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Starting-Up Business Offshore: Quick and Professional Offshore Company Formation & Online Offshore Business Incorporation in Panama, Cyprus, BVI and Other Tax Haven Countries

. We provide reasonable and budgeted offshore company formation, offshore ready-made companies, tax planning, tax filing and a wide range of corporate services. We also provide the registered office addresses in different locations, a virtual office; assistance with the opening of an offshore business bank accounts or UK corporate bank accounts for the UK and offshore registered companies. You can incorporate an international limited company online using our own company registration software. Coddan CPM LTD is favourite and one of the most successful formation agent offer a quick, flexible and price reasonable creation of different types of business entities in Belize, Seychelles, Gibraltar, and Jersey, Guernsey; and in Isle of Man, Mauritius, etc.

Our firm has been establishing to provide the practical guidance and qualified assistance in starting and running business within offshore jurisdictions. Our web-site summarises the procedures and costs associated with setting up a business in zero-tax and low-tax countries. We advise you on the most appropriate business legal entity to suit your individual or business circumstances, so that you do not need to spend your cost-effective time to research or guess with the different options. We have years of experience behind us and have established a well respected name and reputation. Allow us to help you to establish an offshore company and get it running; or to select the best type of business for offshore incorporation, and register your general trading, shipping, royalty or holding company.

Offshore jurisdictions are often associated with large corporations and millionaires, but are in fact extremely well suited for small and medium businesses and private individuals. An offshore company is formed in a foreign country or state, and is subject to the laws and regulations (or jurisdiction) of that place. The myth that offshore locations are completely unregulated and lawless is untrue; an offshore business is a normal business operating in a normal way; and is subject to many of the same types of laws and regulations as in any other location.

To start-up a new offshore limited company is not very expensive: the establishment or creation of an offshore public limited company or an offshore private limited company, or a new LLC or partnership, by UK residents or foreign nationals usually takes couple of days. We supply an expert advice on navigating through the off-shore legal and business systems, helping you in setting up a business in Nevis, St Kitts, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Marshal Islands, Hong Kong and Mauritius. Our work focuses upon Great Britain and Republic of Ireland; however we also specialise in international offshore companies, partnerships and trusts establishment. Contact us via the information supplied on our contact page. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

The offshore registered company can be used for a varied of business activities: general trading company, investment company, holding company, investment company, property holding company, professional service company, royalty holding company, copyright holding company, patent holding company and shipping company, on behalf of both the UK and non-UK owners, and we are pleased to advise you on the unique environments of your case. In addition to providing online offshore IBC formation, Coddan offers a host of services designed to support your offshore business and to help you meet the statutory requirements, this range of services includes: a nominee director service, a nominee secretary service, a nominee shareholder service, commercial and investment offshore banking introductions, a registered office service, a registered agent service, management services, registration of shipping vessels, administrative services, accounting and book keeping services and notary and apostille services. You can see a description of our packages, and compare them, by choosing from the appropriate list below. If you will see something unclear in packages' description, please do not hesitate to contact us for more information.
 BVI offshore company formation normally takes 2 to 5 working days.
 Search name availability for your BVI IBC.
 Payment of first year's government fees.
 No documents to sign.
 Applicant appointed as company founding Director.
 Applicant appointed as company Shareholder.
 Company Shareholder & Director appointed electronically.
 US$50,000.00 Authorised Share Capital.
 Preparation & filing of Memorandum & Articles of Association at Registry.
 BVI Registered Agent & Registered Office fees for the first year.
 The following documents will be delivered via FedEx or DHL:
 Certificate of Incorporation.
 Printed bound copy of Memorandum & Articles of Association.
 Minutes of the First Meeting of the Board of Directors.
 Issuance of shares.
 Register of Shareholders.
 Register of Directors, Secretaries.
 Company seal.
 Share Certificates.
 Renewal Fees (payable annually from the second year): Registered Address, Government fees.
BVI IBC
£ 560.00Renewal fees from £415
Click here to see all packages
(click here for other packages)

Company Formation Home Page >> Offshore Company Incorporation & Offshore Companies Registration

WHY CHOOSE CODDAN AS YOUR OFFSHORE COMPANY INCORPORATION AGENT? CODDAN OFFERS OFFSHORE IBC COMPANY FORMATION SERVICE. OFFSHORE COMPANY FORMATION. INCORPORATE OFFSHORE COMPANY ONLINE

Looking for information & guidance regarding how to start your own offshore business, how to get your low-tax company up and running, how to select the best business form, how to register an off-shore company and small business start-up advice? Need a zero-tax business company formation specialists with the prompt service and expert advice? Are you looking to set-up a small business in BVI, Belize or Nevis? Do you want to register your business in Panama, Seychelles, Hong Kong, Cyprus or Delaware? Have an idea for a business and want to start an offshore company now? Why should you bother with registering your International Business Company? How can we help you?

