Scottish LPs (Scotland Limited Partnerships)

A Scotland LP is a privately-owned Limited Partnership wherein 2 or more persons or corporate entities are nominated as the Partners/Members of the LP. At least one of the Partners in the LP must be nominated as “General Partner (i.e. “Managing Partner”). The Partners/Members may be natural persons or corporate bodies from any country (ie there is no requirement to have a Scottish resident Partner).

 

Key Features:

 

  • Minimum two partners (Nominee partners can be provided)
  • Company House will hold in the public records only the names of the Members/Partners (which are commonly offshore entities).
  • Each Scottish LP must have a Registered office in Scotland (which service OCI can provide)
  • There is no requirement to keep accounts
  • There is no requirement to file a tax return with the Scottish/UK Revenue Service
  • There is no audit requirement
  • Shelf partnerships are available for purchase
  • Not perceived as a “Tax Haven” Entity but can achieve the same ends (ie a nil tax result, see below)
  • Particularly advantageous for those looking to do business in Europe
  • Low set up cost (can be capitalized with as little as GBP2!)
  • No requirement to file beneficial owners’ details
  • Nominee Partners can be deployed
  • Board Meetings can be held anywhere
  • VERY high political/economic stability
  • Affords access to UK Banks

 

Common Uses For Scottish LPs

 

Non-Resident Scotttish LPs (ie where the Partners are companies/persons based outside the European Community) are commonly used for:

  • the holding of investments/assets including real property, Mutual Fund Interests, IP etc
  • holding the shares of limited companies
  • international trading operations
  • consultancy and personal service companies

 

Taxation

 

A Scottish LP is not liable to declare income or pay tax in the UK where the members of the Scottish LP are based outside the UK and there is no business activity taking place inside the UK.

 

LPs are classified, for tax purposes as pass through entities. That is the Partnership is not liable to file a tax return or pay tax provided it distributes its income to the Partners. In accordance with general UK tax protocols, the income of the LP is treated as being the income of its Partners, and therefore the Partners agreed share of Partnership profits are only taxable in the Partners’ countries of residence (eg the jurisdiction of incorporation, in the case of corporate Members).

 

Where the Partners of a Scottish LP are themselves zero tax entities (eg 2 tax free International Business Companies or nil tax Offshore trusts or nil tax Private Foundations) profits generated from a Scottish LP can be banked free from tax.

 

Price and Inclusions

 

OCI (www.offshoreincorporate.com) can assist you to set up a Scottish LP.

 

Included in the all-inclusive set up price of $800 for a Scottish Limited Partnership are the following components:

 

Services:

 

  • Unlimited name availability inquiries
  • Advice from an experienced International Corporate Lawyer on how to structure your Limited Partnership
  • Preparation (overseen by a Lawyer) of application to register the Limited Partnership
  • Preparation (overseen by a Lawyer) of the Limited Partnership agreement
  • Preparation (overseen by a Lawyer) of the Statement of Particulars
  • Attending to filing the Limited Partnership registration request with the registry
  • Attending to payment of government filing fees
  • One year’s Registered Agent’s service in the country of registration
  • One year’s Registered Office service in the country of registration
  • Mailing address in the country of registration
  • Delivery of registration pack by international courier (ie DHL/Fedex/TNT etc)
  • Unlimited free legal consultations for 12 months

 

Documents included in the Set Up Pack:

 

  • Certificate of Incorporation
  • Partnership Agreement (drafted/tailored by our In House Lawyer)
  • First Minutes recording formation
  • Membership Certificates
  • Combined Company Register
  • Certificate of Incorporation (on Companies House card)
  • First Minutes recording formation
  • Membership Certificates
  • Combined Company Register
  • Resolution to open a bank account for the Partnership
  • Resolution to appoint a lawyer for the Partnership
  • Resolution to appoint an accountant for the Partnership

 

From 2nd year: $600

 

Includes:

  • Annual Government fee
  • Provision of Registered Office in Scotland
  • Provision of Registered Agent in Scotland
  • Mailing address in the country of registration
  • Unlimited free legal consultations for 12 months

 

Additional Services Available:

 

Provision of 2 (OCI Owned) Tax Free IBCs to act as Nominee Partners: $US800 per year

 

Assistance to open bank account: From $475

 

Would you like to know more? Then please Contact Us:

 

www.offshoreincorporate.com

 

info@offshorecompaniesinternational.com

 

ocil@protonmail.com

 

oci@tutanota.com

 

oci@safe-mail.net

 

ociceo@hushmail.com

 

Why Incorporate in Hong Kong?

