Business Thread - what's the best country for offshore company?

[Buzz]

subj

I've been looking for a country to register an offshore company.
've visited few lawyers for a consultation, but have'nt got any specific advice, since those lawyers are just offshore specialists, neither adult nor online.

I'm looking for a combination of offshore company/bank account major billing companies would accept, so I could start processing online payments right away.

Your opinions/comments are appreciated.
Anyone who able to give a consultation regarding my question are welcome to leave their contacts in the thread.

[Buzz]

update: forgot to mention that I'm looking for a tax exemption scheme (like Gibraltar companies had) or similar.

Thx

[Hooligan]

Consult a real lawyer. Being in online/adult business doesn't matter.

[mikaels]

Gibraltar is a good place if you can get in....It's getting more and more difficult to get set up offshore plus banking.

[Buzz]

I told you I did

But none of them was able to say me " get a company here and open an account there and then contact that company and they'll process your payments."

That's what I'm looking for.

Just trying to gather as much information as possible.

[mikaels]

Gibraltar is a good place if you can get in....It's getting more and more difficult to get set up offshore plus banking.

[Buzz]

double post

[Buzz]

Originally Posted by mikaels

Gibraltar is a good place if you can get in....It's getting more and more difficult to get set up offshore plus banking.

Gibraltar has no more tax exemption scheme working because of EU laws. The existent Gibraltar companies can use the tax exemtion scheme till June '07 though.

[Ben_MN]

Difficult to get a straight answer out of a lawyer no matter what ur asking

I know a dude who does that kind of thing from Jersey channel islands Buzz, not too sure on all; the ins and outs, but hes agood guy withadult experience. Drop me an email and ill forward his details when when back in office.

[Warning Pages]

I know the Philippines has been working out well for iwebmasters.com

[nAtuRaLbEautY]

philippines...
you'll be able to hire good employees, too.
Filipinos are culturally attuned to the united states.
most of them also speak fluent english and are familiar with western business trends.

[Kimo]

paging Webby to thread......

[Webby]

Originally Posted by Buzz

subj

I've been looking for a country to register an offshore company.
've visited few lawyers for a consultation, but have'nt got any specific advice, since those lawyers are just offshore specialists, neither adult nor online.

I'm looking for a combination of offshore company/bank account major billing companies would accept, so I could start processing online payments right away.

Your opinions/comments are appreciated.
Anyone who able to give a consultation regarding my question are welcome to leave their contacts in the thread.

Fundamentals Prime consideration is obviously processing and that suggests Gibraltar.

Not sure what you mean by a bank major billing companies would accept? Is there a problem with this? Never had any. Your corp can open as many bank accounts as it likes in whatever jurisdictions.

The reason for Gib is it falls within the VISA Euro banking region - kinda relevant.

Taxation on the Gib corp is no biggie and where the use of another corp in a different jurisdiction - one with no taxation or corp filings required - can be handy. Some invoicing on a regular basis to your Gib corp can wipe the possibility of taxation if that comes into play within Gib.


PS Not sure if you mean you spoke to offshore specialists resident in an onshore country Buzz? If so, can only speak from utter shit experience - *any* lawyer who claims to be an offshore specialist while sitting onshore, is a total waste of time.

[Webby]

Originally Posted by Kimo

paging Webby to thread......

I'm here Hi Kimo!

[Dagwolf]

Originally Posted by Buzz

Gibraltar has no more tax exemption scheme working because of EU laws. The existent Gibraltar companies can use the tax exemtion scheme till June '07 though.

Sounds like we've got some conflicting opinions here.

[Webby]

Originally Posted by Dagwolf

Sounds like we've got some conflicting opinions here.

Right now.. there is no taxation on non-resident Gib corps Dagwolf - tho govt can plan and schedule changes at any time and there is shit in the wind and has been agreed that the benefits non-resident corps have will be removed (as far as taxation is concerned).

There is also a standard requirement exisiting now that a non-res corp will not hold Gib bank accounts else it can be liable for normal Gib corp taxation.

If and when taxation in Gib does come - it's a matter of adjusting corp structures to accomodate change. In the instance of a Gib corp - sounds reasonable to add, say a Panama corp to the structure and where the Panama corp invoices the Gib corp for whatevers - management fees, and in turn wipes out the liability to taxation within Gibraltar. Meanwhile, settlement of invoices by the Gib corp to the Panama corp are not subject to any taxation in Panama.

[RevDennis]

try Curacao
www.offshorecuracao.com

[Jamie]

I just used http://www.treppides.com/ to setup a company in Cyprus

As long as the majority of your Directors are outside of Cyprus you have zero taxes. Worse case you pay 10% if you decide to use local Directors. Once you have your corp you can setup a Bank Account wherever.