Finding and Using Information:

Offshore Companies Formation | Offshore Debit & Credit Cards | Why Go Offshore? | Description of Offshore | Uses of Offshore Companies |

With correct advice an Offshore company or a Tax Exempt company can afford many significant and legal tax savings throughout the world, provide you and your company with a competitive advantage, afford confidentiality/security and perhaps even save on future inheritance taxes. However, as the exact benefits that are available to you and your company will depend greatly on nationality, location and other such factors it is always recommended that you first seek appropriate professional advice before registering your company.
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Welcome to Coddan online offshore company formation agent. From Seychelles to Gibraltar and all points in between, we assist in formation of your offshore companies. Coddan specialises in Exempt Companies and International Business Companies that are found in the offshore areas of the Caribbean, Europe and the Pacific. The firm employs and partners with professionals in over 12 offshore and international business centres. We provide direct low cost offshore IBC formations services with the ability to check the company name availability online and incorporation in a real time mode! Our founder has been an active specialist in the asset protection, and offshore planning arena since 1993. We provide direct low cost offshore IBC incorporation services with the ability to check the company name availability online. Sure, you may find someone cheaper than we are. But when you're incorporating, setting up asset protection and tax planning strategies, you can't afford to scrimp. The fact of the matter is, companies are always coming and going in this industry. If your strategies are not properly implemented, you might as well save yourself the trouble. Offshore business plays a very important role in the modern society today. Moving assets offshore is a wise commercial decision. The use of an offshore company - international business corporate vehicle as a means of expansion or more efficient tax planning is not new.

How to Become an Offshore Company

Click Here for More Details |

An offshore company is a like any other, except for the jurisdiction in which they have been formed or established. The territory or land considered as an offshore centre may or may not be directly connected to a specific country. The companies can be of any legal status, however, most offshore centres offer the opportunity to form an International Business Corporation (IBC) or a company similar in nature. This company is an incorporated company, receives a major tax advantage often extending to decades of operation. A decade ago the average businessman did not know about the advantages which an offshore entity can provide in tax planning for the business. Corporate structuring and planning have achieved higher levels of complexity than ever before while the need for anonymity remains strong. Entrepreneurs must keep pace and be constantly on the look out for new ways to profit.

One way is to have a clear understanding of the characteristics of foreign offshore corporations and how they may be put to advantageous use. If you want to become familiar with the description and the contents of off-shore company incorporation packages, offered by Coddan and to find above, what kind of service is included in this or that zero-tax companies formation package, to get an idea about the price of annual renewal of the service, and about the general legal requirements to the company incorporation within offshore jurisdictions, please, select the package you need from the list, situated below the banner. The information in the banner will be renewed according to the package you've chosen.

You May Use This Link to Select an Offshore Ready-Made Company

Let Me Check Your List of Ready-Made Companies |

Please note » The prices payable for the items that you order are clearly set out in the web site. There will be no contract of any kind between you and us unless and until we receive payment from you. We act as your agent in the incorporation of offshore companies. We are not able to guarantee that any such filing will be acceptable to Companies Registrar, nor are there any contractual obligation upon us to do so. If Companies Registrar rejects incorporation or other filing, we will credit your account with a full refund and the contract between us will be made void. Companies Registrar does not offer a cancellation facility for the incorporation of companies or the filing of documents. We will be unable to cancel any such submission on your behalf and will not refund any payment you have made. All prices shown at Coddan Web Site are in Great British pounds. Credit cards are the preferred method of payment; we accept VISA, MasterCard and Delta. We can accept payment in UK Pounds Sterling, US Dollars, Euros, Australian Dollars and Canadian Dollars.

