Need some structure assistance

[LordBandwidth]

Hey everyone,

I'm new here. I've looked around a lot but haven't found anything that quite fits my situation ”” if this has been discussed before, feel free to point me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it.


A while back, I set up a UK Ltd company to run some consultancy work, mainly moving money over from my other projects. But now I'm realizing that setup isn't really working for me ”” mainly because of privacy issues and it not looking good on paper.


I'm trying to figure out how to set up an offshore private company that's much more private ”” ideally with banking that doesn't require CRS reporting, or at least where corporate records aren't super easy to dig up.
Also, instead of selling my time through consultancy, I'd rather structure it around something like an intellectual property asset ”” maybe a software platform or an AI system ”” so it's more scalable and less tied directly to me.


If anyone has advice, suggestions, or knows someone good I could talk to about this, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks a lot!

 

[Martin Everson]

LordBandwidth said:
I'm trying to figure out how to set up an offshore private company that's much more private ”” ideally with banking that doesn't require CRS reporting, or at least where corporate records aren't super easy to dig up.
Click to expand...

Not so easy these days. Banking in Puerto Rico as an option but now some offshore jurisdictions are forced by OECD to automatically share corporate data with home country of beneficial owner(s) where the company has no economic substance.

[IMG alt="Martin Everson"]http://localhost/data/avatars/s/8/8698.jpg?1727588489[/IMG]

Thread 'Twelve no/low tax countries share data on companies with no substance with UBO's country'​

Jan 7, 2022
Since March 2021 twelve countries now automatically share information on companies with no economic substance and where beneficial owners are non-resident. I think non-resident folk with companies in the below countries may be in for a letter from their tax man.

Anguilla
Bahamas
Bahrain
Barbados
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Guernsey
Isle of Man
Jersey
Turks and Caicos Islands
United Arab Emirates

------- quote start

Tax transparency moves forward as no or only nominal tax jurisdictions first exchange information on the substance of entities​

...​

• Martin Everson
• aeoi information sharing tax oecd
• Replies: 51
• Forum: Tax, Accounting, Licensing & Legal

• 

LordBandwidth said:
Also, instead of selling my time through consultancy, I'd rather structure it around something like an intellectual property asset ”” maybe a software platform or an AI system ”” so it's more scalable and less tied directly to me.
Click to expand...

Will make no difference if privacy is your concern.

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Please note my posts should not be taken as financial or tax advice. Please seek professional advice in that respect.

 

[bountymounty]

LordBandwidth said:
I'm trying to figure out how to set up an offshore private company that's much more private
Click to expand...

check inside mentor grou gold, f you're serious, go through all the many great threads in there, and you'll find what you're looking for if you're creative enough. Be careful of the many useless services that will probably contact you or that you might think have a solution for you. I've been through all of it in the last 3-4 years, and wow, there's a lot of junk out there.

There are also good services, I should say, but it requires you to do your homework. I'm not selling anything, and I won't be offering any help via PM! So, post here if you have any questions.

 

[redeye]

The days when you could simply set something like this up with, say, a Seychelles company and a Cyprus bank account are long gone. These things now require significant effort and resources, so your main focus should be on whether it's even financially viable to pursue that route.

What kind of annual revenue are you expecting to generate during the first five years of the company's existence, for example?

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Only the early bird catches the worm.

 

[Protect Your Wealth]

You may take a look at US LLCs in places like Delaware where members and managers aren't public.

Your main problem would be opening bank accounts remotely if you are a foreigner (Chase Bank opens remotely corporate bank accounts for foreign owned LLC, but the requirements are pretty high). There is no CRS, but there is FATCA, so do your own research if that is something that could cause you any trouble.

Wise can be opened for an LLC pretty quickly and you can use that to accept payments, although the industry you are working on could cause you issues.

If you can give some general info on the business you are operating in, maybe you can get more help from other members.

 

[Davis123]

Protect Your Wealth said:
You may take a look at US LLCs in places like Delaware where members and managers aren't public.

Your main problem would be opening bank accounts remotely if you are a foreigner (Chase Bank opens remotely corporate bank accounts for foreign owned LLC, but the requirements are pretty high). There is no CRS, but there is FATCA, so do your own research if that is something that could cause you any trouble.

Wise can be opened for an LLC pretty quickly and you can use that to accept payments, although the industry you are working on could cause you issues.

If you can give some general info on the business you are operating in, maybe you can get more help from other members.
Click to expand...

FATCA is only for US citizens.

 

[Protect Your Wealth]

Davis123 said:
FATCA is only for US citizens.
Click to expand...

Yep, if OP is not a US citizen, there won't be any problem.

Sometimes it happens to meet people with dual citizenship (US + something else), therefore I always assume that FATCA could cause problems if I don't know who I am talking to and mention it.

 

[drysponge]

Davis123 said:
FATCA is only for US citizens.
Click to expand...

