Offshore Tax and Money Havens

Every sovereign jurisdiction has different rules.

Information sources for anonymous banking, asset protection, company formation services, offshore, privacy, permanent tourist, residency programs, second passports, tax shelters and tax haven information.

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John Burr Williams, 1938, The Theory of Investment Value, page 5: "Nowadays rich men are being forced by the income-tax laws to be investors instead of speculators. So heavy now are the surtaxes on stock profits that wealthy men often will not run the risks entailed in speculating for quick gains, with most of the profit in good years going to the government, but all of the loss in bad years falling on themselves. To avoid such unfair odds, rich men are being forced to hold their stocks for five or ten years, so as to bring their taxable gains down to 40 or 30 per cent of their total gains. [Footnote: For details concerning these provisions of the (1938) Federal Income Tax Law, see the instruction sheet of the personal income-tax blank.] Seeing that taxes load the dice against quick profits and make speculation a losing game, these men are falling back on investment. As investors they are looking to dividends during a long period to bring them their profits, because profits on this kind come in small installments and are not caught in the net of high surtaxes. As a result of the Federal Income Tax Law, therefore, rich men, in a purely practical way, are finding themselves confronted with precisely the problem which we ourselves have set out to investigate entirely as a question of economic theory; namely, "What is the investment value of a given security?"

Some people perceive offshore funds to be vehicles for tax evasion, as opposed to tax avoidance or tax deferral. This is an erroneous perception. Offshore funds accept assets that are after-tax or otherwise not liable for taxes in the investor's home tax jurisdiction. Many hedge funds managers offer both a U.S. fund for taxable U.S. investors and an offshore fund for nontaxable U.S. investors and non-U.S. investors. For example, the investors of such a fund might include a U.S. pension fund or endowment fund and a Japanese high-net-worth family.

There reportedly are investors who use offshore funds for their "flight capital" to hide assets or for secrecy to evade taxes in their home country. Nevertheless, an offshore fund is designed to manage assets that are already exempt from taxation in the relevant country. Managers of offshore funds handle tax-exempt assets, and thus do not collect or distribute the information necessary for an investor to file a tax return. A taxable U.S. investor who did invest in an offshore fund would have to report to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, but such an investor would not have access to the relevant information. Because of this, U.S. taxable investors are effectively blocked from investing in offshore funds.

Offshore is a relative term. The universe of investment opportunities that are offshore to an investor domiciled in the USA excludes those opportunities that are located in the USA. This investment universe is different from the investment universe for an investor domiciled in the United Kingdom, Germany or Japan.

 

Offshore Hedge Funds

A list of funds is published in the U.S. Offshore Funds Directory.

Cardinal Fund Management A hedge fund and asset management firm for offshore investors which invests capital in international and domestic markets. Hedge fund investment strategies include but are not limited to venture capital, risk arbitrage, distressed debt, dividend recapture, cross-market listings arbitrage, fundamental speculation, and customized private investments.

Dynamic Offerings, Inc. Hedge Funds Start your own hedge fund. Helps you launch a non-SEC-regulated investment partnership known as a hedge fund, domestic or offshore. Free booklet "How to Start a Hedge Fund."

Hedge Fund Association

Hedge Fund Center Educational information on hedge funds.

Hedgefund.net Tuna Indices Interactive hedge fund database.

Hennessee Group Hedge fund investment advisory.

KSP Capital Management LLC Hedge Fund Investors' Resource Hedge fund investment advisory. Hedge fund primer.

Magnum Funds Magnum specializes in identifying the leading hedge funds and combining them into funds of funds that seek to provide more stable long-term returns than the individual funds.

Miramar Research Group Private Placements Start-up kits for exempt hedge funds LP, exempt commodity pools LP, registered commodity pools LP, and real-estate syndicates LLC.

Owl Head Offshore Hedge Fund Investing for Everybody Another example of doomsday fear-mongering? Real wealth creation through wisdom, awareness and self-discovery. Combines wealth, wisdom and spiritual inspiration. Offers privately published book by R. Derek de Brun entitled Money Madness, Spiritual Emptiness with subtitles Major Financial Meltdown Ahead : A 21st Century Survival Guide for the Turbulent Times That Threaten Us : Why the Stock Market Bubble Will Burst and Cause a Great Depression : How an Explosion in Spirituality Will Transform Capitalism.

ScamDog Articles on offshore banking, operation of scams, individual sovereignty, Perpetual Traveler, and "freedom" projects such as Laissez Faire City.

Solomon Investments An Internet-based investment company specializing in offshore hedge funds, managed futures funds for capital appreciation and high growth.

Turtle Trader Offshore and Tax Havens Turtle Trader's Offshore 10 Commandments.

Turtle Trader Hedge Fund 24/7 Global continuous news and performance on hedge and commodity funds (futures, currencies, etc.).

Van Hedge Fund Advisors International Qualified investors have access to one of the world’s largest selections of hedge funds with Van Hedge Fund Advisors International. This extensive hedge fund information is maintained in data banks which contain information on approximately 4,600 hedge funds. Includes a password-protected area that will allow qualified investors to view hedge fund returns by individual managers and by strategy.

 

Other Offshore Resources

Escape Artist Overseas living for international job seekers, expatriates and tax exiles, your guide to international living.

