Business of Offshore Banking

[Sonshin41]

Like many other fields, going offshore has become a trend in banking business as well. Offshore banks have come up like anything, owing to the customer demands. Offshore banks work the same way as onshore banks with the only difference that they operate in a separate jurisdiction or location. By operating in a different location, the banks offer higher returns as they are not bound by any rules and regulations. The services offered by the offshore banks are the same as that of the onshore bank, if not better.

Among the key factors attracting the offshore investment is the low taxes offered by such banks. Offshore banks offer lower taxes than onshore banks. Some of the offshore banks offer zero taxes, thereby, getting known as tax havens. This benefit has been solely responsible for a steep rise in offshore business banking (http://www.worldenergycapital.com). By investing in offshore accounts, the investors can provide complete protection to his assets from any kind of political or economic turmoil.

Offshore investment can be done by availing the services of a bank which is located outside the country of residence of the investor, to take advantage of the locational differences. The offshore banks do not reveal the invested amount to a third party unless it is related to some illegal activity. This is a relief for all those people who wish to keep their funds safe and confidential. In the times of world recession, offshore banking has come to the rescue of the investors seeking profits as well as security.

[lexbarker]

In other words, HIDING YOUR MONEY FROM THE TAX MAN. Getting complete protection on secrecy may be misleading. The Bahamas was forced to provide names of US citizens some years ago and lately UBS (United Bank of Switzerland) made a deal with the US as they were also caught up in this banking mess and received some help from the US Gov.

[ferrorolvans]

Well is there somebody who knows a bank or any reliable online applicable service that offers this, I can not go there neither do I want to go there so the application has to be made online or through any other way.

[Redman]

Well at the end of the day the us uk canada,etc are all getting more stringent in tracing citizens assets- So its getting harder if not impossible to avoid taxes if youre a citizen of these countries.And more dangerous to be caught.

Examine whether you need and want to be a citizen and what youre protecting and move accordingly
seek professional advice

Later

[Scorpio]

Sigh :creep:

[J lindsay]

+The principle of offshore banking is fine. We should be able to take measuress to safeguard our assets from the taxmen.

Troubles are though, that a/ the G7, G8, &, G20, or whatever, seeing the tax revenues fast disappearing beyond their grasp,yet wanting to spend every increasing amounts of tax revenues, have for the past decade or more, funded a self appointed, self righteous group of bastards know as the OECD.

This organization, and I use the term very loosely, as they are no more legitimate or moral than the Mafia, are essentially funded to blackmail countries with less harsh tax laws into economic submission.

They are MADE to stop offering confidential banking services to citizens and residents of the big, developed, high tax countries, and further to squeal on any such account holder to his own government so they can sieze his assets, and jail him.

and b/ as though any further injustice were deserved by those that accumulate wealth and try to safeguard it for themselves and their families, as opposed to losing it to big budget government, is that this kind of business leads itself sometimes (quite often actually), to scurrilous operators who will operate in offshore jurisdictions, take your money based on promises of high interest, confidentiality and safety, then steal it from you, counting on the fact that you are unlikely to complain when doing so opens you up to fines and prosecution from your own country's government.

[Scorpio]

The truth is, the people who make the distinction between "offshore" and "onshore" business are Hypocrites.

[J lindsay]

Well naturally everyone is entitled to their own "Truth", Scorpio, but what specifically do you wish to convey by this last comment? How is the distinction between onshore and offshore, in any way hypocracy?

[J lindsay]

UK Turns Up Heat on British Offshore Havens
Some years ago, especially under Margaret Thatcher, policy in London was to encourage the development of offshore financial centres in British territories around the world. It suited Whitehall perfectly: a diverse group of islands with not much going for them, except small tourist industries and dying sugar and banana businesses, could – with the advent of fibre optics and the like – suddenly become tropical trading desks and would no longer need to be propped up with subsidies.

Some islands, like Anguilla, have become minor offshore players that never really took off. Others, most notably the BVI (British Virgin Islands), the Cayman Islands and the TCI (Turks and Caicos Islands) have done really well for themselves, carving out respective niches in the offshore investing business. Cayman is famous for offshore banking and captive insurance, while BVI is possibly the world’s most important offshore corporate registry with a reputation for quality. Over 600,000 IBCs or International Business Corporations are incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, with most of the demand for such services these days coming from Asia.

Unfortunately, all is not rosy and the professional service providers in the BVI and elsewhere are clearly worried. Very worried. Offshore finance has become a thorn in the side of the British government and today, it is something they would love to close down. It can’t be done overnight, as revenues from the offshore finance business provide the largest single contribution to BVI government revenues. But every move London makes in this direction is another nail in the coffin for jurisdictions like the BVI and TCI.

Last year, then UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown explicitly warned several British overseas territories that they would face tough economic sanctions if they did not make further commitments to increase tax transparency and dilute banking secrecy. Faced with little choice, they jumped to attention immediately. The new British government is no less hostile to the British offshore havens, and the writing is on the wall.

I have advised to avoid doing offshore business in British territories, for years now, but people are sometimes tempted by the good publicity and marketing, and the assurances from company formation providers there that “everything will be OK.” Recently, however, I’ve had a stream of clients with BVI Business Companies looking to redomicile. Even though not much has appeared in the press since the election of the new British government, it’s clear from the word on the street that offshore service providers are feeling the heat.

Where then, can you go?

You may not have to go far. A lot of people don’t understand the difference between British territories and Members of the British Commonwealth.

[Lumber Joe]

Along with numerous advantages offshore bank accounts (http://www.offshorebankingtoday.com) have, there are some points that make their usage quite inconvenient:

1. Despite the fact that many reputable offshore financial institutions (such as HSBC, LLoyds TSB, Barclays and many others) claim that "offshore bank accounts are for everybody", this is not true. They place minimum annual income restriction on offshore bank accounts they offer (such as minimum $50,000), so actually a person who has annual income of $20,000;

2. Secondly, offshore banks require their customers to keep certain minimum balance on their offshore account. Usually something like 5000 euros or $10,000. Quite painful, isn't it?

3. Offshore bank accounts tend to have high fees

[J lindsay]

It's like the cover charge at high priced restaurants and nightclubs. It's to keep us riff-raff out1:mad:

[keilysmith]

Offshore banking can have tax advantages. For example, interest earned on offshore accounts and investments is paid without tax. You may also be able to reduce the taxpayer's home by transferring savings and investments offshore bank account. Added benefits include a high confidentiality, security and comfort, and access globally.