We are often asked Where is the best place to incorporate my tax free Offshore Company?

 

It may interest you to know that to date over 75% of all clients have chosen to incorporate their nil tax Company in Hong Kong.

 

Hong Kong is a terrific jurisdiction in which to house a Company in that:

 
1. HK does not tax its Companies on income earned outside of Hong Kong

 

2. HK companies are not widely perceived as “Tax Haven” companies

 
3. There is so much money flowing out of China via Hong Kong to places like the US and Europe on any given day that payments from a HK company to you are unlikely to attract regulatory type inquiry.

 

4. Hong Kong is the gateway for investment into China and ideal location for your international headquarters if you aspire to sell your products or services in China

 

5. Hong Kong is nowhere near as regulated as other big financial centres. Many businesses/companies that would otherwise require special licenses elsewhere to do business can operate in and from Hong Kong as of right.

 

6. (If you aspire to live in Hong Kong) work/residency permits are relatively easy to obtain once you register a Company/Business in Hong Kong.

 

7. Hong Kong has a highly educated and relatively inexpensive work/labour force.

 

8. Availability of high quality professional and ancillary services: Historically Hong Kong is the New York of the Orient and hence offers access on the ground to high quality law firms, Banks, Finance/Accounting Professionals etc.

 

9. Hong Kong doesn’t levy CGT (Capital Gains Tax) and does not impose WHT (withholding tax) on payments made by a HK Company to person/entities resident outside of HK  which makes a Hong Kong Company an ideal structure for holding shares in other companies or as an IP holding entity

 

10. Incorporating in Hong Kong will give you access to THE widest selection of banks. (A number of banks will not accept “island tax haven” type Companies as customers including all Hong Kong Banks and several noted European banks)

 

Additionally a Hong Kong Limited Company isn’t classified as a for offshore use only corp and thus, at Incorporation, it is given a Business License PLUS a local tax number. Internationally more and more suppliers are asking to sight a tax ID before they will do business with you. Not all Offshore jurisdictions can or will supply a Tax Number.

 

(and if you run a website business you might like to note a Hong Kong Company is the only zero tax company we are aware of for which Paypal will supply a Merchant account)

 

To set up a Hong Kong Company may not be as expensive as you think. With OCI you can incorporate a nil Hong Kong for as little as $US2,500.

 

Would you like to know more? Then please Contact Us:

 

www.offshoreincorporate.com

 

info@offshorecompaniesinternational.com

 

ocil@protonmail.com

 

oci@tutanota.com

 

oci@safe-mail.net

 

ociceo@hushmail.com

 

Umm Al Quwain Companies

Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone (UAQ FTZ) is located in Umm Al Quwain, one of the United Arab Emirates’ (“UAE”) seven emirates renowned for its modern infrastructure and striking natural beauty.

 

Umm Al Quwain (also a growing tourist destination within the UAE) being a relatively new Free Trade Zone in the UAE, offers very competitive fees plus the ability for documents to be signed remotely (an Umm Al Quwain FZ company can be set up without the shareholders being present at the time as long as they visited UAE in the past).

 

Benefits of incorporating in Umm Al Quwain (“UAQ”) include:

 

• access to the UAE’s extensive network of Double Taxation Avoidance Treaties (the UAE has signed DTAs with over 80countries
• 100 per cent foreign ownership is permitted
• zero corporate and personal income taxes
• An UAQ Corp can have up to 50 shareholders
• 100 per cent import and export tax exemption within the FTZ
• fast registration process
• proximity to two international airports, Dubai and Sharjah, and major sea ports
• no restrictions on hiring foreign employees

 

Types of licences allowed when registering an Umm Al Quwain Company 

 

1. COMMERCIAL LICENSE (TRADING LICENSE)
There are two types of license, which fall under this category: Commercial License and General Trading License.
Commercial License: This authorizes the import, export, distribution and storing of items specified on the license. A Commercial License can have three different product lines or 10 similar product lines.
General Trading License: This enables the licensee to trade in a wider range of activities and gives the freedom and flexibility to trade in any commodity, which is permitted within the UAE.
Note: Commodities which require special approval or clearance from various UAE authorities e.g. explosives and armaments cannot be traded with a General Trading license.
Usual activities include i.e. Trading with Automobiles, Seeds Trading, Coal & firewood trading, cotton and natural fibers trading, etc.

