WHAT IS A TAX HAVEN?

A tax haven can be used to gain more income, secrecy or to set up your another company. You could also use a tax haven as a new form of your life insurance, so when you pass on you could leave a large sum of untaxed money for your loved ones. A tax haven is beneficial to both parties involved, the country who is a tax haven for corporations or the corporates or the individuals.

Well the main and obvious reason that; most people are drawn to tax havens, is simple the lower or potentially non-existent tax laws that; exist in the tax haven are better than the ones in your own country. Many wealthy people enjoy the prospect of paying less taxes, after all you worked hard for that money, it is unfair for someone to come and claim a large portion of your hard earned revenue earned thorough your hard work.

Many people whom are interested in hiding their funds from their home country for what ever reason that; may also reap the benefits of a tax haven, due to the fact that; they practice financial secrecy, meaning they do not need to provide financial record to a foreign country. Financial secrecy of course can be circumvented by foreign authorities if certain criteria are not met, such as the person whose financial records are in question were to get arrested in the country that; is requesting financial documents.

As already told it’s allows you to legally evade taxes or to earn more interest or to save your money.

Offshore accounts also allow us to legally avoid taxes. You often hear about people who have accounts abroad in order to evade taxes, whether in Switzerland, Andorra or any other country. This may lead us to believe that, depositing money in offshore accounts is illegal, when in reality in most cases this is not true.

Although evading taxes is not a good solution, nor we encourage, especially considering the automatic exchange of tax data information between countries or TIEA – Tax Information Exchange Agreements or FATCA – Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. If you are not always up to date with your tax book, account management it´s likely that; sooner or later someone will discover what you were hiding and where. But that; doesn´t mean that we can not try to avoid taxes by following and within what the limitation of laws. Increasingly high taxes and complicated regulations lead citizens around the world as they look for an alternatives that; allow them to save some of their hard earned money.

Or may be because you are planning open another bank account to secure your assets or to move to that country and need an account from which to pay your bills, manage daily expenses. May be because you are intending to invest in a real estate in that country and need an account into which to receive your payments and again from which to pay related expenses or taxes.

If you are intending to live or retire, either full or part-time, in your chosen overseas heaven then, to state the obvious that; is the place where you need a bank account. In this case, you are talking about a personal or an individual account.

Same goes if you are purchasing a rental property in another country. You will need a personal operating account to support that investment. If the investment you plan is in a business, then you may need a corporate or business account. Maybe already you own business and want to make transfer or online payment without being monitored by the authority of the country of your origin or want to avoid high taxes or if there any fund transfer limits.

Other possible reasons for an individual to open a bank account in tax haven would be for insurance purposes, we know with our experience most of you have a some of money you put aside just for emergency purposes. In an area where there is no tax or low tax and you can collect interest it is a win-win situation, your emergency and urgent cash can just sit and grow securely if that; is what you desire. An individual could also put money away for loved ones in the event of any unavoidable circumstances or in your absence, if this is the case your money would not be taxed when you are to pass on.

Could you benefit from an offshore bank account?
As already discussed; not only is banking offshore legal, for the majority of internationally minded individuals and companies it makes increasing sense. Banking in a jurisdiction other than the one in which you live or do business can bring multiple benefits, and whilst we will enable you to identify how an offshore bank account could personally enhance your own position, here are few and most commonly sought advantages from offshore bank accounts we suggest:

i. Security
The Mediterranean island of Cyprus made global headlines in 2013 when its financial system crashed on the brink of collapse, due in large part to its banks’ exposure to over-leveraged property companies. The economy was brought back from the brink by an EU bailout, paid in return for the confiscation of depositor’s funds. In effect, the Cypriot government took money out of common people’s bank accounts to refloat its economy.

Considering many American, British and European banks have equally toxic asset portfolios and many Western nations are equally economically stressed, there is every chance that; what happened in Cyprus will repeat again. To protect yourself from this political risk, false implication, uncertainty, consider banking in a such a jurisdiction with lower debt, where it will be harder for anyone, (from your government to a disenchanted former personal or business partner), to get their hands on your wealth.

ii. Changes
You may already diversify your asset holdings across multiple classes; from stocks to bonds to real estate for example, but true diversification comes when you lose your home country bias. By choosing the right international account in the best offshore jurisdiction you can potentially diversify across currencies, you can easily gain exposure to global financial trends and opportunities and you can of course reduce exposure to your own nation’s political or economic risks.

iii. Accessibility and Flexibility
Many international banks offering offshore accounts focus on the flexibility of their product, because they know their clients need global access to their funds. Accessibility can be facilitated via worldwide accepted debit or credit cards and 24 x 7 access to internet and telephone banking, meaning that no matter where in the world you are located, you can access your offshore banked account and funds without being monitored, restriction or any obstacle.

iv. Privacy and Secrecy
Depending on the jurisdiction you choose you may be able to enjoy greater asset and transactional confidentiality and enhanced privacy and security from an offshore bank account. We have such offer for you which are unknown to most of the people or agencies and you will never be exposed. Our business policy is very strict and simple, we never share personal information with any third party or any agencies. We destroy all personal information immediately after service. We never keep any documents, personal information or phone number of our clients with us.

