Privacy reasons - Not tax avoidance, advice please.

[phatboy]

I run a number of UK Ltd companies and am a UK resident. I have recently been dragged into a frivolous lawsuit from a rival company who tried to sue my UK Ltd Company, and want to avoid this happening to my other companies as it was a costly waste of time.

So I have been thinking about going offshore and trading under an offshore company publicly, but still paying UK tax etc. It's basically for privacy reasons. This should hopefully reduce the chances of any lawsuits if I incorporate somewhere like Belize or St Kitts - where even the Director isn't known if I understand correctly. The latter of these seems expensive to incorporate in though, which is the cheapest place to register?

And is it possible to DIY it i.e. go directly to the equivalent of the St Kitts "Companies House" and register there? I don't really want to spend more than, say, $400 on this a year in fees. Some of these offshore companies are charging $3k a year....

Thanks.

 

[phatboy]

Thanks. What's generally the cheapest place for Belize incorporations online? Best price I've found is⁠ £475 / about $550

 

[phatboy]

Am I allowed to post links? It's from‍ here: Belize Offshore Company Incorporation and Belize Companies Offshore

 

[Mark Rucken]

You want to transfer the whole business offshore, hide the identity of owners/directors and do‌ not want to pay more than 400 USD a year? Try revising your budget.

 

[phatboy]

Not exactly, I want to register my websites through that⁠ offshore company but all trading in terms of accounts, tax will still be done in⁤ the UK.

What would you say is a realistic budget here please?

 

[user9823671]

no

 

[Mark Rucken]

Well, annual renewal‍ for Belize would indeed be some 400-500 USD, but with you appointed as a Manager⁠ and Member. However, if you want to hide behind a Nominee Manager and Member, add⁤ 500 on top of that. In case someone requests incorporation documents, your name will not⁣ be visible on any official document.

 

[phatboy]

yes

Ok, thanks. I'll look into it more.

 

[user9823671]

Honestly, $400 to get a setup where privacy is the focus, that is unrealistic. Maybe‌ you will find somewhere that *advertises* they will do it for that, but then you‍ get hit with hidden fees for *everything*. Even more so if you go the nominees⁠ route.

But best of luck and if you find a reputably and honest company to⁤ do it for you for that much, please let us know.

 

[user9823671]

On a separate note, will you not have issues trading in the UK with an‌ offshore company? What will use for banking?

 

[phatboy]

No, it'll basically‍ be a front. Publicly, my websites will be registered to Offshore Company Ltd in Belize⁠ or whatnot. But I'll still maintain my UK Ltd Company with bank account and carry⁤ on as normal. The only difference is, nobody will be able to find out (easily?)⁣ that my website is still owned/trading under UK Ltd Company, because it won't be mentioned⁢ anywhere.

 

[John Andrews]

Yes this can and will work. The real question here is, which Belize provider is‌ the cheapest?

Realistic budget with nominees is $2k for formation and $1k for renewal. Privacy‍ costs, deal with it.

 

[user9823671]

Will that work though? I suppose⁣ depends on the business, but if someone purchases something from you, wouldn't your UK business⁢ details will appear on the purchase / receipt / statement?

 

[James Turner]

In my experience trying to create privacy and protect yourself, your wealth, assets etc on‌ an incredibly limited budget and DIY rarely works. You need an expert who knows how‍ to structure something properly and they will charge fees to do this. You will only⁠ know this works when a problem arises and at that point it is too late⁤ to fix the errors made by cheap providers or through a DIY effort.

 

[funk]

I agree with @Cetme308win Wyoming LLC in US suits your purpose best and is the‌ cheapest. Also your 5472 would go nill as there won't be any transactions. It's gonna‍ cost you 150USD to form and 50USD thereafter.

 

[phatboy]

Often this is true, but by the same token a lot⁢ of companies just rip you off with something you can get much cheaper by going︀ direct. So it's hard to know which.

I will check out Wyoming, thanks. I thought︁ that this would show the company ownership though.

 

[James Turner]

No Wyoming will not show details. I would still suggest using a Nominee though for‌ that extra layer of privacy.

 

[user9823671]

But if⁠ someone wants to start a lawsuit against you, how much protection is a US company⁤ once the courts are involved? Also, as it is only to show on your site,⁣ whilst you carry on trading with your actual UK company - that doesn't sound like⁢ a robust solution to protect yourself from anyone who is doing more than just looking︀ at company name on your site and not investigating further.

 

[phatboy]

This is my concern too and why I will probably just go with⁣ somewhere obscure like Seychelles or Belize. It is too easy to get a US subpoena,⁢ which the agent will comply with even if my own details are fake they will︀ still have my payment details and IP etc. I would rather incorporate in a place︁ with more protection than the US.

 

[Bmw850]

It is really cheap I usually pay around 900 usd for Belize.
You should go‌ for an US LLC it cost from 50 to 150 usd to incorporate, and depends‍ of the state , the privacy will be enough I guess for your needs.