Best Offshore company jurisdiction for my business please?

[cole]

Im an Internet marketer and looking for privacy on the net, what offshore jurisdiction may be best for me?


Am I right if assuming that all profits earned in the offshore company will be tax free as long as I don't take them out of the company?

 

[Zqq]

Szalay said:
Im an Internet marketer and looking for privacy on the net, what offshore jurisdiction may be best for me?
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We need a better understanding of your needs and requirements. Why are you considering offshore instead of onshore? What services do you offer? How will your clients pay you?

Szalay said:
Am I right if assuming that all profits earned in the offshore company will be tax free as long as I don't take them out of the company?
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Most countries tax their tax resident on worldwide income. Even if you hold the money offshore, you may still be eligible for tax. This is why a lot of people do not declare their offshore assets.

 

[cole]

What Im into is privacy not for tax reasons bt for privacy 🙂 I have been looking at the offer here on the forum for Seychelles and it seems very attempting to me. It seems it is what Im looking for but just not sure:s-confused: Can we solve the issue with world income tax with nominee you think?


I use clickbank most for my business and they say they are fine with a seychelles company and cyprus bank account.

 

[Zqq]

Szalay said:
What Im into is privacy not for tax reasons bt for privacy 🙂 I have been looking at the offer here on the forum for Seychelles and it seems very attempting to me. It seems it is what Im looking for but just not sure:s-confused: Can we solve the issue with world income tax with nominee you think?
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Nominees will not affect the tax status of your worldwide income. Since you are still the UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owner), any income generated by the company belongs to you. However, because the ownership details of IBCs are confidential and a proper request for information or court order is required to release information, they are often used for undeclared income.

Szalay said:
I use clickbank most for my business and they say they are fine with a seychelles company and cyprus bank account.
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That is a very common structure.

 

[zack]

Why so many are using clickbank what is it if I may ask?

 

[zack]

clickbank is good for affiliate marketing lots of programs to promote.

 

[cole]

bernt said:
Why so many are using clickbank what is it if I may ask?
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clickbank is one of the fastest growing and biggest affiliate programs. They offer thousands of products to promote and sell and they are stable.

 

[cole]

When appointing nominees for a Cyprus company the company will be tax resident in Cyprus (legally) so it has to be taxed in Cyprus only if DTA's with my country are in place.

 

[dany]

For affiliate marketing programs like clickbank it is not required to have company and bank account in same country.

 

[hugger]

Zqq said:
Most countries tax their tax resident on worldwide income. Even if you hold the money offshore, you may still be eligible for tax. This is why a lot of people do not declare their offshore assets.
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Zqq said:
Nominees will not affect the tax status of your worldwide income. Since you are still the UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owner), any income generated by the company belongs to you. However, because the ownership details of IBCs are confidential and a proper request for information or court order is required to release information, they are often used for undeclared income.
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I do not think that you are correct in this issue.


The Ultimate Beneficial Ownership issue is irrelevant.The Company is a separate legal entity to you as a person.


If you retain all the profits in the company, you will not have any personal tax liability (even if you are from a country which has a tax on your worldwide income.)


However, if the Company pays you any money (either by direct payment or through the use of a Debit card) then you will be taxed on those funds (because it would be considered as income by your country's IRS department.


The point of an IBC is to give you privacy and anonymity. Depending on how and where you structure your Company, you will not have to pay any tax on the revenues flowing to that Company. The money is all yours to do as you wish.


However, once you send money from that Company to yourself (in your country of residence), you are liable for tax on that money.

Last edited by a moderator: Nov 15, 2012

 

[Zqq]

FIUs or other relevant competent authorities are increasingly looking for UBOs and UBO is a major concern for FATF, which is adding tax crimes to its list of predicate offences for money-laundering and in a paper titled "FATF's Response to the Public Consultation on the Revision of the FATF Recommendations", especially sections 11 and 12, addresses the concerns about unclear UBO.


Ultimately, it comes down to how each jurisdiction writes and interprets its laws as well as how you structure your offshore entities. There is no one-fits-all answer. However, based on what I have heard from FIUs or other relevant competent authorities throughout Europe, they will go after UBOs and consider the UBO's income - even in a nominee structure - possibly liable for taxation in the UBO's country of tax residence even if the income is not remitted into that jurisdiction. Simply withdrawing or being paid from a company offshore to an offshore bank account may be considered taxable income.


Of course, FIUs have an inherent interest in making the public declare everything and tax as much as possible. Their word is not gospel.


I want to make clear that I am not saying that you are wrong. I'm just problematizing the situation. It is definitely possible to keep funds offshore and never have to pay tax on them, though this is not necessarily the case in all jurisdictions and cases.

 

[andreas]

The point of an IBC is to give you privacy and anonymity. Depending on how and where you structure your Company, you will not have to pay any tax on the revenues flowing to that Company. The money is all yours to do as you wish.
However, once you send money from that Company to yourself (in your country of residence), you are liable for tax on that money.
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't some countries require you to declare the income of the offshore company? and don't they require you to pay tax from that income then?

 

[hugger]

andreas said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't some countries require you to declare the income of the offshore company? and don't they require you to pay tax from that income then?
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No, you are incorrect.


The income of the offshore company is the income of a separate legal entity (the company). The offshore company is taxed in its home jurisdiction on the profits that the company earns. If the company is based in a tax haven, then it pays basically zero tax.


However,if the company then pays you any money as a Director (Directors fees) or Shareholder (a percentage of the profits paid as dividends) or Manager (salary) then the income to you will be taxable. The income FROM the offshore company (to you) is the income that you would be required to declare.


But there are ways around this. One is to retain the funds in the company and use the funds when travelling outside your home country. Another is for the company to "loan" you the funds for investments in your home country, etc etc

 

[dany]

The loan agreement I already discussed with my tax consultant who confirmed it to be a legit wayt to take out money.

 

[hugger]

mps said:
The loan agreement I already discussed with my tax consultant who confirmed it to be a legit wayt to take out money.
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You have to be careful with this. You must use the "loan" money to buy assets (eg Property).


If you use it to pay for your normal living expenses (wine, women, cars and music), your government will say that it is NOT a loan but that the money is income. (In which case your government will tax the TOTAL of the loan amount at your country's progressive tax rate).

 

[GeorgeSmiley]

Is Dubai any good?

 

[Zqq]

Dubai and the other emirates of UAE can be good, especially if you trade in the Middle East.