Some of the best-respected offshore jurisdictions place great emphasis on the protection of identity and the maintenance of confidentiality of their customer. If you bank therein this can mean that, you can protect your assets from speculative litigious behaviour for example and shield yourself and your wealth from being seized or attached.

v. Tax Savings
Offshore bank accounts can pay gross interest and if you live in a country where offshore-earned income is tax free or very low taxed, you may be able to enjoy tax saving benefits from an appropriately located and structured foreign account.

vi. Enhanced Interest Rates
Depending on where you are comfortable banking offshore, you may be able to enjoy improved interest rates on your liquid assets. In the UK, Europe, America, Asia or most of the countries and continents around the globe interest rates remain at historically low, elsewhere in the world improved rates are achievable depending on the jurisdiction and currency you choose.

vii. Lower Fees and Tariff
If you regularly transact internationally an offshore bank account could significantly reduce your foreign exchange and transfer fees significantly very low, speed up your transactions and cost you far less in actual terms. Depending on the jurisdiction and bank you choose, it is possible to benefit from low or even fee-free banking in multiple currencies, as well as more favourable exchange rates and international transfer fees, making your overall banking business cost almost nil.

viii. Easy to Open
We “Offshore Tax Heaven & Worldwide Immigration” (OTHWI) are always ready with our helping hand and massive knowledge with offshore banking systems, company incorporation, new company registration and immigration regulations. And we guide you to choose suitable country near to your country of your origin where you can open your personal bank account or company account account in just few days or weeks and most importantly with limited investment. We even help you to have your multiple entry business visa, temporary residence permit, tax card etc. ready for sure.

Depending on the individual business profile, financial status, professional and personal background of the client, we can offer bank account introductions with reputable banks in several popular offshore banking jurisdictions across the globe.

For many clients it may be practical to open the offshore bank account in a country situated closer to the place of the actual residence or business of the company or to the actual location of its beneficial owners. Many owners of offshore companies tend to operate the companies by themselves and open the offshore accounts independently in a location and with bankers that; they may already be familiar with. If the beneficial owner wishes to avoid the company being taxed heavily in his own country, he primarily should avoid having and operating a bank account in the same country.

Some banks require a personal meeting with the underlying client (beneficial owner or company director) of the International Business Company (IBC) either before the account is opened or within a certain time frame after the account is made operative. An offshore bank account opening is not automatic and is not guaranteed as well. Banks have different countries client-acceptance policies, and may reject clients from certain countries or with certain types of businesses.

Upon getting to know the business background and financial standing of the client we can usually introduce a bank which is the most suitable to the circumstances.

Consider following scenario and then decide whether you should contact us about setting up an offshore bank account or company account appropriately structured to suit your exact requirements:

Confiscation:
You live and work in a civilised country, your money is in one of the leading nationalised banks, apparently protected by a some sort of depositor protection scheme, you have a distinctly home country bias when it comes to money matters, owning your own home and having a few savings accounts and investments dotted about nationally.

But if yours is a nation in the developed or under developed country, everyone knows it has a shaky economy mired in deep debt, political unrest and it has banks with toxic assets, some of which have failed already. At best your country may have an underfunded investor protection scheme, at the worst it has an insolvent one. So when the economy starts to sink again economically, because it will, or there is a run on the financial institutions, your home country bias could cost you everything what you have saved so far.

Following already established international precedents your bank could limit or even prevent you from withdrawing your funds, your government could confiscate your savings, your bank could go bust and any depositor protection funds could fall drastically short or there will be huge shortage of cash flow.

Individuals looking to find a tax haven to face less taxes there is good news, many tax havens exist with no tax or low tax whatsoever on foreign income which means any income earned in your home country will not be taxed or totally tax free or very low tax in tax haven. Some countries that; do not have taxation on foreign income (but are not limited to) the Bahamas, Hong Kong, The British Virgin Islands and few more places. Many reasons to go offshore with your funds involve privacy and the tax haven countries laws pertaining to the matter of financial secrecy.