Live Help » Live Help is a real time "chat" feature which enables you to interact with a customer service representative without a phone call. Get answers to your questions while using our website. Clicking the "Live Help" button will start an on-line session with one of our representatives. Live Help is currently available during normal business hours. Outside of the above opening hours our business center will be closed. When you click on the button you will see an e-mail form that will allow you to send us a mail with your questions. Live Help is absolutely free! There are no hidden fees. We offer the service as a courtesy to our website visitors. Dear visitors, while having a chat session with a customer, we are frequently requested to give a piece of advice on tax planning or business structuring. We would like to inform you that it is against our principles to provide online advice pertaining to these issues. The points that may be covered during a session include service description, package or service price, navigation at our website, ways of making an order, methods of payment etc. Yet, if you wish us to provide you with advice on tax or business structuring, you should be aware that this service is chargeable. If you have any questions please E-Mail or call us: Call FREE 0800 081 1510, Overseas Residents: +44 845 020 4269 or +44 207 637 3881, Fax: +44 20 7681 3318.
Contact Registered Agent

Offshore Companies Formation:
Are you looking for a safe tax haven for your investments offshore? Do you consider going offshore for the first time? Are you planning to form an offshore corporation (IBC) together with offshore account? Do you wonder how to reduce capital gain tax with the help of offshore havens? We are providing direct low cost offshore IBC formation services with possibility to check company name availability online and incorporation in real time mode! An International Business Corporation or IBC is a corporation that is formed in an offshore tax haven and is typically authorized to do business anywhere in the world except its home country (i.e. if your IBC is formed in BVI you may do business anywhere in the world except BVI). We provide nominee directors, shareholders, secretaries and officers for the British Virgin Islands IBCs we incorporate for our clients (if required).

Coddan specializes in all legal ways in arranging suitable and lawful offshore structuring both for your business and private deals. Coddan specializes in setting up offshore companies, trusts, offshore bank accounts etc. Coddan grants your privacy, security and confidentiality. To do business today it is difficult to make a profit. You must constantly be aware of the best ways to run your business, so that the profits end up in your pocket and not in the vaults of the banks, tax department or with your competitors. The strong financial and professional backgrounds, including the availability of the offer of an integral package of services, represent currently one of the preferred reasons for which clients contact just Coddan. We have established business relationships with our customers that are based on trust and mutual benefit which we hope to enjoy for years to come. In return our customers get committed offshore banking and professional offshore service. We have many optional services from which a client may choose. Among the options, we have available for immediate use, offshore shelf companies and off the shelf vintage companies; these ready made offshore IBCs are the same except that the offshore vintage companies are older. None of the shelf offshore corporations have ever been in use or ever held a bank account. In other words these companies are all 100% tax-free and clean. We also offer nominee director and/or shareholder services.

Offshore Company FormationOffshore Company Formation in BVI

1. Offshore IBC is completely private.
2. Off-Shore IBC is TAX EXEMPT on all income earned worldwide.
3. An IBC DOES NOT file an Annual Return.
4. An IBC's Corporate Records may be kept anywhere.
5. An IBC's Annual Meetings may be held anywhere in the world.
6. An IBC's Board of Directors Meetings may be held anywhere in the world.
7. The same person may act as the Shareholder, Board of Directors, President, and Agent or as any other Officer within the Company.
8. The Founder may appoint Officers and Directors for the IBC, but only the Founder will know their identities.
9. An IBC's Shareholders remain Confidential through the use of Bearer Shares.
10. A Director can be of any nationality.


Monday - Friday: 9:30am to 17:30pm

United Kingdom Contact +44 (0) 207.748.3039

United Kingdom Contact +44 (0) 800.081.1510

E-Mail Contact info@ukincorp.co.uk
Offshore locations have a great attraction for companies of all forms from all countries of the world. Coddan gives you the ideal opportunity to set up your own company without the need for being physically present. You are not restricted based on domicile or origin and your company may be controlled by you or an agent located on the offshore territory. The virtual certainty that 65% of the world's hard currency is held in offshore banks and that around 40% of the world's trade in goods, especially services such as consulting which are transacted through offshore international finance centres, proves that in spite of the problems with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), this is an area of massive growth and potential for both individuals and companies.

Regardless of changes that occur due to OECD pressure or a particular finance centres government, the question will always remain "which is the best jurisdiction to establish my offshore structure?" In actual fact the products offered by most Tax Havens are virtually mirror images of each other. The decision will largely depend on the quality of after sales service, objectives and goals of the purposed corporation or trust and the clients own personal and business circumstances.

