In short, no. Sterling Offshore consults with each client regarding the legal uses and tax consequences of offshore companies as described in the jurisdictions in which we operate.  We also consult on matters relating to the use of tax resident companies and tax treaties to minimize overall taxation. It is still incumbent on the client to seek qualified tax and/or legal counsel in their own jurisdiction.

While we are well qualified attorneys and offshore consultants, we cannot offer tax and legal advice to clients in their jurisdiction of residence/citizenship/domicile.  The tax codes and relevant laws and regulations are continually changing. They have reached the point in some countries that professionals focused strictly on tax law have a difficult time keeping abreast of these changes.  In the USA, even advice from the IRS can be incorrect.  The US General Accounting Office recently found that nearly 35% of the advice being given on matters of taxation by the Internal Revenue Service in answers to specific inquiries was incorrect!  Perhaps even more perplexing is that incorrect information and interpretations given by the IRS cannot be used as valid defense if the taxpayer has to go to tax court in the US. Considering the global reach of Sterling Offshore, it would be impossible and inappropriate for us to advise clients on matters pertaining to foreign taxation and law.. 

Sterling Offshore strongly urges all of our clients to seek legal and/or tax advice from a qualified professional in their own country prior to entering into a relationship with us.  Sterling Offshore is happy to offer our clients professional recommendations in places where we have relationships established.  Similarly, we prefer to work with your attorney or accountant directly.

The initial EU Savings Directive 2005 was aimed at the reporting of personal bank accounts held in other EU member states only.  The intention was to make sure that account holders were not avoiding paying taxes on interest, dividends and other income through these personal accounts.  We correctly speculated here that this was just the beginning of a series of moves to eventually spread to "beneficial owners" of companies, trusts, foundations, etc.  Nonetheless, these Directives only apply to EU countries and countries outside of the EU have no obligation to enforce the rules of this body.

Several popular offshore jurisdictions fall under the jurisdiction of the EU and the various Directives such as Anguilla, Aruba, BVI, Caymans, Cyprus, Barbados, Turks and Caicos, Jersey, Guernsey, Gibraltar and Isle of Man.  This should be taken into consideration in your offshore planning if you are a resident of an EU country.

Most of the offshore company formations that we offer are not taxed in the country of incorporation as long as they are not conducting local business within the jurisdiction of domicile.  Sterling Offshore can incorporate tax resident companies, such as the Seychelles CSL, which enjoy low taxation on worldwide profits and access to double taxation avoidance treaties.  Otherwise, your tax situation will vary depending on your country of residence, citizenship and domicile. Sterling Offshore recommends that you seek professional tax and legal advice in you country of residence to establish your specific tax consequences.

Yes.  Sterling Offshore provides bank account introductions in a number of jurisdictions and well known offshore banking countries including Seychelles, Mauritius, Cyprus, Switzerland, Austria and Singapore.  We have conducted the research and established the relationships for you. Some of these offshore banks offer business and commercial accounts with internet banking availability.  Others offer private banking and wealth management for high net worth clients.  We can advise you on which banking option is best for your needs and help you establish one or more offshore bank accounts with a suitable institution.  

Absolutely.  Sterling Offshore follows very strict internal procedures regarding client confidentiality.  We will not disclose any client information except as required by local authorities by court order.  Enquiries from foreign governments, foreign creditors or any other entity or person (local or foreign) are quickly and categorically dismissed as required by law. 

We implore you to keep your offshore matters to yourself.  Many are tempted to talk about their offshore structures and activities, but please consider that colleagues, business partners, friends and unfortunately even family can unwittingly pass sensitive information along that can lay bare your business practices and/or overseas assets to everyone.

If privacy is a big concern for you, we recommend communicating only via encrypted email. You can establish a free email account at www.hushmail.com from which you can communicate with us via a 2048 bit/128 SSL end-to-end encrypted connection. Our Hush email address is sterlingoffshore(at)hush.com. Replace the (at) with the actual "@" symbol as we removed it here to avoid spam. Similarly, you can visit any number of PGP promoters such as PGP.org for a free PGP encryption key. Follow the following link PGP and Security for more information regarding PGP and Security.

None of the offshore jurisdictions represented by Sterling Offshore have a public record of the beneficial owners of a company.

The expression "I need this yesterday" is literally possible with a shelf company.  Some jurisdictions take a few days to weeks to register a new company and shelf companies can save critical time in these cases.  

Additionally, companies which have a bit of longevity often find it easier to obtain credit, bid for contracts and conduct international business since many entities are wary about engaging in business with companies having a short business history.  Therefore, an aged shelf company or "vintage company" can often provide a solution to this problem.