Contact Nicolas

Office Telephone: +357 22 678944
Mobile Telephone: +357 99 448095
Office Fax Service:+357 22 679096
E- Mail: nicolas@/////treppides.com

[Buzz]

Originally Posted by Webby

Fundamentals Prime consideration is obviously processing and that suggests Gibraltar.

Not sure what you mean by a bank major billing companies would accept? Is there a problem with this? Never had any. Your corp can open as many bank accounts as it likes in whatever jurisdictions.

The reason for Gib is it falls within the VISA Euro banking region - kinda relevant.

Taxation on the Gib corp is no biggie and where the use of another corp in a different jurisdiction - one with no taxation or corp filings required - can be handy. Some invoicing on a regular basis to your Gib corp can wipe the possibility of taxation if that comes into play within Gib.


PS Not sure if you mean you spoke to offshore specialists resident in an onshore country Buzz? If so, can only speak from utter shit experience - *any* lawyer who claims to be an offshore specialist while sitting onshore, is a total waste of time.

Now that makes sence, thnx Webby

and I totally agree with you regarding the onshore specialists

[Buzz]

Originally Posted by Jamie

I just used http://www.treppides.com/ to setup a company in Cyprus

As long as the majority of your Directors are outside of Cyprus you have zero taxes. Worse case you pay 10% if you decide to use local Directors. Once you have your corp you can setup a Bank Account wherever.

Contact Nicolas

Office Telephone: +357 22 678944
Mobile Telephone: +357 99 448095
Office Fax Service:+357 22 679096
E- Mail: nicolas@/////treppides.com

will have a look at the option too, thanks for the reply

[Darth_Porn]

Originally Posted by Jamie

I just used http://www.treppides.com/ to setup a company in Cyprus

As long as the majority of your Directors are outside of Cyprus you have zero taxes. Worse case you pay 10% if you decide to use local Directors. Once you have your corp you can setup a Bank Account wherever.

Contact Nicolas

Office Telephone: +357 22 678944
Mobile Telephone: +357 99 448095
Office Fax Service:+357 22 679096
E- Mail: nicolas@/////treppides.com

Cyprus is a great place to register a company. I have 2 companies registered here. Only 10% if you issue invoices and make payments from there. HOWEVER ... I wouldn't work with the Treppides office. A friend of mine from the online gaming industry got fucked by them. I am sure this is the company, a guy called Kiki and his son Nickolas. They charge up the ass for any service or advice they offer you and the cost of setting something up with them is almost 3 times as high as with any other company.

[samsam]

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/eco...9258546,00.htm

isle of Man has a zero rate of company tax and a cap on income tax, both came into effect in april it seems.

[Webby]

Originally Posted by Darth_Porn

Cyprus is a great place to register a company. I have 2 companies registered here. Only 10% if you issue invoices and make payments from there. HOWEVER ... I wouldn't work with the Treppides office. A friend of mine from the online gaming industry got fucked by them. I am sure this is the company, a guy called Kiki and his son Nickolas. They charge up the ass for any service or advice they offer you and the cost of setting something up with them is almost 3 times as high as with any other company.

Just had a look at that website Darth - na... this is a company, tho based in Cyprus, is not homing into the local market as regards IBC's - they are also offering corps in BVI, UK, Gib etc.

Other thing which looks odd, where are the prices for corps or clues as to what they charge? Corps are easy to price and stuff on a website.

[ServerGenius]

Looking for an offshore tax exemption scheme on a public message board....good luck sport!

[Webby]

Originally Posted by samsam

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/eco...9258546,00.htm

isle of Man has a zero rate of company tax and a cap on income tax, both came into effect in april it seems.

Interesting link samsam

Done the rounds on the Isle of Man a few years back and it was ... mmm.. not so good then, but got to be worth checking out more now.

[Webby]

Originally Posted by ServerGenius

Looking for an offshore tax exemption scheme on a public message board....good luck sport!

Hehe... no biggie SG - tho it all depends where the beneficial owner is actually living. If it's in a high-tax regime (US, Canada, EU) - there are some problems to consider since they are not legally "offshore"

[ServerGenius]

Originally Posted by Webby

Hehe... no biggie SG - tho it all depends where the beneficial owner is actually living. If it's in a high-tax regime (US, Canada, EU) - there are some problems to consider since they are not legally "offshore"

I'm taking a wild guess here.....Buzz lives in the US

[Theo]