The word "offshore" has often been linked to crime. This is a deliberate strategy of government and other vested interests. Sure, some criminals may bank their ill-got gains in an offshore account - but that doesn't negate the benefit of being offshore as a law-abiding citizen. And what they forget to tell you is that many offshore banks have quite stringent controls on who banks with them - and have their own reputation to protect. It's not in any bank's interest to be known as a haven for criminals. A great number of people use offshore structures for money laundering as well. Nevertheless all these matters the main purpose of going offshore is the privacy it affords you. Our company is interested only in the main feature of offshore using. Well, it can be a means to legally decrease your tax burden. You may be able to defer, reduce and even eliminate taxes by following a carefully thought out strategy. You may want to do it for retirement planning - in this way your nest egg will grow without being continually "trimmed" back by various withholding taxes. The power of compound interest works much better when you're not getting tax deductions!

Coddan's range of services includes incorporation of International Business Companies in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Nevis, Panama, Gibraltar, Cyprus, Seychelles, Bahamas, Belize, Hong Kong (where there are no corporate or personal income taxes, capital gains taxes, reporting requirements, or restrictions on company employment policies. The main restriction is that the company, being exempt from all local taxes and restrictions, may not conduct business within the tax haven itself) and corporate secretarial service (preparation of minutes, preparation and filing of licence fees, arrange for legalisation of documents). Our fees are extremely reasonable. We incorporate offshore companies ourselves, which means you cut out the middleman fees and receive fast priority treatment. If you are a citizen of a country that does not tax income earned outside of its borders, an offshore company can be most advantageous - your money can grow tax-free (and therefore a lot faster!) until it is repatriated. Some countries have tax systems like the United Kingdom and US - "global" taxation where all income is taxed regardless of where it is earned. If this is the case, you must declare any income earned when you file your return so there are few tax advantages.

However, many United Kingdom, EU and US citizens find another legitimate advantage to offshore companies - asset protection. In our increasingly litigious society, many people keep their nest egg offshore. It's much more private (the confidentiality laws of these jurisdictions are usually very strong) and it's much harder for potential creditors in a frivolous lawsuit to get at your money.

We promise to deliver fast and professional offshore companies incorporation services at a low cost. All services are guaranteed to be legal and filed with proper governmental agencies. We pride ourselves that our activity on behalf of our clients has earned their confidence and respect worldwide. Together with our partners (including legal firms, banks and accountancy practices), we can offer a formidable team to address our client's needs.

Click the buttons and you will find information about the country, its tax status, tax system, special offshore regimes and company forms; and much other useful information including a comparative assessment of the value of each jurisdiction as an offshore financial centre. Where there is a need, we can also provide management and administration capabilities for each offshore company. This may include the provision of nominee shareholders, nominee directors and company secretary, day-to-day management and administration, secretarial services, accounting and audit, invoicing or establishing a "virtual office". Summary of our services: company formations in all major offshore jurisdictions. Registered office and registered agent services (where appropriate) in each jurisdiction. Full nominee services (directors /secretary /shareholders) ensuring total anonymity. Legalisation/Apostille of company documents. Formation of offshore trusts and foundations.

Our business services department deals with two main areas of service. Offshore and administration services are a significant part of the department's activity. A broad range of financial advice and assistance is provided in the day-to-day administration of offshore businesses through qualified professionals who are fully conversant with commercial and banking practices. You do not have to leave your home or office to preserve your wealth. You can complete offshore incorporation by registering an international business company (IBC) directly from your home or office computer. You can place your assets in a safe offshore tax haven through the company formed in one of the safest offshore jurisdictions - BVI, Panama, Nevis or Seychelles. A BVI, Panamanian, Nevis or Seychelles tax exempt offshore IBC can serve you as a perfect vehicle on the road to tax reduction and asset protection.

We offer our clients bank introduction services to many banks in Panama, Nevis, Seychelles and BVI and also to banks in Northern Europe. The banks we work with recognize the importance of being able to carry out instructions expeditiously, with the provision of online banking that provides information to the authorized user and the ability to do inter-account or external electronic transfers. Clients who prefer to give instructions by fax can establish coded systems with the bank to ensure both confidentiality and security. The banks we recommend to our clients for offshore IBCs' offer a comprehensive range of credit card services (MasterCard or Visa), for both personal and corporate accounts. These banks have introduced US Dollar or Euro cards to cater for the international market. In most cases clients requiring credit cards may select their own credit limit by establishing a blocked security deposit.