Protect Your Wealth said:
Yep, if OP is not a US citizen, there won't be any problem.
Click to expand...

no, its for US persons, US LLCs are US persons & accounts held by them are reportable

 

[Martin Everson]

Davis123 said:
FATCA is only for US citizens.
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Not true.

FATCA (related to accounts in US) is not just for US persons but applies to non-residents holding accounts in US. It's bilateral and automatic and information has been exchanged with other countries already.

I have already disgusted this myth extensively back in 2018. If in doubt just read a FATCA agreement.

[IMG alt="Martin Everson"]http://localhost/data/avatars/s/8/8698.jpg?1727588489[/IMG]

Post in thread 'Do I understand that US financial institutions DO NOT report non-us person deposits in them?'​

Jan 2, 2018
Just to correct this wrong assertion, FATCA is actually a bilateral agreement with information exchanged in both directions on an automatic basis under certain conditions i.e non-US account holder with US account receives more than $10 in interest in any calendar year. Have a read of a FATCA agreement. That's why US never joined CRS as they already have FATCA and CRS is just a duplication of effort on OECD terms.

Puerto Rico is best AVOIDED, they have had around 22 new banks registered in just the last 2 years. That's a near on 50% increase in banks in Puerto Rico with only one purpose -...

• Martin Everson

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Please note my posts should not be taken as financial or tax advice. Please seek professional advice in that respect.

 

[MarkusCostigan]

Martin Everson said:
Not true.

FATCA (related to accounts in US) is not just for US persons but applies to non-residents holding accounts in US. It's bilateral and automatic and information has been exchanged with other countries already.

I have already disgusted this myth extensively back in 2018. If in doubt just read a FATCA agreement.

[IMG alt="Martin Everson"]http://localhost/data/avatars/s/8/8698.jpg?1727588489[/IMG]

Post in thread 'Do I understand that US financial institutions DO NOT report non-us person deposits in them?'​

Jan 2, 2018
Just to correct this wrong assertion, FATCA is actually a bilateral agreement with information exchanged in both directions on an automatic basis under certain conditions i.e non-US account holder with US account receives more than $10 in interest in any calendar year. Have a read of a FATCA agreement. That's why US never joined CRS as they already have FATCA and CRS is just a duplication of effort on OECD terms.

Puerto Rico is best AVOIDED, they have had around 22 new banks registered in just the last 2 years. That's a near on 50% increase in banks in Puerto Rico with only one purpose -...

• Martin Everson

Click to expand...

Generally, information is exchanged only by banks and financial institutions in general?

For example, if a US LLC accepts crypto and they are managed with a private wallet (obviously declared in accounting for the LLC). This information is not exchanged? Also, how could it be? Thanks.

 

[Martin Everson]

MarkusCostigan said:
Generally, information is exchanged only by banks and financial institutions in general?
Click to expand...

Correct

MarkusCostigan said:
For example, if a US LLC accepts crypto and they are managed with a private wallet (obviously declared in accounting for the LLC). This information is not exchanged?
Click to expand...

Correct.

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Please note my posts should not be taken as financial or tax advice. Please seek professional advice in that respect.

 

[JohnDoe1122]

Martin Everson said:
Not true.

FATCA (related to accounts in US) is not just for US persons but applies to non-residents holding accounts in US. It's bilateral and automatic and information has been exchanged with other countries already.

I have already disgusted this myth extensively back in 2018. If in doubt just read a FATCA agreement.

[IMG alt="Martin Everson"]http://localhost/data/avatars/s/8/8698.jpg?1727588489[/IMG]

Post in thread 'Do I understand that US financial institutions DO NOT report non-us person deposits in them?'​

Jan 2, 2018
Just to correct this wrong assertion, FATCA is actually a bilateral agreement with information exchanged in both directions on an automatic basis under certain conditions i.e non-US account holder with US account receives more than $10 in interest in any calendar year. Have a read of a FATCA agreement. That's why US never joined CRS as they already have FATCA and CRS is just a duplication of effort on OECD terms.

Puerto Rico is best AVOIDED, they have had around 22 new banks registered in just the last 2 years. That's a near on 50% increase in banks in Puerto Rico with only one purpose -...

• Martin Everson

Click to expand...

I read that thread and from what I got FATCA exchanges information on deposits with more than 10 dollars in interest earned or other accounts (Brokers or something else) and they report reportable US sourced income, so dividends or other things. OP can check FATCA agreement between his country and the US because not all agreements are of type 1A some of them are 1B which means no mutual exchange of information but only 1 way. So just holding a balance in a deposit with no interest earned even if of type 1A should not be reportable.

 

[redeye]

I would honestly not relay on no reporting when it comes to FATCA or any other EU reporting! things are changing pretty fast and the tax offices worldwide have gained more power than ever before!

In regards to OP' it doesn't matter with anonymity in your company if you can't protect that when banking, that's the whole point.

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Only the early bird catches the worm.