IOS:: CLASSICAL OFFSHORE JURISDICTIONS

Thursday, 11 March 2010

The list of classical international "tax havens" consists mainly of small states in the Caribbean and Pacific regions, with most popular being Panama, the British Virgin Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis etc.

Companies incorporated in these jurisdictions remain popular, and entrepreneurs prefer them on account of the following advantages:

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Zero taxation in the country of incorporation (as a rule, in classical offshore havens only a fixed annual duty has to be paid, which in most cases does not exceed USD 300 per year).

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Simple procedures for incorporation and ongoing maintenance of the company.

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Opportunities to acquire "ready-made" companies.

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No requirements to pay up or freeze all or part of the authorized share capital on account.

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Confidentiality of the owner is protected - some offshore jurisdictions allow the names of the company's shareholders not to be recorded in governmental registers. Where such a requirement is in force, we offer the opportunity of using our nominee service.

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Minimal requirements as regards reporting - most classical tax havens do not require accounts to be kept or annual financial statements to be submitted.

INTERNATIONAL OVERSEAS SERVICES maintains direct business contacts with the majority of classical offshore jurisdictions and is ready to provide you with a "ready-made" company on request, or to incorporate a new structure in accordance with your requirements.

A list of the most frequently used classical offshore jurisdictions is provided below. To review the incorporation and servicing conditions, please click on the name of the relevant jurisdiction.

	Bahamas
	Belize
	British Virgin Islands
	Gibraltar
	Hong Kong
	Nevis
	Marshall Islands
	Panama
	Panama - Private Interest Foundation
	Seychelles
	St. Lucia

In conclusion, we should like to say that classical tax-exempt companies are very convenient, user-friendly and most importantly have become extremely popular with entrepreneurs over the years. Without wishing to deny the aforementioned advantages of such companies, the specialists of INTERNATIONAL OVERSEAS SERVICES would like to emphasize that their offshore status will be evident to every governmental official or business partner, merely by viewing the constitution of the said company. In particular, some countries of Eastern Europe and the CIS have already adopted certain "anti-offshore" provisions in their legislation, dividing all non-resident companies into "ordinary" and "offshore" (blacklisted) according to a strictly defined list. Companies from classical tax-exempt jurisdictions naturally fall into the category of "offshore".

For these reasons, one should bear in mind that there are alternative options. More and more countries, even those industrially developed countries, known as jurisdictions with strict taxation laws, have recently begun to offer privileges to certain types of companies incorporated there, making it possible to use them in a tax-free regime without having the stigma of a "tax haven". In particular, entrepreneurs hold the US LLC vehicle from "prestigious" US States such as Oregon, Oklahoma, New York, Washington DC in great esteem - the tax-free status of these companies matches their high rating and total absence of "offshore stigma".

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