In selecting banks for our offshore banking clients we naturally consider service, competence and confidentiality. Offshore banking confidentiality is best assessed through consideration of the physical location of a bank and its corporate structure.
BVI Company Formation UK Companies FormationOffshore Banking Accounts

International Offshore Credit Card - ?450.00!
Coddan is able to offer VISA debit card and credit card facilities through Major International Banks without Credit Checks or Bank References. Client confidentiality is paramount. Available to all Business clients UK or International. The card is issued with an Offshore Current Business Bank Account from a Major International Bank.
You will need an Offshore Company in order to qualify for the above service. VISA PLUS is an International debit card designed to cash money and get the information on your account balance in the ATMs, marked with VISA/PLUS logo all over the World. You can get access to the money debited on VISA PLUS card in 855 000 ATMs in 149 countries.
VISA PLUS account is opened in both Euros and US dollars. When applying for the card no guarantee deposit or initial payment into the card account is requested. When traveling abroad it is not requested to show the information on the amount of money deposited on the card. When accounting abroad there is no need to worry about the currency exchange: this procedure is executed automatically.


Monday - Friday: 9:30am to 17:30pm

United Kingdom Contact +44 (0) 207.748.3039

United Kingdom Contact +44 (0) 800.081.1510

E-Mail Contact info@ukincorp.co.uk


Offshore Debit & Credit Cards


International Offshore Credit Card - ?450.00! Coddan is able to offer VISA debit card and credit card facilities through Major International Banks without Credit Checks or Bank References. Client confidentiality is paramount. Available to all Business clients - UK or International. The card is issued with an Offshore Current Business Bank Account from a Major International Bank. You will need an Offshore Company in order to qualify for the above service. VISA PLUS is an International debit card designed to cash money and get the information on your account balance in the ATMs, marked with VISA/PLUS logo all over the World. You can get access to the money debited on VISA PLUS card in 855 000 ATMs in 149 countries. With the advanced technologies, the well-developed network of VISA/PLUS cash machines is safe and reliable, therefore the customers can be sure about the safety of their money. The advantages of VISA PLUS card: the money that are deposited in the card account are safer than cash: in the case of loss of the card its account is suspended and it is impossible to use the money deposited in its account. When applying for the VISA PLUS card the Bank identifies the customer, however the customers name is not indicated on the card, hence the card is issued instantly, as soon as it is applied for. VISA PLUS account is opened in both Euros and US dollars. When applying for the card no guarantee deposit or initial payment into the card account is requested. When traveling abroad it is not requested to show the information on the amount of money deposited on the card. When accounting abroad there is no need to worry about the currency exchange: this procedure is executed automatically.

WHY GO OFFSHORE?

We welcome professionals, professional companies, registered agent networks and
virtual offices networks who are interested in cooperation with us.
Coddan cooperates with the professionals for the purpose of achieving the better
quality of services provided for clients as well as for the purpose of expanding of its activity.
That is probably one of the first questions you want to figure out? We will try to provide you with enough information to clearly illustrate that there may be substantial benefits obtained through moving your business and assets into an offshore entity. We hope to open your eyes and pique your interest sufficiently to cause you to consider the potential benefits of using Coddan services and to cause you to initiate an interchange with us about your situation.

Perhaps you're worried about your future, about the potential of a crippling liability action, perhaps you're trading internationally and have income arising in different parts of the world, or perhaps you are concerned about inheritance taxes on your death. Coddan offshore structures can solve all these problems and many more.

The word "offshore" has often been linked to crime. This is a deliberate strategy of government and other vested interests. Sure, some criminals may bank their ill-got gains in an offshore account - but that doesn't negate the benefit of being offshore as a law-abiding citizen. And what they forget to tell you is that many offshore banks have quite stringent controls on who banks with them - and have their own reputation to protect. It's not in any bank's interest to be known as a haven for criminals. A great number of people use offshore structures for money laundering as well. Nevertheless all these matters the main purpose of going offshore is the privacy it affords you. Our company is interested only in the main feature of offshore using.

Well, it can be a means to legally decrease your tax burden. You may be able to defer, reduce and even eliminate taxes by following a carefully thought out strategy. You may want to do it for retirement planning - in this way your nest egg will grow without being continually "trimmed" back by various withholding taxes. The power of compound interest works much better when you're not getting tax deductions!

DESCRIPTION OF OFFSHORE:

From small beginnings early in the 20th century, the offshore sector has grown ever faster in response to high tax rates in the developed countries, until it is estimated now that more than half of the world's money is offshore. Offshore has no precise dictionary meaning: the word simply reflects the fact that most low tax jurisdictions are islands. Loosely, it is used to mean "outside the control of the highly-taxed Western nations", although those nations could have controlled the growth of offshore jurisdictions (INTERNATIONAL OFFSHORE CENTRES = IOCs) much more tightly if they had wanted to. It is an interesting question, why they didn't - maybe a combination of individual self-interest and muddle?