A corporation has many of the same reasons an individual would have to join a tax haven, usually it is to avoid the high taxation of their country of origin. A corporation is less likely to make use of a tax haven for illegal purposes unless the business was built upon shady business practices and criminal activity. Many corporations are already incorporated in some way a tax haven, usually to increase revenue, some just an emergency fund, a little something off the books for emergencies, perhaps an economic collapse or you need to get away for whatever the reason is.

Unfortunately for corporations there are hardly any tax havens that; exist with total amnesty from taxes or authorities. However, there are tax havens that have extremely low tax rates for international corporations, some of these countries include (but are not limited to) Belize, Panama, Barbados, Cambodia or Vanuatu. These countries can have corporate tax rates as low as 1%, where as the U.S and some other countries have 30% corporate tax or even more. While choosing to go to a tax haven, you need to know that; like any other country there are different tax laws for corporations or corporates.

Most tax havens are in the Caribbean are well known but there are many tax havens in our sub continent too which are not much known till date and it is practically wise to choose such jurisdictions instead of well known or which are already published in various domain or platform. There are plenty of other tax havens throughout the world, no matter which continent you are on. When choosing a tax haven, you will need to know exactly for what needs you are looking to fulfill by moving your funds offshore, are you an individual or a corporation?

• Are you looking to avoid high taxation?
• Are you looking to avoid persecution from your own country?
• Is there any instability with the financial institutions?
• Are you being targeted?
• Are you looking for higher interest rate?
• Initiate an international payment or transfer without much hassle.

These are few common questions of many that; need to be considered first while choosing a right Tax Haven to open an account or to form a company or to going for a second passport.

If you want to set up an account in a top offshore tax haven in 2018, you need company or employer work visa or a residency visa or a company with physical address with local tax paid receipt or number, source of funds and many more information as well as legal documents. Banks want you to show a connection to the country and a need (not a desire) for an account. The easiest way to do this is to become a legal resident by buying a passport if immigration through investment programme is available or buying a business visa or golden visa through investment. Or even you can form a company or trust where investment is considerably less. The simplest way is to find a sponsorship, an employment or a residence permit.

You can get residency in Singapore with an investment of $2.5 million or more. In contrast, you can get residency in Panama with $ 20,000. Invest this amount in Panama’s green initiative and have legal residency in about 2 months. Kindly visit our Immigration through Investment Programme page for more details.

We “Offshore Tax Heaven & Worldwide Immigration” (OTHWI); have wide range of jurisdictions from America to Africa to Caribbeans to Europe to Asia to Oceania and rendering our service to our clients who can easily open an offshore bank account in Asia with just few thousand Dollars. We have solutions for every clients and investment.

Many tax havens have rules and legislation in place to protect the secrecy of their clients in mind. In most countries with financial secrecy carry punishment of jail term and heavy monetary fines to any financial institutions giving out information without the account holder’s permission or proper legal documentation. Many of these jurisdictions, along with financial secrecy, also practice minimal report requirements on your finances which also for more privacy and ultimately more control over your business, earnings and funds.

As already mentioned that, well known tax havens are in Caribbean, the ones you want to look for are the ones who offer a tax haven company option and no taxes for a tax haven company. Some countries such as the Bahamas offer twenty years of no taxes, while others you have to pay a small yearly fee for a license to operate. But there are few more tax haven jurisdictions are in Asia can also be considered. While choosing your best option for a tax haven you want one with the lowest possible interest rate and highest amount secrecy with less investment to start with if possible, this is to allow you to have the most control over your assets or funds.

There is no such thing called “anonymous accounts”! All banks are required by law to know their clients or KYC in very comprehensive detail. While account introduction through an approved intermediary (like us) is still possible without personal appearance in case of an individual or the company owner in the bank, the banks will still require to know their clients and their business dealings, source of funds in full details. This is simply required by the laws that; regulate banking industry and there are no exceptions. Eventually you can hide your offshore personal account or company account from the authorities of country of your origin.

To open a corporate account for an offshore company, all banks will require detailed personal and business information from the owners and controllers of the offshore account. In particular the bank will need to know and identify the actual beneficial owner (s) of the offshore company. All owners and controllers of the International Business Company (IBC) as well as everyone who will be granted with account signatory rights, need to be properly identified and have to provide a number of documents; such as a detailed CV, a certified passport copy, a copy of photo ID, residence address proof, a bankers and/ or professional reference letter, a detailed business description and a cash flow forecast. These documentary requirements may vary from bank to bank or jurisdictions but their general purpose remain same in all most all the banks around the world.

