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Gibraltar vs BVI

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I've been told by an⁣ agent that does company registrations for BVI that they don't offer cards for BVI, not⁢ sure if it's accurate.

I wanted a company card as the money wouldn't have to︀ go through my account in case that gets reported to my country of passport so︁ they don't get ideas to start asking questions. Maybe the company account would get reported︂ too but haven't have issues so far at least by using an EMI.
 
But is the company tax resident in Singapore in that case? Or is it⁠ just like a HK "offshore" company in that case, without any clear tax residency?
Some countries don't consider companies tax resident where they are incorporated, but where they are managed⁤ and controlled.

@Roo What's your personal tax residency? Where do you live, where do you⁣ physically perform the work?
 
Almost all. Hence the setup makes sense‍ when you either travel or line on places such as Sark it those countries that⁠ lack the possibilities to chase you, i.e. undeveloped ones.

Also, if you live in many⁤ countries over a decade you are also better off with a setup like this as⁣ you can just register your Singapore company on Hong Kong for two years to pay⁢ taxes there, and even bypass the audit requirements. You gain a lot of freedom with︀ Singapore as there will never be tax discussions in Singapore but dividend discussions there.

Even for EUSSR, you can line there for one year and move onwards, the chances that︁ they are going to tax you for one year are not very big. There is︂ plenty of room and tons of exceptions such as tax benefits for inward company migration︃ credits.

And otherwise yes, you will need a resident director in Monaco or something.
 
The company in my case is tax⁣ resident in Singapore.
@JustAnotherNomad I am/was last resident in a high tax EU country but⁢ moving around the EU also didn't get me into any issues while doing this.

@daniels27 I spoke to your contact at Sovreign, thanks for the contact info. He cleared things︀ up for me so if my company would be offshore declaring no presence/ties to Singapore︁ and no bank account there it should be tax free however I should beware of︂ tax authorities possibly informing my country of residence if offshore.
 
Yes as mentioned above⁠ if your stay is less than 2 years and you travel a lot, there won't⁤ be many issues. Just be careful with counties with closed borders when you approach 183⁣ days. Taiwan is known for detaining people at immigration to pay taxes.

Thanks. Then︂ just stay 150 days max per country and they probably won't do much with the︃ report. Or you give them your residency where you only stay 30 days.
 
No, most companies consider companies tax resident due‌ to their place of incorporation by default.
Obviously if you live in another country, then‍ that country could also consider the company tax resident there due to its effective place⁠ of management. Then you could be facing double taxation, unless there is a tax treaty.⁤

Singapore is special in this regard, insofar as they pretty much just don't care where⁣ the company should pay tax if nothing happens in Singapore.
But that also means you⁢ cannot use any of Singapore's tax treaties. It's basically similar to a US SMLLC, with︀ the exception that it's not even a transparent entity.
I would also imagine that banking︁ must be extremely difficult for such an offshore company?

What do you mean?

But that would be the same with any other country, no? You could also︈ set up in, say, the BVI, and the risk of the company becoming taxable in︉ Europe would be comparable...?

I believe we have discussed this before and︋ concluded that Monaco actually has a corporate income tax for local businesses...

Yes, because you︌ have a local director and pay tax.

Many people fly under the radar, so️ I wouldn't take that to mean much.

Yes, your company then simply wouldn't be⁣ tax resident anywhere. It also wouldn't have access to tax treaties.
I imagine that banking⁢ could be tricky.

Most high-tax countries will consider︁ you tax resident long before 150 days.
 
Yes that's⁤ what I meant.

Yes. But it looks like a opaque company.

No super easy.

I mean if︃ you use a company in a country with tax and you travel around or live︄ in St Barth's etc., the country of incorporation is quite likely to come up with︅ tax claims and in the worst case with horrendous exit tax. Singapore with never come︆ with any claim unless you go to Singapore.

Correct. But Singapore has way better reputation and better access to banking.

Sorry. Monaco is none of my business.︌ I just took it as an example as somebody mentioned it for this purpose in︍ as neighbouring thread. Better use Sark or St Barth's then.
 
I use Wise at the moment, they don't really know‍ where the company is tax resident as in they never asked, they have company details⁠ and UBO details, no questions asked.
 