 

2. CONSULTANCY LICENSE
This is for entities, which offer expert or professional advice, and is issued to all manner of professionals including artisans and craftsmen. It allows two similar activities.
Activities usually registered include Marketing Consultancy, Management Consultancy and IT Consultancy.

 

3. FREELANCE PERMIT
This allows an individual to operate as a freelance professional, and conduct business in one’s birth name as opposed to a brand name or company. The Freelance Permit is designed for individuals who operate in technology, media and film sectors, and is issued to talent roles, creative roles and selected administrative roles. (Activities usually registered include Actors, Artists, Photographer and Producers).

 

4. INDUSTRIAL LICENSE
This enables the licensee to import raw materials, then manufacture/ process / assemble / package the specified products, and export the finished product. It allows the holder to import raw materials for the purpose of manufacturing, processing and/or assembly of specified products.

 

5. SERVICE LICENSE
This license is for service providers. It permits the licensee to carry out the services specified on the license within the Free Zone, such as Logistics; Courier Services; Insurance Service Provider; Travel Agency; Tour Services; Car Rental etc.

 

Obtaining an Umm Al Quwain tax resident certificate and residence permits

 

An Umm Al Quwain FZ Corp can issue residence permits and obtain tax residence certificates from the UAE authorities for its foreign owners and executives. A FZ company, must have physical presence in the UAE and, in that respect, it must own or hire premises.

 

Private accommodation is not necessary for Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone Authority when applying for residence but many do this to reinforce their case for substance and legitimacy.

 

As far as the company is concerned, it must have physical presence in the UAE. In that regard, the most interesting and cost effective options are proposed by free zones situated in a number of emirates including Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone (UAQ FTZ). Usually, these options consist of “flexi desks” or “flexi offices”.

 

Furthermore, and if a local bank account is maintained with regular account movements, the foreign owners and executives can apply to the UAE Ministry of Finance to receive UAE tax residence certificates.

 

A UAE residence permit and a tax residence certificate can be useful to foreign owners and executives who wish to register their tax residency in the UAE. It is worth noting, that banking institutions in UAE and many outside consider UAE tax residence certificates as sufficient proof of tax residency in the UAE. 

 

UAQ Companies in Summary

 

Main Characteristics:

 100% foreign ownership permitted;

 Tax free;

 Large variety of permitted activities;

 No exchange control;

 Easy and fast incorporation procedure;

 Good location and access to the main sea routes;

 Ideal conditions for micro business.

 

Company type:

FZE (Free Zone Establishment) – owned by 1 person or entity.

FZC (Free Zone Company) – from 2 up to 50 shareholders.

Brunch of local or international company

 

License type:

 Commercial License

 Consultancy License

 General Trading License

 Premium Consultancy License

 Micro Business License

 Freelance Permit

 

Share capital:

The minimum Share capital for a standard FZE and FZC is 300,000 AED. No supporting documents are required.

 

Types of Offices:

Smart and Physical offices. A wide range of warehouses and land.

 

Visas:

 For micro business – 0

 Freelance permit – 1

 Consulting / commercial – 2

 General trading license – 3

 Premium Consultancy -3

 

Accounting: Accounting is not required

Reporting and auditing: Company is not required to keep records.
Umm-al-Quwain FTZ

Startup Business Package (USD)

 

The best option for the clients, who require only one Visa:
Activity Commercial or Consultancy
Visa Eligibility One visa
Facility Shared work station
 Company Incorp Package (USD) : Cost:                                             3,700
Professional Fee 3,500
Total** 7,200
 Company renewal from the 2nd year:
Company Renewal Cost 3,700
Professional Fee 3,000
Total** * Package includes: Company registration, Annual license fee, Premium office facility, Establishment card.

** Visa fee isn’t included and is paid additionally

Visa cost:

Investor Visa: Visa Package (USD 995) + Medical Fitness Test (USD 320) + Emirates ID (USD 150) (3 years VISA) + Professional Fee (USD 950).

Transport Expenses for visa obtaining aren’t included in the package and will be charged additionally.

