and the LLP or limited liability partnership types of businesses.

These classes of company are used for offshore business, international business and tax planning, because they have the advantage of limited liability but the flow-through characteristics of a partnership for tax purposes. By this we mean that the profits distributed among members in proportion to their respective holdings and are taxed in their hands. In some cases, if all members or affiliates aren't tax resident in the domicile of the LLC or LLP company and no business is conducted in the country, neither the LLC or LLP company or the members or partners will be subject to tax in its country of establishment. Such companies are said to be "fiscally transparent" &andexamples include U.S. LLCs, the Isle of Man LLC and the UK LLP.

• Companies incorporated in the many onshore countries have tax systems, laws, and tax for the benefit of specific international purposes.

The world of offshore is more complex than the black & white tax world inhabited by the media, offshore activities aren't just offshore but also onshore high tax countries competing hard to attract international businesses and individuals with all types of tax planning regulations and opportunities. These tax advantageous regulations are used for a wide range of tax planning matters, including:

• Double tax treaty planning relating to dividends, interest & royalty payments.
• Establishment of holding international headquarters treasury & finance operations.
• Specialist business, for example, leases.
• Personal and family wealth management & tax planning.

In fact, almost all countries have tax laws of one kind or another to encourage inward investment.

International Tax advisers have long been aware of the opportunities that exist to improve the overall tax efficiency by using special low tax regimes offered by high tax countries seeking to encourage international business. However, the successful implementation of such structures is dependent on a variety of issues, often on issues such as anti-avoidance provisions, double tax avoidance, controlled foreign company, management and control tests and provisions, transfer pricing, thin capitalization, the participation exemption, capital tax and a myriad of other ever-changing tax regulations. More recently, contained weapons in the arsenal of tax collectors have been supplemented by information exchange treaties & regulations.

So today, offshore world includes the expert implementation of specific tax advantageous structures domiciled in high tax onshore countries as diverse as the United Kingdom, Portugal, Singapore, Greece, Belgium, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, Luxembourg & Holland.

We specialise in the following Offshore company services:

company incorporation Offshore - Offshore company formation - companies Offshore - businesses for sale Offshore - starting a business Offshore - business opportunities Offshore - setting up business Offshore - Offshore business services - Offshore international trade - investment opportunities Offshore - incorporation of new Offshore businesses - multinational company services Offshore - Offshore formations with bank account - small business setup Offshore