You cannot register any old-status offshore companies in cyprus anymore, neither buy an existing one from what I know. There's only one type, the IBC and it's what Darth described. Cyprus has the lowest tax-rate in EU and lowest vat. You may not need to register for a vat# and that will saave you some extra money. Regardless the accounting office you'll chose in most cases it's going to be a more expensive solution than BVI and so on, but has other benefits. 1) for an aff.program you are within EU visa region, 2) Cyprus companies are obligated to follow intl accounting standards and do annual reports. This means you can further utilize possibilities starting from a business loan in EU to even entering london stock exchange market 3) strong banking system

[Webby]

Originally Posted by ServerGenius

I'm taking a wild guess here.....Buzz lives in the US

OOOopps

[Webby]

Originally Posted by Soul_Rebel

You cannot register any old-status offshore companies in cyprus anymore, neither buy an existing one from what I know. There's only one type, the IBC and it's what Darth described. Cyprus has the lowest tax-rate in EU and lowest vat. You may not need to register for a vat# and that will saave you some extra money. Regardless the accounting office you'll chose in most cases it's going to be a more expensive solution than BVI and so on, but has other benefits. 1) for an aff.program you are within EU visa region, 2) Cyprus companies are obligated to follow intl accounting standards and do annual reports. This means you can further utilize possibilities starting from a business loan in EU to even entering london stock exchange market 3) strong banking system

Good points SR

The one thing that put me off so far with Cyprus corps was the fact their were formal accounting requirements and taxation - even tho it is low. Forgetting taxation, the one thing above all else, was the pleasure of escaping having to fill in forms for tax and VAT. Suffered that tour of duty for decades and no wish to return to it

But sure - Cyprus is another option, depending on what plans their may be.

[Theo]

no doubt, accounting will consume you few hours each year. The only way to avoid it is to blindly trust those that will handle your books which is not a good advice.

[Cono]

Cyprus is a good choice i think...

[loxapinedreams]

isle of man
isle of wright

are tax haven and biz friendly

austria is not tax haven but biz friend and has the strictest bank privacy laws on the planet

channel islands in the uk

[andrej_NDC]

Originally Posted by Webby

Hehe... no biggie SG - tho it all depends where the beneficial owner is actually living. If it's in a high-tax regime (US, Canada, EU) - there are some problems to consider since they are not legally "offshore"

Its not illegal to own an offshore company. Its illegal not to pay taxes in the country you live in.

[loxapinedreams]

look at www.escapeartist.com its a good site for that kind of expat stuff

[Buzz]

Just to make it clear:

I'm not going to avoid corporate taxes, I just want to keep it minimal close to nothing. I don't plan to hide my personal income.
I'm not a US resident and no billing will process payments for my native company, so the main purpose of the offshore company is processing payments, not avoiding taxes.

[Klen]

Which means avoid taxes

[Webby]

Originally Posted by andrej_NDC

Its not illegal to own an offshore company. Its illegal not to pay taxes in the country you live in.

Sure - that's where the problem starts Draw funding from that corp and spent it where you live and there are taxes due. Tho.. does not end there

[Webby]

Originally Posted by Buzz

Just to make it clear:

I'm not going to avoid corporate taxes, I just want to keep it minimal close to nothing. I don't plan to hide my personal income.
I'm not a US resident and no billing will process payments for my native company, so the main purpose of the offshore company is processing payments, not avoiding taxes.

Sounds valid Buzz This would have been entirely different if you were from the US - the obstacles there are unique and unlike almost all other countries.

BTW.. Suggest you hit up a Euro processor who may be able to help further - SegPay.com. They have folks with banking experience and will prob guide you as regards incorporation to adhere to the regs of the card companies.

[tranza]

NOT Brazil.......

[ServerGenius]

Originally Posted by Buzz

Just to make it clear:

I'm not going to avoid corporate taxes, I just want to keep it minimal close to nothing. I don't plan to hide my personal income.
I'm not a US resident and no billing will process payments for my native company, so the main purpose of the offshore company is processing payments, not avoiding taxes.

I understand what you're trying to do and didn't try to slam you for it. I just
think that imho you should either contact people 1 on 1 that could give you
information or even better talk to a GOOD lawyer and Fiscal Accountant. If
you did and still have questions you didn't spoke to a good lawyer. Here at
most people could give you some general information but for each company/
country/situation things are different. The best solution should be tailored to
YOUR situation. If you are serious about this talk to at least 1 lawyer and accountant who's specialised on offshore and legal fiscal structures....I would
get consults from at least 3 different ones. As if you go this way you want to
be 200% sure you haven't made ANY mistakes. Not only legal but also business wise.

The money you invest in lawyers and accountants will be WELL worth it and will save you a LOT of money and headaches afterwards.