 

OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Assistance in bank account opening in UAE USD 975
Professional Fee for the License renewal (from the 2nd year) USD 3000
Assistance in obtaining visas USD 950 (1 Visa)
Assistance in renewal visas USD 700 (1 Visa)
Visa delivery to the airport (visa drop-off) USD 135
Business Plan preparing USD 475

 

Documents required:

 Passport copy of the shareholder, manager;

 Copy of the passport page with entry stamp to the UAE;

 Utility bill as proof of address (within the latest 2 months) for each shareholder / manager;

 3 company names (on preferential basis);

 Activities;

 Signed UAQ FTZ application form (AC Business Experts consultants will prepare the draft);

 Signed Memorandum of Association (AC Business Experts consultants will prepare the draft).

 

 

Time Frame:

 Company incorporation (2 – 4 working days);

 Establishment Card (12 – 18 working days);

 Entry Permit (3 – 4 working days);

 Visa status change inside the country if required (3 – 4 working days);

 Medical Fitness Test + Emirates ID Application (2 – 3 working days);

 Visa Stamping (2 – 3 working days).

 

Would you like to know more? Then please Contact Us:

 

www.offshoreincorporate.com

 

info@offshorecompaniesinternational.com

 

ocil@protonmail.com

 

oci@tutanota.com

 

oci@safe-mail.net

 

ociceo@hushmail.com

 

Wyoming Passes ICO Enabling Legislation

Wyoming’s state legislature and Governor have signed into Law new provisions that will exempt certain types of crypto assets from securities laws.

 

The legislature recently passed, and the governor signed, five bills that many in the Cryptosphere view as highly beneficial to blockchain, ICO and cryptocurrency businesses.

 

The Wyoming lawmakers have also finished work on measures to exempt cryptocurrencies from the state’s money transmission laws and approve the use of blockchain-based records for corporations.

 

The key provisions exclude “a developer or seller” from the applicable securities laws provided the Developer/Seller complies with certain conditions; Specifically, that the token being offered isn’t being offered as an investment and that the token can be exchanged for something – ie, that it has some kind of utility.

 

The exemption will also only apply in the event that the seller or developer “has not entered into a repurchase agreement of any kind or entered into an agreement to locate a buyer for the token.”

 

In addition, the new law also lays out an exemption from being classified as a broker-dealer in relation to the token, provided that the standards listed above are met.

 

Certain parties are excluded from the bill, namely banks and other financial institutions such as credit unions and savings and loan associations.

 

 Blockchain Tokens

 

Bill number HB 70 addresses “open blockchain tokens.”  With certain exceptions, the bill exempts from specified state securities laws and the state money transmitter law, certain activities related to such tokens.

 

Firstly, the said law exempts from specified state securities laws a person who develops or sells the token if:

 

(a) the person files a notice of intent;

(b) the “purpose of the token is for a consumptive purpose, which shall only be exchangeable for, or provided for the receipt of, goods, services or content, including rights of access to goods, services or content;” and

(c) the person did not sell the token to the initial buyer as a financial investment.

 

To fulfil this third element, the token cannot be marketed as a financial investment and at least one of the following criteria must be met:

 

  • the developer or seller must reasonably believe he/she sold the token for a consumptive purpose;
  • the token has a consumptive purpose available at the time of sale and can be used at or near the time of the sale for that purpose;
  • the initial buyer is prevented from reselling the token until it can be used for a consumptive purpose; or
  • the developer or seller takes reasonable precautions to prevent buyers from purchasing the token as a financial instrument.

 

The provisions st out in (b) and (c) attempt to cover what is commonly known as a “utility token” or “consumer token.”

 

Secondly, the new law exempts “facilitators” (ie persons “who facilitate the exchange of an open blockchain token”) from specified state securities laws if they file a notice of intent, have a “reasonable and good faith belief” that a token subject to exchange meets the requirements of (b) and (c), above, and take “reasonably prompt action” to cease exchanging any token that does not meet those requirements.

 

Thirdly, the new law exempts from the state money transmitter law a person who develops, sells, or facilitates the exchange of an open blockchain token.

 

Interestingly, this exemption is not limited only to those tokens that meet the requirements of (b) and (c), above.

 

Taken on face value these new legislative provisions would appear to place Wyoming on the list of tax jurisdictions wherein one might consider launching/incorporating an ICO (particularly given that a Wyoming LLC can, if structured a certain way, potentially deliver a nil tax outcome).

