The Best Oshore Banks - 2015 Edition

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The Best Oshore Banks - 2015 Edition

www.nomadcapitalist.com

INTRODUCTION
If you are an entrepreneur, you should consider setting up an offshore company.
Why? you might ask. The main reasons are following:

Potential tax savings

Asset protection
Currency Diversification

Who can benefit from setting up an offshore company?

E-commerce or web based businesses - People who live this way, being
able to work anywhere from a laptop with a decent internet connection, are
natural candidates for wanting an offshore company. You can choose to
register your company where you will pay the fewest taxes, or where it will
make you look best in the eyes of your audience.
International businesses - If your company is already all over the world,
finding the best offshore location to protect your interests is only natural. The
owners of international business can set themselves up through an offshore
company, allowing them to make their purchases and sales through the laws
of the offshore jurisdiction. The result is always better taxation.
Holders of wills and inheritance - An offshore company can often be
combined with an offshore trust to create an entity which optimizes your
inheritance tax laws.
Stock brokers and forex traders - Commonly, the biggest fear of people
who trade stocks is that their activity will somehow be used against them by
government goons. An offshore company is a great way to anonymously
trade stocks and shares, while also doing foreign exchange transactions
(FOREX).
People holding property - there are times when it is advantageous to hold
property you own through ownership of an offshore company.

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Intellectual property rights - If you own a patent or trade mark, registering

it in the name of an offshore company can allow you to buy and sell these
rights. Having these registered under an offshore company also makes it
easier to grant these rights to third parties.
Counsellors and consultants - Many counsellors and consultants who set up
an offshore company find it easy to manage their company through them
than their onshore counterparts. This is due to different, or relaxed,
bookkeeping and reporting needs. They also enjoy the taxation benefits of
the jurisdiction they choose to set up their offshore company in.
In The Offshore Company Guide we walk you through the process of deciding if
setting up an offshore corporation makes sense for you and if so.how and where
to do it.

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HOW TO SAVE
MONEY
INCORPORATING
OFFSHORE?

Everyone knows that some of the most important companies in the world have
a huge amount of capital and potentially taxable income in offshore accounts.
Indeed, it is estimated that there is more than $63 billion of USA corporate profits
being held offshore and not subject to USA Taxes. And its all legal and within the
law.
As a matter of fact there is over $47 Trillion in assets being held within the
Global Financial Industry (GFI)! Owners of these assets are made up of sovereign
nations, multinational corporations and individuals; in other words, legitimate and
legal ownership.
The uneducated and sensationalist media have colored the GFI as providing
avenues for skullduggery, drug dealers and money laundering. While there is some
truth there, those are very small exceptions. Globalization, international trade,
corporate and individual financial strategies make up the overwhelming reason for
the explosive growth in the offshore GFI.
Indeed, holding assets offshore is an important strategy. Corporations are charged
with optimizing profits for their stock holders. As taxation of profits is an expense
that can be reduced, corporations look for legitimate ways to reduce this expense.
The same holds for individuals.

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It is neither unethical nor illegal to seek relief from taxation. Tax law is an
important tool for governments to pursue funding for governmental services. Each
nation has different policies and budget requirements and different tax laws.
It used to be that most countries based on free market capitalism had the
lowest taxation policies to help stimulate business formations and success. After all,
it is much easier to collect taxes by taking them directly out of worker paychecks
(and making companies government tax collectors). But for well-known reasons we
wont discuss hear, the power and needs of governments around the world are
engaged in an ongoing battle between the interests of companies and individuals
on one hand and the governments on the other. As governments are given the
power to set tax law, they have very astute at packaging and implementing taxation
policies.

For most countries, profits from offshore activities become taxable when
the money is repatriated. If taxes are not paid on repatriated funds, then
it becomes money laundering.

The unspoken philosophy is: Tax law is complicated and confusing for a
reason. If a citizen or corporation wants to reduce their tax liabilities, they will have
to work for it. Corporations and wealthy individuals can afford to hire taxation
experts to help navigate the tens of thousands of pages of tax law to seek out the
appropriate loopholes. Indeed, the path has been paved for all to take advantage of
the government designed loopholes. It just takes some knowledge. And that is why
we offer the easy to understand book to help you make an intelligent and informed
decision.

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OFFSHORE ASSET
PROTECTION

Another important potential benefit of being offshore is the fact that possession is
9/10ths of the law. To open an offshore corporate bank account, you need to have
an offshore company registered and operational in the offshore jurisdiction. You
dont have to live there or actually operate the business locally. Indeed, any income
earned outside of the offshore jurisdiction is usually exempt from local taxation.