Freedom International - Offshore Banking and Finance Offshore jurisdictions. Forums, library, resources.

Goldhaven Offshore Investment Information Resource Offshore books and programs, offshore articles, scams, links, set up your own offshore internet business, moderated discussion group.

Goldhaven Discussion Group Non-Members

Invest Offshore Tax havens around the world.

International Trade & Investments Limited Bahamas offshore information.

Offshore Interactive Investor Country and jurisdiction guides; product guide; directory of financial providers; find an international broker.

Offshore Manual & Directory

Offshore Manual Glossary of basic financial, legal, offshore, privacy, PT and tax haven terms.

Offshore Companies

OPC International Permanent tourist, perpetual traveler.

Research Press - Scams & Schemes

Shorex Offshore Exhibitions & Conferences

S&P Personal Wealth

Summit Analytical Associates Political Risk Specialists

Trusts & Trustees The world's leading journal on the formation and uses of international trusts.

Wall Street Offshore Mutual funds registered outside the U.S.

Where to Stay Caribbean islands list.

 

Offshore Books

ORDER HERE Tax Havens of the World, 7th revised edition, 1999. Thomas Azzara, New Providence Press.

ORDER HERE Bulletproof Offshore Asset Protection, 1999, Jim Bennett, The Jim Bennett Institute.

ORDER HERE The Offshore Money Book : How to Move Assets Offshore for Privacy, Protection, and Tax Advantage, 1998, Arnold L. Cornez, NTC/Contemporary Publishing.

ORDER HERE The Tax Haven Guide Book, Ken H. Finkelstein, 1998, Big Island Media Corporation.

ORDER HERE The Offshore Advantage, Terry L. Neal, 1999, Master Media.

ORDER HERE The Complete Guide to Offshore Money Havens : How to Make Millions, Protect Your Privacy, and Legally Avoid Taxes, 3rd revised edition, 1999, Jerome Schneider and Susan Silva, Prima Publishing.

ORDER HERE How to Legally Obtain a Second Citizenship and Passport-And Why You Want to, Adam Starchild, 1995, Breakout Productions.

ORDER HERE The Offshore Manual & Directory, 2000, K. F. B. Weiss, Carlton Press.

 

Caribbean Tax Havens

Thomas Azarra, author of the Tax Havens of The World and the Tax Haven Reporter, writes (not verified independently, so investigate yourself) the following: tax havens near the U.S. like the Cayman Islands, Panama, Barbados, and The Bahamas have become prominent financial centers rivaling the industrial cities such as London, Tokyo and New York for business. The tiny Cayman Islands now boast more commercial banks in the commercial registrar than in all California. The dollars on deposit in these Cayman banks is more than all the commercial banks in California.

The Bahamas, just 50 miles off the coast of Florida, was once the third largest financial center in the world next to New York and London. Today the Bahamas still ranks in the top ten, just behind the Cayman Islands. There are more than 400 banks and trust companies registered here in Nassau.

The Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda have no personal income taxes, no corporate income taxes, no capitol gains taxes, no withholding taxes, no estate, gift or inheritance taxes, no sales taxes, no employment taxes, no death duties, and no probate fees. Guarantees against future taxes are provided by these governments for periods up to 50 years. Exempt trusts can receive guarantee up to 100 years.

The total costs of forming an IBC (International Business Company) in the Bahamas are estimated to be about $2,000 the first year and about $1,000 per annum thereafter for maintenance.

Azarra says that over the last seven years he has registered more than 990 International Business Companies (IBCs). Each IBC comes with 2 Bahamian trusts, foreign trustees, registered agent, registered office in Nassau, etc. The Bahamas are the ideal tax-free haven, just 3/4 hour from Miami. There are more than 400 banks in the Bahamas with over $300 billion dollars on deposit. Offshore banks and companies can trade in the U.S. stock market free of capital gains taxes. An IBC can receive U.S. Bank CD interest or treasury bond interest 100% free from all taxes - U.S. and other. Americans who live offshore can exclude up to $72,000 in foreign earned income too.

Over 20 tax havens are covered in the book Tax Havens of The World ($75) including, the Bahamas, Caymans, Switzerland, Vanuatu, Bermuda, Barbados, Hong Kong, Singapore, Channel Islands & The Isle of Man (famous havens used by modern British businessmen), Campione, Panama, Anguilla, Antigua, Liberia, Gibraltar, Cyprus (shipping tax haven) and little Nauru (3rd smallest nation in the world), and many more. Also covered are the Exempt Companies, the International Business Corporation (IBC), the Foreign Trust, the Foreign Personal Holding Company, Exempt Shipping Companies, Exempt Offshore Banks, Exporting US products tax free, the important US Income Tax Treaties, and Australian & Canadian tax havens. Of great importance to the American planner is a complete disclosure on How to Avoid the USA's "Controlled Foreign Corporation" (CFC) legislation.

In Chapter 11 (Foreign Trusts) you'll find out how Big "8" accounting firms exploit IRS Revenue-Ruling 69-70 to pass foreign source income onward to U.S. beneficiaries free from Federal income taxes. It's legal to do if you know how. Learn all about tens of thousands of foreign companies and trusts domiciled in no-tax havens like the Bahamas and the Caymans - where American megabucks are hidden and secure.