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Originally Posted by debbieN
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Depends what you want a tax haven to be
The common concept, tho it has some truth, is a place to stuff a load of money defrauded from some countries revenue collectors.
There are very few countries left that still have the old concept of tax haven left. The rest have caved in to the OECD, including the Bahama's, and are transparent.
There are many variables depending on what citizenship you hold - this can cramp your style before you get off the ground. There are still a few countries where barriers are placed to stop concept of their citizens using "offshore" - Libia, US and Saudi are most of em. US is hard to kill since they still want IRS returns and an answers to very specific questions, which, if answered incorrectly, means jail time. By answering the questions - this defeats the whole purpose of "tax havens" and amounts to complete disclosure. US folks need very good lawyers for this stuff! :-)
It may also be a matter, - usually is, - of actually being offshore or at least not living within the country where you are a citizen. I've been in "tax havens" for years now, but can't say I'd regret any moment of it and can see no reason for setting up home back in my country of citizenship. The quality of life is tops - no tax is fine, but the lifestyle is vastly superior to industrialized countries.
For legitimate tax purposes, it's not only a jurisdiction that matters, but a decent corporate structure in place, possibly covering more than one jusidiction and with banking in other jurisdiction/s... and, where you live can be another jurisidiction :-)