Completely understood. I only thought to point it⁠ out for the sake of completeness. 😉 I don't think any of us is going to⁤ hire a Monaco resident as a nominee director for our company. 😉
 
@daniels27 , @JustAnotherNomad the downside compared to a US LLC is the annual cost which‌ is from 2.5K USD upwards (Sovreign said they tax 10K for those services). A US‍ LLC will cost based on what I found online so far
 
Do report back if you do follow up on this lead, and if it⁣ goes smooth with no issues with IRAS or with accountants etc.
That's a very high fee for︀ SG. Are they just expensive, or is it because they need to something particular to︁ claim offshore status? If not? What is this fee for?

And, did they say that︂ you can't bank in SG ? That part doesn't make sense to me, as all︃ the info regarding not banking in SG refers to SG tax resident companies.
Anyway, if︄ this is the case, are you sure Wise is not a SG bank?
 
Yes but it gives you more flexibility to keep assets in the company should⁤ you once stay somewhere for longer. CIT+dividends may be cheaper that salary as for the⁣ US LLC.

The fee is about 4k for the︁ compliance and resident director. The rest could be avoided if you do bookkeeping and tax︂ filing yourself.

If you remit money to︅ Singapore it is taxable.

Then take another EMI. Airwallex etc.︇

What about PayPal? Are they considered a Singaporean bank?
 
I am asking my current providers about this, will report back if I end⁢ up going this way.
The guys said they are an international company and high quality︀ service provider so it's a premium fee.

Wise holds SGD in Singapore accounts but I︁ don't deal with SGD at all so I would quite confidently say no (EUR is︂ held in belgium based on iban).
 
I don't think the IBAN⁣ decides where the bank account is based. Check your terms of conditions. I know that⁢ in Malaysia all the currencies are held with Wise Malaysia, even though you can deposit︀ EUR to the BE IBAN.

Everything I've seen about this refers to SG tax resident companies.︂ Where does it say that it is taxable for non SG tax resident companies?

I think︃ they have a license in SG, and if not a bank then at least they're︄ an e-money provider. So I'd assume money received to a SG paypal account is considered︅ remitted to Singapore.
 
Why? I understand a US‍ LLC could be considered as transparent (all income taxable immediately if you are tax resident,⁠ even if there is no PE), is that what you mean?
That the SG company⁤ would be opaque, so they would have to prove PE/PoM? Though the latter probably shouldn't⁣ be hard to do if you have no ties to SG and you actually stay⁢ in a country for 183+ days in any tax year - but of course, they'd︀ have to catch you first and most people would be flying under the radar.

Why would you be paying CIT? Where?

You still need a resident director?︃ How doesn't that make the company tax resident in SG (local management)?

If the company is︄ tax resident in SG, of course.
But if the company isn't tax resident in SG︅ anyway - shouldn't it be treated like a BVI company, for instance? Why should a︆ BVI company have to pay tax if it remits money to SG?
 
I really tried to find something related to this on the IRAS‍ website and couldn't, I am considering asking IRAS directly, I would assume whatever they answer⁠ is what will apply or get permitted in practice regardless of what agents claim to⁤ be possible.
 
It is hybrid. Singapore companies are only taxed on income derived it remitted to Singapore.⁠ If you have neither, you are offshore. Otherwise you pay taxes only on they part.⁤

In other words, what you are looking for cannot exists. As soon as you remit⁣ money to Singapore you become tax resident for at least that part.

Then better use US PayPal.
Let's say︇ you travel and decide to stay a year in Hong Kong. You can register your︈ Singapore company there and pay tax on the profit. With the LLC this becomes much︉ more troublesome. Or you can simply hire a director in St Barth's and have no︊ issues. That's why I say that the opaque company offers you greater flexibility.
Nominee director. Many countries require this even for non︍ tax resident companies.

No. A Singaporean company is taxed‍ on money remitted to Singapore. If you have a place is effective management in a⁠ treaty country, this probably won't apply as per the treaty. A BVI company is not⁤ taxed on that unless tax resident in Singapore.

Call Sovereign
 
I believe what you should ask IRAS is: "What are the requirements for a company‌ that was incorporated in Singapore not to be considered tax resident in Singapore and thus‍ not subject to tax in Singapore, or only subject to tax from Singapore-source income?"

This is a very different question compared to asking: "What are the requirements for income of⁠ a Singapore-resident company to be considered foreign-sourced and exempt from tax in Singapore?"
 
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