Probably by now the large, rich nations no longer have the financial clout to take on "offshore" in any comprehensive way. The OECD fulminates about "harmful tax competition", and the EU complains about "unfair tax practices", but in the real world of offshore there are only minor changes to low-tax regimes. This is partly because the rich countries have their own tax breaks and incentives for particular local purposes, and partly because the rich countries themselves (both the countries and their citizens) make plentiful use of "offshore".

In 1999 and 2000, global concerns about money laundering have given the rich countries an opportunity to mount a more concerted attack on "offshore". This is certainly leading to better regulatory structures in many of the IOCs, but they are fiercely resisting the underlying agenda of "tax harmonisation": any tax haven that was weak enough to give in to rich-country pressure in any meaningful way would quickly be picked clean by its competitors. There are 70 self-declared IOCs already, and another 100 countries that would be only too happy to join them if the business was there.

The one thing that the rich countries can do, and increasingly try to do, is to limit the behaviour of their own citizens offshore. As ever, their prohibitions have far more effect on poor people than rich ones. Well-advised, wealthy individuals and corporations generally manage to avoid anti-avoidance measures.

The Internet brings a new dimension to taxation, because for the first time it is possible for a supplier to offer and deliver some sorts of product (e.g. music) to citizens in ways which completely bypass the traditional tax-measuring and tax-collecting arms of government. It remains to be seen whether the tax leakage this implies will spur governments on to a more effective attack on the Internet and "offshore". It must be doubted whether an attack would succeed, and it's more likely that a global approach to e-commerce taxation will evolve in time. This is not a problem that can be solved by individual countries, or even by groups of countries.

IOCs themselves are a very mixed bag, and serve a variety of different purposes for various types of individual and corporation. Not all of those purposes are legitimate: there is no question that drug barons and other illegal "businessmen" have used and do use IOCs to wash their money before recycling it legally. The world's Governments and over-arching economic organizations such as the OECD have had some success in preventing abuses, but laundering remains a problem in some IOCs.

Among the main legal uses of International Offshore Centres are: tax-efficient structuring of international trade. Holding and investment companies. Offshore investment funds. Protection of personal wealth using trusts. International financial services. 'Captive' insurance companies. Protected-cell companies. Shipping registries.

The word "offshore" has a certain mystique to those who have never been part of it. Wrongly, they often suppose that participating in "offshore" is not only a bit naughty, but must necessarily be expensive. It can be both, but doesn't have to be. Many IOCs use both English legal systems and the English language; and there are many reputable advisers to help a beginner through the early stages of using "offshore".

USES OF OFFSHORE COMPANIES. TRADE MARKETING & DISTRIBUTION:

A high proportion of companies engage in "trade", that is the process of making or procuring goods or services and selling them on to business or individual customers. If this process takes place internationally, then it is often possible to interpose an offshore company in which part of the profits of the operation can be realized in a low-tax jurisdiction. Even if the process takes place wholly in one high-tax jurisdiction, it may be possible to separate the "selling on" part of the process from the "making and procuring" part, and send it offshore, particularly now that e-commerce infrastructure is available in many International Offshore Centres.

The eventual value of having an offshore trading company will depend on the overall corporate structure, and on the particular country or countries in which the owner resides. To get the best result, it will normally be good for the offshore company not to be a controlled subsidiary of the main company; and it will normally be even better if the main shareholders are not resident in the same country as the main company; but even if these conditions are not fulfilled, there is much that can be achieved.

Here are some examples of business situations in which an offshore trading company can help to reduce or avoid tax: an EU automotive component company sets up an independent offshore company to purchase cheap Chinese parts and sell them on at a profit to the EU company, which builds them into assemblies, adding further value (which will be taxed in the EU). A newsletter and magazine publisher in the UK retains his editorial staff there, but sets up a separate offshore sales and distribution company to handle the rest of the process, and make most of the profit offshore.

An international engineering personnel agency gives up its Paris office and moves completely to an offshore jurisdiction which is only slightly less convenient for interviewing people. Its own profits and those of its free-lance staff become untaxed (staff may choose to remain in a high-tax area, but at least now they have a choice!). Note that the tax saved in most such cases is income (corporation) tax; but in the case of products or services which can be delivered over the Internet, the possibility of avoiding VAT also opens up.

It is worth noting that some IOCs actively encourage trading operations by offering duty-free zones, or warehousing facilities. This can be particularly important when attempting to avoid the creation of a "permanent establishment" in the destination country (e.g. for the storage of goods before delivery) which could compromise a company's offshore status.

