Offshore may refer to:
- The company that is incorporated outside the jurisdiction of its principal operations regardless of competition in one of the offshore financial centers (sometimes known as a non-resident), ie, a Canadian company can be "offshore" for purposes a U.S. citizen, or
- The company (resident or not) incorporated in an offshore financial center.
Usually the requirements for business registration under the relevant provision, the resident status will be in compliance with all or some of the following criteria:
Must be incorporated from outside the jurisdiction in question;
Can not trade within the jurisdiction concerned;
They must meet nominal tax expenses charged by the jurisdiction in question.
Offshoring describes the relocation by a company, a business process from one country to another - typically an operational process such as manufacturing or support processes, such as accounting. Even state governments employ relocation.
Management and control
It is worth mentioning at this point that taxation of the company in a place other than their place of incorporation is not a concept exclusively with offshore. For example, consider a UK company, which trade exclusively with France. If the board of directors of this company was based in France there would be no doubt that the company would be subject to French tax.
Consider a U.S. citizen running a company in the Bahamas from the U.S., there is no doubt that the activities of the company is taxed in the U.S.
The same principle extends to the regulation.
Benefits
Foreign companies have the following characteristics that may be helpful:
Taxation - In most jurisdictions the tax authorities are taxed enterprises seeking a nonresident except perhaps for a nominal fee,
Simplicity and reporting - with the exception of regulated companies such as banks or other financial institutions, some jurisdictions make it relatively easy to configure and maintain businesses in particular with reference to the reporting requirements under the so-called land countries - onshore -- the level of information required by the registration of firms varies from one jurisdiction to another.
Legal and protection of assets - some jurisdictions have more stringent provisions to allow a court to pierce the corporate veil, and in many cases, corporate governance rules require the laws of the jurisdiction in which the company is incorporated in place where the defendant, to apply. Gibraltar, for example, it is unlawful for the administrator of a trust to protect their assets to deliver goods to a creditor of the founder and Switzerland it is illegal to disclose banking information.
Fees - Some jurisdictions impose much higher rates that incorporate other jurisdictions. They may also impose much higher maintenance fees in a company in the annual renewal of its charter. This varies from service provider to another service provider and is based significantly on the cost of disbursements.
Anonymity - by carrying out transactions on behalf of a private company, the name of the beneficiaries can be kept out of documentation because the company is a separate legal entity.
Thin capitalization - Some offshore jurisdictions tend not to impose "thin capitalization" companies (with the exception of regulated entities such as banks and insurance companies), allowing it to form a purely nominal equity investment.
Financial assistance - foreign companies is usually not prohibited from providing Financial assistance to purchase its own shares, thereby avoiding the need to "whitewash" procedure in certain financial transactions.
Operating Cost - In many cases, ie when a self-employment offers consulting services to a number of jurisdictions and frequent travelers it is a matter of choice where you choose to incorporate. In this case, the fact that firms in an offshore financial center are considerably cheaper then buying or renting premises, the accounting organization, receptionists, etc..
The legitimate uses of offshore companies
international trade, especially if the owner has no fixed residence are:
- Protection of assets
- The captive insurance
- The registration of yachts
- Tax evasion
- Protection of intellectual property
- Succession Planning
- Confidentiality (not criminal)
Offshore jurisdictions:
Andorra, Anguilla, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Delaware, Dubai, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey, Jordan, Labuan, Lebanon, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Monaco, Netherlands, Netherlands, Nevada, New Zealand, Panama, Ras Al Khaimah, Seychelles, Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Kingdom, Vanuatu.
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