Ensure Banking Privacy and Build your Wealth Tax-free By Using Tax Havens and Off-shore Bank Accounts.

The Landscape is Changing - Are Off-Shore Bank Accounts the Right Thing?

With increasing insecurity and taxes, tax havens such as a offshore bank may be a temptation. The problem is the landscape is constantly changing. Making the wrong move can expose you to severe monetary penalties or at worst the loss of physical liberty and/or all your assets.

In the United States all income earned outside the country is taxable, in Canada there are limits on non-taxable offshore earnings. However In an atmosphere of increasing predatory litigation and increasing infringement on privacy, the real concern is not just taxation but how can one safely protect what one has built up over a lifetime. The concept of having an offshore bank account is very tempting. But are you really protected by the laws of that country or are you just putting yourself in a position of new vulnerability? Those are real concerns.

The S.E.C. and former Tax Havens?
Since 911 one has to particularly careful as banking privacy may be more of an illusion than a reality. The S.E.C. (the Security and Exchange Commission) has used the terrorist threat as a strong arm tactic to gain access to the information on offshore accounts in virtually all jurisdictions. In essence, with electronic banking and excessive tracking there is no such thing as banking privacy anymore. All the SEC has to do is compare declared offshore earnings with the information in those accounts to charge you with tax evasion.

The Tax Haven Solution:
What can one do? First of all go to a jurisdiction where banking privacy is protected and secondly structure your affairs legally in a jurisdiction that is most favorable to you. In some jurisdictions, if you or your company is domiciled but not living in that country 100% of what you earn outside the country can be considered tax-free, not withstanding the fact that you may have to pay a small annual business fee. This by definition is a tax haven.

Typically a tax free haven is offered by countries that have little or no means of exporting goods and services to offset the imbalance they would otherwise have in terms of their overall currency exchange. They benefit because of the cash flow in, you benefit in that what you earn offshore is tax free. The United States and Canada play a similar game – they make it very difficult for residents to move money out by discouraging offshore investment but at the same time make it very lucrative for foreign investors to move money in.

3 Benefits of a Tax Haven
Should Americans and Canadians structure their affairs in a tax free haven not only can one earn money tax free but one can have the added advantage of bring able to participate in extremely lucrative high yield “international investments” in your own country as a foreign investor. Having a offshore bank account may be something you can explore in regard to banking privacy, being insulated from predatory lawsuits, building your assets and to legally avoid excessive taxation.

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Offshore Asset Protection

Because of excessive litigation in the US and elsewhere Offshore Asset Protection is definitely an option to explore. Businessmen entrepreneurs and professionals in an environment of predatory litigation are forced to look for ways and means where they can protect savings, investments and accumulated assets. Offshore Asset Protection offers this kind of protection.

The Need : In the US the legal system favors the plaintiff and places the defendant statistically at a disadvantage. This only serves to encourage the predatory litigation and a business owner or professional can expect to sued multiple times over his life time.

Don't Wait: Should the resulting judgment be unfavorable the defendant stands to lose all the assets built over many years of investment. Getting ones assets outside the jurisdiction of the US court system appears to be one remedy. However once a claim has been filed the legal system will not allow any assets to be moved for offshore protection. In fact, it will be determined to be "fraudulent conveyance" and all your assets will be retracted. The time for offshore asset protection implementation is now not later.

The Climate Changes: However the Offshore Asset Protection climate always changes. Countries that used to be private tax free havens under threat of sanctions have agreed to enter into treaties with the US and other industrial nations to allow the pursuit and investigation of tax fraud. Furthermore the courts have taken a less favorable viewpoint of offshore trusts as determined by some high profile court cases in 2000.

With 911 the offshore environment has even become more disfavorable, under the threat of terrorism everyone has come under intense scrutiny. That is not to say offshore asset protection does not have a place, it does. There are many international offshore corporations operating in this country and they will always continue to do so. But everything has to be done procedurally correct and with full disclosure.

No Privacy- Act Accordingly: In this day of electronic banking and extensive global money tracking, privacy doesn't exist anymore. You want to get solid information and advice to make sure you can take full advantage of offshore laws and don't put yourself in a worst position if the offshore privacy you thought you would have doesn't end up as it appears to be. Act accordingly by doing your thorough research as to getting proper offshore asset protection in favorable jurisdictions.

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Getting an Asset Protection Corporation

Why would one want to establish an asset protection corporation?

Fact: Well we do live in litigious society where 9 of 10 lawsuits in the world are filed in the United States. This happens every 30 seconds. Not surprisingly the US has the highest rates of lawsuits filed in the world followed by the UK, Canada Australia and New Zealand

Fact: You almost don't have an option - if you own a business or practice a profession, you have a one chance in three of being names a defendant in a lawsuit next year and its only getting worst. The higher your net worth the higher is your risk.

Establishing an asset protection corporation is virtually becoming an necessity to ensure your assets are out of reach

The problem is there is a sharp dividing line between establishing a legal asset protection corporation and an illegal one. What you do can be classified as an action taken to defraud creditors. Furthermore be aware that there are various operators out there claiming that they can protect your assets. Some will in fact steal your assets, some will leave you with no protection or open you up to the possibility of criminal charges. Many will all three. So what is one to do?

The obvious thing is to first get educate yourself and get very familiar with the various structures. Asset protection planning often involves setting up a series of trusts, partnerships and/ or offshore asset protection corporations to hold legal title to your assets.

Advantages are multiple:

For Investors an asset protection corporation can act as an holding company for investments made in multiple jurisdictions and markets. In your private portfolio use an asset protection corporation in inheritance planning to reduce the cost and delays in probate.

For Entrepreneurs an asset protection corporation offers enhanced investment returns, better after tax profits, and reduced risk. Profits can be made as a separate entity outside of jurisdiction where one is domiciled with little or no tax obligations and can be easily transferred to ones heirs without the normal encumbrances.

For Executives use an asset protection corporation to restructure your compensation and stock programs to take advantage of reduced tax, asset protection and global investment opportunities.

For Entertainers and Authors use an asset protection corporation in your contracts as an intermediary as an effective tax strategy.

For Athletes in the same way, an asset protection corporation will benefit them by reducing their taxes onshore. The athlete will be in effect employed through their corporation. This way any expenses can be absorbed by the company and the athlete need only draw a salary sufficient for personal expenses only minimizing their personal tax exposure.

For Owners of Intellectual Property using an asset protection corporation, property rights can be assigned to it ensuring revenues are received to it rather than to them personally. Furthermore the rights can remain offshore indefinitely ensuring easy succession.

For Medical Practitioners and other Professionals using an asset protection corporation contracts for medical services effective restructures how their income is generated vastly reducing their liability exposure and personal tax owing.

Individuals with inherited wealth, structuring your pre- inheritance wealth through an asset protection corporation can simplify the succession process by putting it in a no-tax or low-tax jurisdiction. It also offers a new world of much higher yield investment opportunities not available to those under the Securities and Exchange Commissions jurisdiction as a US or Canadian CItizen.

For the wealthy the modus operandi is ESP 'E'ducate, 'S'tructure and 'P'articipate in international investments. With education and proper estate planning and structure minimize your risk and benefit from higher investment returns with minimal tax penalties.

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