Utilizing appointed directors and nominee shareholders is certainly helpful in respect of avoiding unnecessary public scrutiny and crucial for tax optimization however these confidentiality functions are fairly irrelevant in bank account openings. Any bank will primarily be interested to establish the actual, real owners of the company or the account holder and will not be satisfied by merely getting the data on appointed managers or representatives or agencies.

Through New Generation Banking System or online banking technology. Any kind of  transfer, investment or even the opening or closing of various accounts can be handled in a matter of minutes via the Internet from anywhere in the globe. You actually need not to visit your offshore bank frequently.

Kindly contact “Offshore Tax Heaven & Worldwide Immigration” (OTHWI) for more details on how to open the most effective and easiest offshore bank account, company incorporation or a second passport now.

Some Swiss investment banks require minimum deposits of as much as US $ 2 million or more to open an account. That doesn’t work even with everyone. On the other hand, in Asia, for example, you can open a bank account with as little as US $ 500 or even less. Yes; it is possible through us!

Yes/No, we have agreements with offshore banks where we obtain client’s signatures and verify their authenticity. However, all the information and documents required by the bank will have to be provided by the client.

The standard set of International Business Company (IBC) documentation (if properly certified by notary and legalized by Apostille) will usually satisfy the formal requirements of most banks, insofar the internal structure and set-up of the company itself is concerned. However, as indicated above, in order to open a bank account for an offshore company, the most important aspect is the profile of the actual owners and controllers of the company, their business and area of operation etc.

Please feel free to contact us for more detailed information on your specific banking requirements.

Opening offshore bank accounts is becoming increasingly more difficult due to international transparency and anti-money laundering initiatives. Many financial institutions will no longer open accounts for offshore companies and individuals from certain countries. Others will only open accounts for companies or individuals those have been introduced by a recognized and licensed service provider that; is from their “approved list”. For individuals; temporary or permanent residence permit, for expat; job guarantee from a legitimate company, company introducer, tax paid receipt or card and may more documents are required.

As the name itself suggests the account introduction fee is payable to a professional service rendered by us, whereby we introduce our client to a particular bank. Please note that; the bank account introduction fee as quoted in our fees schedule is not a success fee; which is payable purely for a bank account opening purpose. Payment of this fee anyway does not guarantee the opening of the account!

A bank introduction means; we will introduce you to a suitable bank as a potential client. We will provide you with a full set of account opening forms, documents and a set of samples and instructions of how accurately complete those formalities. We will also formally introduce you to a competent customer service manager directly in the bank. Certainly we will provide you with the corporate documentation for your new company or trust will be prepared as per banks’ documentary requirements and regulations.

However, we can not and we do not guarantee that; the account will be opened! While we apply our best effort, knowledge and our considerable experience to determine in advance whether a particular client might be accepted by a particular bank in a particular country or jurisdiction and to help prepare the application documents and information to look as suitable as possible for the bank’s specific requirements this does not in any way guarantee the success of the account opening. The success of a bank account opening for an individual or an offshore company mostly depends on the background information of the individual or the beneficial owner of the company, his personal profile and the pattern of his business, source of funds. This is something that; we can not influence or help. Although our success record is almost 99%.

The bank introduction service is completed when any one of the following happens:

1) the bank issues a formal letter (under the banks’ letterhead), addressed to the new applicant, advising that; the account has been opened and indicating the account number.

2) the bank issues a similar formal letter addressing that; it has reviewed the application and has refused to open an account. All further works and actions that; we might be asked to perform in relation to the new bank account (such as handling correspondence and payments to and from the bank, arranging for further financial services, obtaining credit and debit cards, arranging remote banking facilities, opening further accounts, etc.) are to be paid extra, either on time-spent basis or under separate arrangement. In particular, we can provide a full bank account management service or financial solutions.

Nowadays all most all banks are required to report the financial statistics and account related information of individuals or offshore companies to the Tax Authorities of the countries where the beneficial owners are residents (except few countries).

TIEA: “Tax Information Exchange Agreements”, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) designed the “Tax Information Exchange Agreement” (TIEA) to enable high tax countries to request information from foreign financial institutions about clients who are suspected of holding funds away from their country. Many people will worry about the possible existence of a TIEA between your country of origin and an offshore banking country. The first important fact to know is that; the country making the TIEA request must have evidence which links an offshore account to a tax resident of the requesting country. Basically, this means; there must be evidence linking the offshore bank to the onshore account of the tax resident; for example: transfers, frequent debit card usage, corporation documents, banking forms or access to an offshore bank’s website’s online banking page, etc.