Apart from ensuring fiscal suitability and confidentiality, the choice of an offshore jurisdiction for trading purposes will depend on a variety of factors, of which some particularly important ones may be: good transport links, availability of skilled local labour. Ease of obtaining entry and work permits. Proximity to markets. Local cost levels. Effectiveness of local banking and commercial services. Modern telecommunications and e-commerce infrastructure. Availability of duty-free zones. Ease of establishment of offshore entities.

Due to the variety of possible trading purposes, it is difficult to recommend suitable IOCs, but here is a list of some International Offshore Centres with good, broad infrastructure and which meet many of the criteria above: British Virgin Islands, Cyprus, Gibraltar and Panama.

USES OF OFFSHORE ENTITIES. FINANCIAL HOLDING & INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES:

Broadly speaking, it is larger companies, especially multinationals, that use IOCs for holding and investment. At one time, the tax advantages that could be got from routing investment or ownership through an IOC had got to be balanced against the extra cost, difficulty and risk of using a possibly somewhat backward offshore island without sophisticated business infrastructure or switched-on professionals.

No longer. Some of the International Offshore Centres are difficult to distinguish from centres in high-tax countries in Europe or North America in terms of financial infrastructure, while the spread of modern telecommunications, computer technology and now the Internet has pretty well done away with the difficulties of working with offshore.

Still, it is the tax advantages that drive offshore, as always, and the 500 banks in the Cayman Islands are there to reduce their own tax bills and to service the needs of corporations that want to lower their tax burdens, not because of the climate. There is a very wide variety of corporate financing and investment purposes offshore, some of which are indicated in the following list: to hold foreign subsidiaries and receive dividends or interest on loans from them in a tax-efficient manner; either because there is a good tax treaty between the IOC and the foreign country concerned; or because the IOC itself has low taxes; or a combination of the two. To concentrate the profits and losses from subsidiaries in one low-tax area, which may be more tax-efficient than remitting them to the high-tax base country separately. To obtain financing from institutions that are themselves free of high taxation (especially withholding tax) and can therefore provide it more cheaply than they can from high-tax centres. Especially project finance is often assembled offshore, where the burden of regulation is lighter, alongside the tax advantages. To base in-house treasury and finance departments in a flexible, low-tax environment from which they can provide the best and cheapest service to group companies wherever they may be.

In choosing an IOC for financial purposes, it is the finance sector infrastructure that is most important, and here is a list of IOCs that qualify in a general way - underlined jurisdictions are already covered in our jurisdictions section; others will be shortly: (NB: it may often be the case that a corporation resident in a particular high-tax country will choose a specific IOC because of the tax situation between them) British Virgin Islands, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Panama.

USES OF OFFSHORE IBCS. CORPORATE FINANCIAL & MANAGEMENT SERVICES:

The corporate headquarters of large groups tend to accumulate a variety of support services, which are often priced into the base costs of the group's products and services, and then attract margin in the final price to a customer. The profit realized by the group in this way is of course taxed at whatever local rate is applicable.

Nowadays, in a world of telecommunications, computing and easy travel, most or all headquarters' functions can be carried out almost anywhere, and there is extreme competition to attract them between International Offshore Centres and between high-tax jurisdictions as well, all wanting the prestige and the economic benefits stemming from the presence of a group of highly-paid executives and the business transactions they generate. In different ways, it is thus often possible for a group to make the profits inherent in its support activities in a more or less tax-free environment. Whether this translates through to the bottom line depends on many complex factors, but competent financial management will usually be able to get a good result.

The high-tax jurisdictions have tried to attract headquarters' offices and functions using the "coordination centre" concept. Originally pioneered in Belgium, it is now in common use in many countries. Essentially, the host country will allow a resident corporate coordination centre to carry out its functions outside the normal tax laws, so that for instance a re-invoicing function for cross-border intra-group trading would be allowed to escape withholding tax or transfer-pricing rules. Taxation of coordination centres is "by agreement" between the corporation and the host country, and is usually minimal. This is one of the ways in which high-tax jurisdictions, which are nominally against low-tax areas, play the game themselves.

Often, however, a group will decide to locate some of its support functions in a traditional (!) IOC. There may be cost and operational advantages to doing so, apart from any tax savings; but the underlying reasons are always tax ones, and eventually amount to the fact that the profits implicit in the functions can be made in a low-tax centre. The list of corporate functions which can be carried out from an IOC is very long, but includes procurement, marketing and distribution, treasury management, debt factoring, travel and transport management, telecommunications, computing, recruitment and training, pensions management, payroll. The rapid evolution of e-commerce and e-business techniques has only increased the attractions of an offshore location for many of these functions.