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If an offshore company operates in other countries and a law suit by creditors

is filed in a jurisdiction other than the offshore location, foreign judgements and
actions may not apply in the offshore juris-diction.
In reality, for a foreign judgement to be upheld in an offshore location usually
requires considerable expense added to the original costs of litigation by the foreign
litigant. Often, this can discourage any further pursuit. Importantly, there are some
circumstances when accounts can be frozen before a final legal decision can be
made and this can unfairly shut down a company.
Keep in mind that these occasions may never happen but there is the risk. And
as any responsible business leader or individual, reducing risk is an important
consideration in these times of uncertainty and rampant litigation. For this reason,
businesses protect themselves from liability as juries seem to go for blood when
there is the perception of deep pockets. The same holds for individuals in
professions that can expose them to individual liabilities. Physicians, contractors,
owners of buildings and apartments, etc. can all be targets for litigation and
potential judgements that can be way beyond insurance coverage. Indeed, any
person with significant assets can become targets for litigation.
Professional estate and financial planners, Tax attorneys and Corporate boards
understand the potential exposure and in many cases, it makes sense to diversify at
least a portion of assets away from legal and political risk.
To learn more by getting The Offshore company Guide
As foreign currencies are constantly changing values
relative to each other, there are times when just the
relative valuation of currencies can add substantially to
profits.
Likewise, relative devaluations can have the
opposite effect. As an international corporation, you have
the alternative to do business in countries whose
currencies may be stronger than the home country and
thus transactions are relatively more profitable.

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TYPE OF COMPANY
What type of offshore company should I set up?
There are five basic types of offshore companies that you can set up:
IBC International Business Company
PLC Private Limited Company
LLC Limited Liability Company
GBC Global Business Company
SRL Socit responsabilit limite (French) or Sociedade annima
de responsabilidade limitada (Portuguese)
Each type has its own unique strengths and appropriate uses. Some are only
available in certain offshore jurisdictions. We cover them in greater detail in our
Nomad Capitalist Offshore Company Guide.

What are the best countries for an offshore company?

The best place for setting up an offshore company depends on your goals. One
company might do alright setting up in a country with no accounting or audit
requirements and zero tax.
A company seeking to raise or pool capital might go somewhere else entirely.
Common traditional offshore jurisdictions include Nevis, Seychelles, Mauritius, the
British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Antigua, Anguilla, and even the Gambia in
Africa.
Other low-tax jurisdictions popular for offshore business include territories like
Gibraltar, as well as low-tax European countries like Ireland, Malta, and even zero
tax Estonia. In Asia, places like Hong Kong and Singapore offer the potential for

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zero or single-digit tax rates for foreign businesses, as well as a network of global tax
treaties.
Meanwhile, the Middle East is growing as an offshore hub, with Dubai and
Bahrain offering their services to those interested in that region.
The reality is that it can often be a good idea to pay a little bit of tax if doing so
keeps your home country off your back. As the global war on tax havens heats up,
setting up your business in a respected jurisdiction may be the best strategy for you.
In some cases, it may not even cost any more to do so.
A slightly larger, more diverse company might be better off going to Hong
Kong or Singapore and paying a small amount of tax to gain access to more worldclass banking, financial opportunities, and merchant services.

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REQUIREMENTS FOR
US CITIZENS
The US government has some tight restrictions on offshore companies. The biggest
advantage for an offshore company and taxes is the concept of tax deferment. This
essentially means that you can defer the taxes that are to be imposed upon your
company indefinitely.
With your taxes deferred you can take that money and reinvest it in your
company. When you combine this tax deferment with compounding interest, youre
talking about significant capital accumulation over the years. Youll only have to pay
these taxes off once you sell the company.
If you have been deferring taxes for a number of years, and using those funds to
either continue to build your business or invest otherwise, you will be coming out far
ahead of those who choose to not start an offshore company.
As a US citizen, however, you will be required to disclose any interest in an
offshore business you have on your taxes each year. You will also be required to
report any offshore bank accounts you are an owner of or signer on in most cases.
Failure to comply with these rules in the US or any other western country that
requires them can lead to steep penalties.
How to get started setting up an offshore company?
Searching the internet, the process of starting your offshore company seems
so easy. There are any number of providers that compete to offer the lowest price.
These are not the people you want to work with.
To make sure you dont go down the wrong road, read our Nomad Guide Offshore
Company

10

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GETTING STARTED
While the process of offshore incorporation itself is straightforward and can be done
in a matter of minutes in some countries, laying the proper groundwork before and
after the official process is important. This also means consulting with a provider who
understands the rules and regulations in your home country, which most so-called
lawyers on some deserted island have no idea how to handle.
The best thing you can do is choose the right representative and even overpay
a little. Once your company is approved and set up, the next step is to open a bank
account and possibly an offshore merchant account. Depending on where your
company is incorporated, your nationality, and where you want to bank, you may or
may not need to travel to the bank in person.
Of course, the most important first step is to simply take action. The sooner
you get your business set up, the sooner you can enjoy the benefits.
If you have read this far, setting up an offshore company is something you are
interested in. The next logical step is to dig a little deeper.

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