FATCA: “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act”, regarding the beneficial owners from the USA and CRS regarding individuals of the countries that; have committed to this system. No information is shared about the residents of the countries that; have not committed to CRS. More information about “Tax Information Exchange Agreements” (TIEA), “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act” (FATCA) and CRS can be found on the websites of the respective authorities or the country.

Apart from information sharing under Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA), Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and CRS only to the tax authorities and only for tax purposes any other confidential banking and personal information may only be divulged if demanded so by a court ruling or any special cases. Such ruling naturally would have to be based on extremely serious circumstances or rare cases under the applicable criminal laws and following a proper criminal investigation carried out domestically or internationally. Information-sharing, reporting or any kind of release of confidential banking secrecy and information to any foreign party or foreign government is strictly prohibited. Severe financial and criminal penalties await anyone who divulges client information this concerns both the bankers as well as the agents involved.

Unnamed debit cards are much more difficult to track, especially if they are from non tax havens and coded as gift cards. It is also important to note that; a TIEA request is not free; the requesting country has to pay. For this reason, countries may be more careful who they choose to investigate. According to the tax justice network, this payment requirement is the main reason for the comparatively small number of requests. The number of TIEA requests is typically less than 100 per year, even in popular tax havens.

Recent significant changes have taken place, affecting requests for information that; are made with little information or evidence to support this request, known metaphorically as fishing expeditions. The main difference is that; now the country receiving the request should provide any evidence, regardless of whether it seems to be tax related or not. Of course, the country receiving the request must also adhere to its own rules and regulations and could find that; there are insufficient grounds to provide the information.

Indian Laws:
An Indian, having attained the age of 18 can apply for a new account in any offshore bank or foreign bank with the ceiling for the financial year. The Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) permits an individual to open an offshore account for the purpose of conducting business. At the same time, an NRI, who becomes a resident Indian later, can continue to hold and operate her/ his international bank account without any restrictions.

Holding any Company/ Trust/ Asset/ Investment in offshore jurisdictions is not a crime in India and can never be. However, Non-Reporting of Offshore Assets (Read 100% stake in foreign company) was always an offence and will always be.

Rate of tax: Undisclosed foreign income or assets  shall be taxed at the flat rate of thirty percent (30%). No exemption or  deduction or set off of any carried forward losses which may be  admissible under the existing Income-tax Act, 1961, shall be allowed.

European Laws:
Exchange of information between countries are becoming more and more common. In 2005; EU countries decided to share information between themselves on bank account holders. EU tax havens put up their hands in objection. So the EU Savings Tax Directive was adopted. If you are an EU citizen, holding an account in one of the European tax havens, the bank is now obliged to withhold tax from interest paid to you in lieu of exchanging information. However, if you are resident outside the EU you are exempted unless you return to live there. 

The USA Laws:
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is being rolled out by the US government worldwide in response to the growing number of US citizens who were discovered trying to evade tax by holding accounts in foreign soil. The approach is two-pronged: banks and wealth managers are now required to report these holdings or withhold 30 percent tax (30%) from income from US financial assets they hold and US owners of these foreign held assets must now report them in their tax returns if they are above $ 50,000. A failure to report can invoke up to 40 percent (40%) penalties. However if you are an US citizen residing outside the US, the reporting threshold is relatively high as $ 200,000 for single and $ 400,000 for married tax filers. The practical effect of these burdensome requirements has been for a number of offshore financial institutions to close down accounts held by US expats and to refuse to accept new US expat applications.

Whilst it is probably essential for you, offshore banking is not the only option open to you. There are also investment options available which give you a higher degree of confidentiality and quality of safety of your investment. Although these investments are meant for the longer term. Your offshore bank account is ideal for day to day transactions rather than asset accumulation and growth. Nonetheless; investment products and procedure are becoming more sophisticated day by day and there are some investment establishment which have arrangements with the financial institutions so that you can use an ATM card to withdraw cash from the investment.

This is as much a political issue, economic and constitutional question as a matter of tax insight. However there appear to be three broad historical reasons behind this.

First, because of; every sovereign country is allowed to set its own taxation system and regulations. This is a fundamental principle right of international relations. One country should not be allowed to set the tax rates of another. Even colonies gained almost total control over their taxation systems as the idea developed that; they should be expected to evolve toward independence.

Second, because if; ignoring the first point; these countries were not allowed to attract financial services business, many of them would need development aid for themselves. The recent hurricanes in the Caribbean have shown just how impoverished some of these countries would be without a financial services industry or aids.

And third  possibly most probably, because International Financial Centre (IFCs) play an important role in the world economy without which a lot of international trade would not take place.