 

Would you like to know more? Then please Contact Us:

 

www.offshoreincorporate.com

 

info@offshorecompaniesinternational.com

 

ocil@protonmail.com

 

oci@tutanota.com

 

oci@safe-mail.net

 

ociceo@hushmail.com

How To Set Up a Private Offshore Company

 

If you don’t want a competitor to know that you own a particular enterprise or if you don’t want outside parties to be able to find out (without your consent) how much profit your business is making then you might want to set up a Private Offshore Company.

 

To ensure that your Privacy is safeguarded there are, in essence, five boxes you will want/need to tick.

 

Firstly to minimise the chances of your ownership of the company being discovered you will want to ensure your Private Offshore Company is incorporated in a country which does NOT have a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (“TIEA”) with your home state (or a DTA ie a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement as these Treaties sometimes have information exchange provisions) .

 

Secondly you might want to open an account at a Bank which can/will issue you with an anonymous card ie a VISA or Master or etc Card on which your name (and ideally your company name) does not appear. (such banks/products do still exist us Contact Us for details).

 

Thirdly, for maximum privacy, you’d be well advised to include a (nil tax jurisdiction resident) Nominee Director/Shareholder as part of the Corporate structure. For more information on how that can work for you please read these pages:

 

https://offshoreincorporate.com/faq/should-i-engage-nominees-or-should-i-direct-and-hold-the-shares-in-my-offshore-company/ &

 

https://offshoreincorporate.com/faq/how-can-i-protect-my-underlying-ownership-of-my-offshore-company-where-a-nominee-is-engaged-to-act-as-director-or-shareholder/

 

Fourthly, if you want maximum privacy and to avoid your name being recorded anywhere as the “beneficial owner” of the Company then you would be wise to include a Private Foundation as part of the Corporate Structure (ie to hold the shares of/own your Private Offshore Company).

 

Fifthly, if you don’t want your name to appear anywhere in the bank’s records you could also nominate someone else to be the signatory on your bank account. (A/The Nominee Director is commonly deployed for this purpose).

 

Some International Corporate Services Providers can also supply a Nominee Beneficiary for your Foundation so that your name doesn’t appear in the bank record as a Beneficiary of the Foundation when it comes time to apply for a bank account. Alternatively you could set up what’s known as a Discretionary Foundation (ie one where beneficiaries can be added or removed at any time) and nominate a tax free Charity as the initial beneficiary.

 

Would you like to know more? Then please Contact Us:

 

www.offshoreincorporate.com

 

info@offshorecompaniesinternational.com

 

ocil@protonmail.com

 

oci@tutanota.com

 

oci@safe-mail.net

 

ociceo@hushmail.com

 

How To Get Maximum Privacy & Asset Protection Offshore

If you’re looking for maximum privacy and or for maximum asset protection you might want to give thought to setting up a three-layered structure ie a tax free Offshore Company plus a tax free Offshore Trust plus a tax free Private Foundation (ie the shares of the Company are held by the Trust, the sole beneficiary of the trust is the Foundation and the beneficiaries of the Foundation would be whoever you nominate eg your family members).

 

We are often asked (by clients committed to setting up a Company and a Foundation) what’s the advantage/s of interposing a Trust between the Company and the Foundation?

 

Say you have 3 structures in place ie an Offshore Company and Offshore Trust and an Offshore Foundation (ie a serious asset protection structure). Say a firm of vulturous lawyers are suing you and they suspect you have assets held by an Offshore Company (from which the Lawyers hope to extract recovery for their client + a fat fee for themselves).

 

The first thing that would happen is the vultures would try and find out who owns the Offshore Company. Unless you are involved in some very serious criminal activity (eg drug trafficking, money laundering, terrorist financing etc) no one should be able to find out who the owner/shareholder of that Offshore Company is (or who the beneficiaries of any Trust or Foundation beneath it are – see below).

 

To crack the privacy veil anyone wanting to either (a) attack/get hold of assets held by the Company/Group or (b) find out who actually owns the Offshore company would have to apply to the Supreme Court of the Country where your Offshore Company is incorporated for a disclosure order ie a court order compelling the names of the shareholders/owners of the Offshore Company to be revealed.

 

Before the Court will even hear the application the vultures would have to produce evidence, ie a prima facie case, proving that the Offshore Company (or persons closely connected to it) has more likely than not been involved in serious criminal activity as defined.

 

If they do get the order they would find that the Offshore Company is owned by an Offshore Trust in a 2nd country.