[Webby]

Originally Posted by ServerGenius

I understand what you're trying to do and didn't try to slam you for it. I just
think that imho you should either contact people 1 on 1 that could give you
information or even better talk to a GOOD lawyer and Fiscal Accountant. If
you did and still have questions you didn't spoke to a good lawyer. Here at
most people could give you some general information but for each company/
country/situation things are different. The best solution should be tailored to
YOUR situation. If you are serious about this talk to at least 1 lawyer and accountant who's specialised on offshore and legal fiscal structures....I would
get consults from at least 3 different ones. As if you go this way you want to
be 200% sure you haven't made ANY mistakes. Not only legal but also business wise.

The money you invest in lawyers and accountants will be WELL worth it and will save you a LOT of money and headaches afterwards.

Agree SG... There are two areas which prob need attention:-

(a) First is where Buzz is resident. Cover the laws re taxation there - no need for specifically offshore "advice" from there, but a total awareness of the local tax implications and about income sources from offshore corps.

(b) For offshore advice - do a face to face with offshore lawyers. There are many reputable lawyers on, for example, Gib (they can't afford to be otherwise - it's a small place), and better working thru a few there till you come to the right guy you can work with.

Easiest of the lot is dump all of the above and actually be resident offshore in a no-tax jurisdiction and operate as many corps as you like in whatever other jurisdictions. The prime and first consideration is ensuring your personal background is "clean" and clear of any claims of taxation elsewhere.

[Buzz]

Originally Posted by ServerGenius

I understand what you're trying to do and didn't try to slam you for it. I just
think that imho you should either contact people 1 on 1 that could give you
information or even better talk to a GOOD lawyer and Fiscal Accountant. If
you did and still have questions you didn't spoke to a good lawyer. Here at
most people could give you some general information but for each company/
country/situation things are different. The best solution should be tailored to
YOUR situation. If you are serious about this talk to at least 1 lawyer and accountant who's specialised on offshore and legal fiscal structures....I would
get consults from at least 3 different ones. As if you go this way you want to
be 200% sure you haven't made ANY mistakes. Not only legal but also business wise.

The money you invest in lawyers and accountants will be WELL worth it and will save you a LOT of money and headaches afterwards.

100% agreed

As I told before, I did consult "lawyers" but no sufficent result, so I've created the thread to discuss the problem and get some guidelines.
It would be stupid to base your business moves on a public forum discussion

Now I've got few exact topics to discuss with a lawyer - once I find a competent one

Special big thanks to Webby - your posts are really helpful

[ServerGenius]

Originally Posted by Webby

Agree SG... There are two areas which prob need attention:-

(a) First is where Buzz is resident. Cover the laws re taxation there - no need for specifically offshore "advice" from there, but a total awareness of the local tax implications and about income sources from offshore corps.

(b) For offshore advice - do a face to face with offshore lawyers. There are many reputable lawyers on, for example, Gib (they can't afford to be otherwise - it's a small place), and better working thru a few there till you come to the right guy you can work with.

Easiest of the lot is dump all of the above and actually be resident offshore in a no-tax jurisdiction and operate as many corps as you like in whatever other jurisdictions. The prime and first consideration is ensuring your personal background is "clean" and clear of any claims of taxation elsewhere.

Exactly I totally agree.....also don't just look at offshore you'll be suprised
how much non offshore places can be really interesting depending on where
you reside. For example my country The Netherlands is a tax nightmare for
residents and local companies.....however for foreign companies that setup
a Dutch company there are totally different rules. For certain foreign companies The Netherlands is more benefitial than going offshore.

Instead of asking a lawyer about an offshore solution you better explain
your situation and your goal.....then he will explain the best option. That
way you don't limit any options that you might not have thought about.
If you ask offshore than that's what he will explain....and nothing else.

Take your time with this and go over every aspect many times. Setting up
a structure is the easy and fast part.....deciding what to setup is far more
important and difficult than to form a company.

The last thing you want is an unpleasant suprise 3 years after you founded
and started your company.

[Webby]

Originally Posted by Buzz

100% agreed
As I told before, I did consult "lawyers" but no sufficent result, so I've created the thread to discuss the problem and get some guidelines.

Now I've got few exact topics to discuss with a lawyer - once I find a competent one

Generally.. there is little point in speaking to lawyers about offshore unless they are offshore and "living it". The difference is like chalk and cheese.

What "onshore" accountants/lawyers are going to be good for is covering your ass where you live and guiding on local/domestic tax issues.

Here's a couple of websites which will give a clue on Gib corps:

http://www.offshoregibraltar.com

http://www.gibraltarcompanies.gi

If you plan to check out Gib with a visit - you may want to meet with the owner of that last URL as person you may want to work with. The name is Jon Stagnetto, - a lawyer well qualified to give advice on Gib corps - or any member of his legal team.

[Webby]

BTW Buzz... I think Jon can also arrange contacts/account opening with some decent banks if needed, - but better dealt with on a face-to-face.