offshore incorperations....

[hockey97]

Hi, I would like to know if a US citizen can incorperate a company offshore.

I heard stuff about countries that Americans would incorperate their business with and have no business in the country but use it as a tax loophole.

These countries have treaties with the U.S which allows those countries to have businesses in the U.S while they don't need to do the accounting or pay U.S taxes.

They only have to have their countries taxes if they have any operations in the countries.

These companies are refered to offshore companies. Not foreign companies.

I want to know how true is this or are these scams?

These countries are usally referred as tax safe heaven countries. They have treaties and agreements with the U.S and those countries are usually allies with the U.S

Those countries do have rules on people making companies in their country that are from other countries.

I just want to know if this can be true or is it a scam. I know since I am in accounting that int he U.S all companies have to pay taxes.

[Fanatik]

I know since I am in accounting that int he U.S all companies have to pay taxes.

Ok, so why do you care then? If you're setting up a business to knowingly avoid paying taxes - that's considered tax evasion/tax fraud. Are you really that dire not to pay taxes? You're hurting no one but yourself and the rest of the US of A.

Stop trying to find loopholes and just shoot straight.

J

[SIMPLEROBB]

Ok, so why do you care then? If you're setting up a business to knowingly avoid paying taxes - that's considered tax evasion/tax fraud. Are you really that dire not to pay taxes? You're hurting no one but yourself and the rest of the US of A.

Stop trying to find loopholes and just shoot straight.

J

Atleast you went straight to the point.

[atkinsbiz]

How much is your estimated annual turnover? It is really only worthwhile avoiding taxes if you have a very high turnover. ..Perhaps you could move to Monaco and pay zero income tax? lol

[Go_offshore]

In a nutshell... one of the possibilities US residents go for a Belize Company (IBC). The principal advantage of a Belize Company (IBC) is that you can form one quickly and with a minimum of fuss.

Belizean IBCs are specifically exempted from any form of income tax, capital gains or exchange controls. Any IBC can conduct its business in any foreign currency it may choose free of the Belizean government regulation or restriction.

There is no Tax treaty between US and Belize although there is an exchange of information agreement in certain tax cases.

Belize has very strong Bank secrecy laws. However, these do not extend to activities that are considered crimes in Belize such as drug smuggling, theft or fraud.

Many investors use a Belize company to trade securities, hold real estate or to collect royalties and dividends. Belize Companies are also used to hold assets or conduct business on behalf of a trust – which allows details of the trust’s existence and beneficiaries to be withheld from third parties.

Should you require more info, let me know.

Kind regards,

Go_offshore

[Mega B]

@Go_offshore very good information as i am looking to go offshore latter this year and Belize and also Gibraltor the places that had been mention,this is just my opinion and is not necessary aimed at anyone but if i wanted to go to a tax haven no one would stop me.

[Go_offshore]

Let me know if you need more info!
I will be happy to answer your questions.

Kind regards,
go_offshore

[Mega B]

@Go_offshore the current quote i have at this moment in time is £999 which is about $1400 to set it all up including all the annual fees,i think i am right in saying there is a fixed annual tax payable to the Belize government of only $100 is this correct at this moment in time ????

[Go_offshore]

My answer to hockey97 was specific for US residency.

In your case, where would you like to use it for exactly? If you only need it to hold a business account there are many less expensive solutions that would work just fine. For example a private company within an LLC. This is not even one third of the price that you just quoted and can be set up in 1/2 day.

At any requested time you can drop me a private line of course.

Kind regards,
go_offshore

[BusinessAdviser]

Ok, so why do you care then? If you're setting up a business to knowingly avoid paying taxes - that's considered tax evasion/tax fraud. Are you really that dire not to pay taxes? You're hurting no one but yourself and the rest of the US of A.

Stop trying to find loopholes and just shoot straight.

J

I disagree wholeheartedly.

First, setting up a business to knowingly avoid paying taxes is NOT considered tax evasion or fraud. It's tax AVOIDANCE, which is entirely different than tax EVASION. Tax avoidance is the use of legal means to minimize tax liability, while tax evasion is failing to pay taxes owed.

Tax avoidance is not just legal, but it's very smart, often necessary for business success, and extremely common. If you're filing an S corp to avoid the double taxation of a C corp, aren't you using legal means to avoid greater tax liability? Of course you are.

Be smart, avoid taxes where you can. God knows they'll just be pissed away by the inefficient machine we call the U.S. government.

As for offshore corporations, we've looked into them as well. However, based on working with our CPA, we've found other ways to avoid taxes that will not raise all the red flags, and subsequent timely and costly audits, that an offshore corporation would.

A better solution is to hire a good CPA to find the best way possible, considering all factors.

Hope this helps.

[Mega B]

@BusinessAdviser thanks for the advice its been a great help !!

[BusinessAdviser]

@BusinessAdviser thanks for the advice its been a great help !!

You're very welcome.

[Fanatik]

I think the most important part here, is the income tax portion. I agree that being smart and avoiding double taxation is a no-brainer - but doing something off-the-cuff to gain a 'tax loop hole' is quite shady. I dont see the benefit of doing this, unless like someone else said, you have a high turnover. There are other options for smaller businesses, even medium-sized businesses, to incorporate in Nevada or Delaware. Hell, even incorporating takes a lot of thought and time and effort. Depending on what you're doing and how you're operating, it looks like the off-shore option may be more of a hassle than it's worth, and I dont imagine you'd save enough on avoiding taxes, than doing something more traditional.

Also like someone said, talk to a CPA and see what would work best for you. g'luck

[SiteFlipGuru]

From what I've heard you can open up a bank account just about anywhere. Keep in mind that while you may be getting a tax break you have to ask yourself if your money is protected and insured.

Bert Seither
Site Flip Guru