 

The lawyers for the vultures would then have to pack their bags go home and start all over again. That is they would then have apply to the Supreme Court of the country in which the Offshore Trust is registered for a disclosure order (ie for an order requiring that the names of the beneficiaries of the Trust be revealed). Again, usually before the Court will even hear the application, the vultures would once again have to produce evidence ie a prima facie case proving that the Trust or persons closely connected to it are more likely than not to have been involved in serious criminal activity as defined.

 

Say by some miracle they do get that order. All they will find out is that the sole beneficiary of the Trust is a Foundation registered in a 3rd jurisdiction.

 

The lawyers for the vultures would then (again) have to pack their bags go home and start over. That is they would then have apply to the Supreme Court of the country in which the Foundation is is registered for a disclosure order ie a Court order requiring that the names of the beneficiaries of the Foundation be revealed. As usual before the court will even hear the application the vultures would again have to produce evidence ie a prima facie case proving that the Foundation or persons closely connected to it are more likely than not to have been involved in serious criminal activity as defined.

 

And if the Company’s bank account is held in a 4th country the vultures would need to appear before a Court in a 4th country seeking an order that the Company’s Bank Account in that country be frozen (ie pending finalisation of litigation/claims against the company or its owners).

 

As any experienced litigation lawyer will tell you what’s described above is the lawyer’s equivalent of having to climb Mount Everest. The time it would take and the legal costs involved would be virtually inestimable.

 

In this scenario commonly the Trust is used to buy/hold assets/investments. Why? Because included in the laws of most serious Trust jurisdictions are non-attack clauses. That is provisions that specifically say (a) that Trust assets cannot be attacked once transferred to the trust and (b) that any foreign law or judgment purporting to grant access to Trust assets shall not be recognized.

 

It should come as no surprise to anyone then (given the proliferation of litigation lawyers and the advent of information exchange between OECD type jurisdictions) to hear that the use of multi-national Offshore Corporate Structures is on the rise.

 

Hopefully after reading the above you can well understand why…

 

PS OCI Offers a triple structure package. Check this link for details: https://offshoreincorporate.com/how-to-create-the-ultimate-tax-effective-offshore-corp/

 

Would you like to know more? Then please Contact Us:

 

www.offshoreincorporate.com

 

info@offshorecompaniesinternational.com

 

ocil@protonmail.com

 

oci@tutanota.com

 

oci@safe-mail.net

 

ociceo@hushmail.com

 

How To Get Around Cryptocurrency Trading Tax Rules

In a last-minute change ahead of the implementation of new tax rules for virtual currency trading, Thai lawmakers have announced that virtual currency trading on regulated exchanges should be exempt from value-added tax.

 

Under the new regime, gains will be subject to a 15 percent capital gains tax charge, with the tax to be subject to withholding, and a seven percent value-added tax charge will be assessed where trades take place off an approved exchange.

 

The introduction of tax comes alongside a new regulatory regime for the sector, with new value-added tax registration obligations arising for many industry players.

 

Interestingly Cryptocurrency Trading is an activity which lends itself well to an Offshore Corporate Structuring Plan.

 

If you are resident in and trading Cryptocurrency from Thailand (or somewhere like Thailand which has brought in a Cryptocurrency Trading Tax Regime) it may be possible to trade under the guise of a (tax free) Offshore Company and avoid tax at home on your trading profits

 

To summarise how it would work (assuming you intend to trade your own money or borrowed money) is:

 

  • You set up a zero tax International Business Company
  • The IBC opens an account with the Cryptocurrency Exchange/s
  • The Company is set up with a (nil tax jurisdiction resident) Nominee Director and a (nil tax jurisdiction resident) Nominee Shareholder (alternatively, and for maximum privacy, a tax free Private Foundation or Trust could be to set up to hold the IBC’s shares).
  • You are appointed as the IBC’s authorised trader (ie you place the buy and sell orders on behalf of the company)
  • For all intents and purposes the IBCs trading profits are generated in a nil tax environment tax free/offshore (ie provided the IBC Is structured properly)
  • When you need some living/spending money the IBC pays you a wage, or consulting fees or a commission (eg a percentage of trading profits generated) and you pay tax at home on those earning. That living/spending money can be paid to your local bank account (which means it would be assessable income wherever you are tax resident though you should also be able to claim a sizeable amount of allowable deductions eg for home office, car, equipment, insurances, travel, stationary etc etc to reduce the amount of your “taxable” income at home)
  • If you don’t want the authorities to know how much money you are earning by way of wages you could use an anonymous ATM or Debit/VISA card to withdraw your wages/fees from an Auto Tele Machine
  • The majority of your trading profits can be banked and or reinvested Offshore potentially tax free.