Foreign exchange management is a good example of how centralized IOC management can benefit a group: any large group with many subsidiaries in different countries has substantial costs connected with foreign exchange. Multi-currency treasury management on the basis of a set of independent national treasury operations is nearly the worst possible method, and concentration of all transactions into a flexible central treasury in a jurisdiction without exchange controls or predatory and highly-protected local banks is an obvious solution. Providing that the centralized currency management function is based in an IOC with good local financial infrastructure, treasury management can proceed to optimize cash flows without concerns about withholding taxes, capital gains, or any of the other unpleasant taxes or regulations often imposed by high-tax governments. Finally, the profits from such an operation, which can be quite substantial in a large group, are made in a low-tax jurisdiction.

The choice of an appropriate IOC for the conduct of centralized group management or support functions is obviously dependent on the location of the existing head office or support functions, the type of business concerned, the existing group fiscal structure, and a host of other factors. It is not possible therefore to select a list of particular International Offshore Centres that should be considered.

USES OF OFFSHORE CORPORATIONS. LICENSING & FRANCHISING: ROYALTY COLLECTION:

One of the most common uses of IOCs is for the collection of revenue from technology licenses, franchise fees, and royalties on other transfers of intellectual property. These types of payment often result from transfers of intellectual property from more advanced nations to less advanced ones.

Such payments are often subject to withholding taxes in the country from which they originate, and will get taxed, perhaps doubly, on arrival in the country of the licensor. Therefore an IOC having good double-tax treaties with emerging markets countries, and not levying withholding tax on onward payments, will be a suitable location for an intermediary company. If the offshore collection company can be independent of the originating company (the licensor or franchisor) then so much the better, and the profits from licensing may be available free of tax altogether.

The US and many other countries have legislation designed to ensure that companies do not manage to escape tax due on the sale of intellectual property from offshore jurisdictions. However, this legislation was not designed to cope with digital downloads of intellectual property or property rights from servers in offshore jurisdictions. Many tax-efficient opportunities of this type are arising as the range of digitally downloadable products expands, but great care is necessary in setting up such schemes given the uncertainty of the legal and fiscal environment. While tax treaties are not absolutely vital to the success of offshore licensing schemes, they are quite important, and the list of jurisdictions below is restricted to those IOCs having good networks of double-tax treaties. Perhaps because licensing was one of the earliest significant uses of what used to be called 'tax havens', many of the high-tax jurisdictions terminated tax treaties that they used to have with some of the more blatant International Offshore Centres. There is by now a division between those IOCs that try to maintain at least the appearance of a normal fiscal regime, and those that don't bother.

USES OF OFFSHORE COMPANIES. PROFESSIONAL SERVICE:

IOCs naturally generate significant amounts of professional work in support of the offshore companies and trusts that are set up. While some of this is performed by nationals of the IOCs (creation of employment is evidently one of the reasons for a country to become an IOC), much necessarily falls into the lap of expert foreign professionals, and International Offshore Centres usually make it reasonably easy for such people to work.

Apart from "offshore" professional activity as such, IOCs are also an attractive location for professional firms offering their services internationally. Engineering and management consultancies are examples. Whether connected with tax or not, professionals in IOCs have many advantages. Of course they can usually take advantage of low local tax rates, which are often further reduced for employees of offshore entities or offshore partnerships; and there are often further concessions which add up to a highly favourable tax regime. Their services provided in high-tax jurisdictions will of course be deductible expenses locally, while there are usually no withholding taxes on such payments.

The choice of an IOC for a professional services company or partnership is highly dependent on the location of their customers, and their own existing residence. Therefore no short-list of possible International Offshore Centres is offered. While not providing any specific legal or tax counsel, nevertheless for some individuals or companies, offshore companies may offer specific tax advantages over other jurisdictions. Any potential client seeking legal or tax advise should consult with their individual legal or tax advisor. We are providing direct low cost offshore IBC formation services with possibility to check company name availability online and incorporation in real time mode!

More than that here you can find a variety of offshore shelf companies and we can provide full nominee services (director and shareholder) for your company to secure your privacy. Our company also offers you hold mail/mail forwarding or complete offshore virtual office for your company to safeguard your confidentiality. We can assist you to globally diversify and preserve your wealth, and provide you ideal offshore business structure for your worldwide investments.
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