 

Local/new laws can have an impact. Hence you should seek local legal, tax and financial advice before incorporating an IBC for such purposes.

 

Would you like to know more? Then please Contact Us:

 

www.offshoreincorporate.com

 

info@offshorecompaniesinternational.com

 

ocil@protonmail.com

 

oci@tutanota.com

 

oci@safe-mail.net

 

ociceo@hushmail.com

 

 

How to Buy Real Estate Using an Offshore Company

We are often asked by clients How can I buy a piece of real estate in the city where I live using my Offshore Company?

 

There are several options here:

 

  1. You could limit your purchase to a new property which in most cases would get around any Foreign Investor Approval issues. In that case you could either:

 

(a)    Use your existing Company to buy the property; or

(b)   Use your Foundation or Trust to buy the property; or

(c)    Have the Foundation/trust or your existing Offshore Company fund/incorporate a stand- alone Real Estate Investment Company and have that Company buy the property. This would be the most discreet way to do it especially if you are regularly receiving payments from (ie if you have a visible relationship with) an existing tax free Offshore Company

 

  1. If you’re buying an existing local property (eg a dwelling) which would require Foreign Investor Approval/Sanction you could form a local Limited Company and have any of the above 3 suggest Offshore Entities supply the funding for the property as Mortgagee (for this to work the local Company would need to enter into a loan agreement with at least interest only payments and sign a mortgage on commercial terms).

 

As regards the process once you’ve decided which entity to use as Consultant/Adviser to the Offshore entity:

 

  • You would make certain recommendations in writing to the Director/Trustee/Councillor (ie to purchase XYZ Property)
  • The entity would then call a Board meeting authorizing the entity to proceed with the transaction
  • If you need to close the sale quickly the Board could provide you or your local Lawyer with a Power of Attorney enabling you to sign the Purchase/Sale Contract

 

If you want to live in the property the smart thing to do would be to have the Offshore Company which owns the property hire a local property management business; They would advertise the property. You would apply to lease the property and then pay rent to the Property Managers in an arms’ length arrangement, which shouldn’t raise any suspicions. (Contrast that with iIf you are sitting rent free in a property owned by a tax free Offshore Company; for sure and certain you can expect that to raise a red flag, eventually, with the authorities).

 

Would you like to know more? Then please Contact Us:

 

www.offshoreincorporate.com

 

info@offshorecompaniesinternational.com

 

ocil@protonmail.com

 

oci@tutanota.com

 

oci@safe-mail.net

 

ociceo@hushmail.com

 

 

Why Use Nominees for Offshore ICOs?

Are you looking to launch an ICO via Incorporation of an Offshore Company?

 

If so there are at least two reasons why you would want to consider deploying a Nominee Shareholder and or Nominee Director as part of your Corporate Structure:

 

1. Tax Planning Considerations

 

Generally speaking an Offshore Company which is seen to be managed and controlled from Onshore can be taxed onshore.

 

Hence when setting up an Offshore Company, if you want to minimise the chances of the Company being taxed “onshore”, Management and Control of the Company will need to be, and be seen to be, taking place from Offshore. How that can be achieved is by deploying a Nominee Shareholder and or Nominee Director as part of the Corporate structure.

 

If you are also setting up a Foundation as part of the Corporate structure you will want to have the Foundation founded by a Nominee Founder (which service we provide)  which then assign its rights confidentially to you. Again for tax planning purposes you will want the Foundation to be managed day to day by a nil tax jurisdiction resident Nominee Councillor (which service we also provide).

 

There are a number of features we can and will include to protect your ownership rights (which will prevent the Nominees from running away with your property or money). For more information on that and how the Nominee Services can work for you see our FAQs section and also please click on these links:

 

https://offshoreincorporate.com/faq/should-i-engage-nominees-or-should-i-direct-and-hold-the-shares-in-my-offshore-company/

 

https://offshoreincorporate.com/faq/how-can-i-protect-my-underlying-ownership-of-my-offshore-company-where-a-nominee-is-engaged-to-act-as-director-or-shareholder/

 

How it works practically speaking is the company would do the buying and selling, ie it would generate the income. Ideally, you would be appointed as Consultant or as an arms’ length adviser to the Director of the Company with certain areas of responsibility. You might then be paid a commission (e.g. a percentage of business or sales introduced) or a retainer or a combination of the two.

 

As part of your brief you might also be given signing power on a bank account reporting/answerable to the Director. However that relationship is structured for legal reasons, it would need to be seen to be commercially realistic.

 

The income you generate from this would be paid to you (or your local ie/eg onshore company which, I imagine, would then pay a dividend to you), which would be assessable income at home for you (although a smart Tax Accountant should be able to find a heap of tax deductions/writeoffs to reduce the amount of tax payable on that income eg rent, home office, car, travel, utilities, electricity, phone, internet, furniture, computers/plant & equipment, stationery, professional library, subscriptions etc etc). The remainder of the profit could be held (and/or reinvested) offshore potentially tax free.

 

You could alternatively be given a Power of Attorney. For guidance on which option to choose please click on this link: https://offshoreincorporate.com/faq/should-i-select-a-general-power-of-attorney-or-a-consultancy-agreement/

 

2. Nominees and ICOs

 

In the case of an ICO there are different and additional reasons why you would set up the Company using at least a Nominee Director.

 

The main risk for an ICO promoter is regulatory risk. Simply put if you are offering a Token to investors it could be classified under certain countries laws as a Security.

 

Generally speaking it is illegal to offer a Security to the general public unless (a) it is a registered security and (b) you are a licensed securities dealer.

 

If your Company comes under the Regulator’s microscope and you are the Director of that Company you could be charged with unlawfully offering a security. In certain countries the penalty for this, if you’re found guilty, can be imprisonment.

 

If you want to minimise the chances of this happening, you would be wise to deploy a Nominee Director (and ideally also a Nominee Shareholder) as part of your Corporate Structure (even if you have every intention of paying tax at home on the Company’s entire worldwide income)

 

If you’re concerned about appearance what you could also do (ie where a Nominee Director is deployed) is have yourself appointed by the Company via a Consultancy Agreement and choose your title. Eg In emails or texts or letters etc you could call yourself CEO or Founder or GM or CFO or Client Liaison Manager or whatever sounds best to you (anything but Director)!

 

Local laws can also have an impact. Hence you should seek local legal financial and tax advice before committing to incorporate an Offshore Company as your ICO Launch vehicle.

 

Would you like to know more? Then please Contact Us:

 

www.offshoreincorporate.com

 

info@offshorecompaniesinternational.com

 

ocil@protonmail.com

 

oci@tutanota.com

 

oci@safe-mail.net

 

ociceo@hushmail.com

 

 

How To Use an Offshore Company To Act As a Commission Agent

Acting as a Commission Agent or Deal Broker is a line of business which lends itself well to an Offshore Corporate Structuring Plan.

 

In this model structure (ie as set out below) it’s assumed that you will be acting as a middleman between a buyer and seller and if the buyer and seller do business you get paid a commission ie typically a percentage of the sale/deal proceeds.

 

To summarise how it would work is:

 

  • You set up a zero tax Offshore Company eg an International Business Company (“IBC”) with a tax haven based Nominee Director
  • You are appointed as the IBC’s Authorised Representative
  • On behalf of the IBC you negotiate terms with the Seller and or Buyer to pay your IBC a Commission if/when the Buyer and Seller do business
  • The Commission Agent/Broker agreement/contract is signed Offshore by the Nominee Director
  • The source of the income is the contract.
  • Because the contract was signed offshore in a nil tax environment there should be no tax payable on income generated by the contract (a) where the Company is incorporated and (b) where you live (assuming you structure and administer the Company in the right way).
  • When you need some living/spending money the IBC pays you a wage, or consulting fees or a commission (eg a percentage of trading profits generated)
  • That living/spending money can be paid to your local bank account (which means it would be assessable income wherever you are tax resident though you should also be able to claim a sizeable amount of allowable deductions eg for home office, car, equipment, insurances, travel, stationary etc etc to reduce the amount of your “taxable” income at home). More sizeable amounts could be accessed by way of loan or a 2nd Offshore Company could be formed to buy your onshore investments
  • If you don’t want the authorities to know how much money you are earning eg by way of wages you could convert your hard currency into Bitcoin and/ or you could use an anonymous ATM or Debit/VISA card to withdraw $ from an Auto Tele Machine (though technically that receipt would be assessable income for local tax purposes)
  • The majority of trading profits would be banked and or reinvested Offshore potentially tax free.