In Seychelles, offshore companies can be formed in as little as 24 hours and sometimes within the same day it is ordered.  Other jurisdictions generally take within 1 to 5 days.  Be sure to specify if time is of the essence to you.  Additionally, you may opt to choose a company from our list of offshore shelf companies. Contact us for the current list.

There are several uses for offshore companies including international investment holding (providing access to otherwise unavailable markets), international real estate holding, asset protection, international trade, import/export, transfer and holding of intellectual property, personal services corporations for expatriates working abroad, etc. See this link for more information Offshore Company Typical Uses.

In nearly every situation, the answer is a clear and resounding YES.  Each country has different reporting requirements and tax treatment regarding offshore entities. This is why we stress the importance of obtaining professional legal and/or tax advice in your own country. 

Please visit this link (Ordering Formalities) for a brief overview of the steps necessary to order our services and establish your offshore company. You will find all of the necessary information including specifics on each offshore jurisdiction, services offered, applications, etc on this website. Applications, country guides, relevant laws and other information can be found in our Downloads section.

There is no universal definition of an "offshore" company, but in its most basic form it could be described as a company established in any jurisdiction other than your place of residence or domicile.  Offshore companies are generally broken down into two different categories:

1. Completely tax neutral structures such as International Business Companies (or IBC) such as the Seychelles IBC, Belize IBC, Panama Company and Limited Liability Companies (LLC) like the Nevis LLC, Delaware (USA) LLC and Florida (USA) LLC.  In order to achieve the tax neutral benefit, the offshore company or offshore LLC generally cannot trade within the country of domicile.  
2. Low tax offshore companies such as the Seychelles CSL, Mauritius GBC1, Cyprus company and more.  These are generally "tax treaty jurisdictions" characterised by low overall corporate rates of taxation along with special incentives and access to Double Taxation Avoidance treaties which prescribe for low overall rates of taxation. 

Every person and every company should pay their fair share of taxes and we do not advocate tax evasion or tax fraud of any kind.  However, everyone has a legal right to minimize their taxes through legal tax avoidance and protect their hard earned assets. Citizens of many countries now find themselves with increasingly encroaching governments, uncontrolled government spending, rapid currency devaluation, rising taxes and unbridled litigation which are all spiraling out of control.  It is a fact that as ones income and assets increase, one becomes an exponentially larger target of governments, hungry lawyers, fraudsters and generally those that do not contribute to society but rather spend their time devising strategies to extract from the "rich".  

So in short, yes it is nearly always legal to utilise offshore companies, trusts, foundations, etc. for asset protection and it is very often possible to also achieve legal tax minimisation.    

"No man in the country is under the smallest obligation, moral or other, so to arrange his legal relations to his business or property as to enable the Inland Revenue to put the largest possible shovel in his stores. The Inland Revenue is not slow, and quite rightly, to take every advantage which is open to it under the Taxing Statutes for the purposes of depleting the taxpayer's pocket. And the taxpayer is in like manner entitled to be astute to prevent, so far as he honestly can, the depletion of his means by the Inland Revenue"

Law Lord, Lord Clyde, (Ayrshire Pullman Motor Services v Inland Revenue [1929] 14 Tax Case 754, at 763,764)

"There is nothing sinister in so arranging one's affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; all do right. Nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands; taxes are enforced extractions not voluntary contributions!"

US Judge Learned Hand

Customers seeking the utmost in privacy and asset protection may elect to appoint a nominee account signatory to direct all bank and/or brokerage transactions. This is especially effective in conjunction with a Private Foundation holding a company with a bank/brokerage account in its name. Sterling Offshore will only provide an account signatory in conjunction with nominee director services.

A nominee shareholder may be corporate or individual and merely takes the place of the true shareholder on corporate documents and applications helping to maintain an extra level of privacy.  A nominee shareholder provided by Sterling Offshore must sign a formal declaration of trust ensuring that they have no right to sell shares and may only act upon clear instructions from the shareholder.

A particularly attractive alternative to the nominee shareholder is the use of a Private Foundation to hold the company shares. Review the items under the Private Foundation option on the menu for more information.

Despite what you may have read elsewhere, there is no such thing as a "Nominee" Director.  The party listed as the Director of the company is the Director and is responsible for the proper administration of the company operating for the benefit of the shareholders.  In a court of law, the judge will not care if the Director thinks he is a "nominee" of not.  Be wary of firms offering to appoint a cheap "Nominee Director" and offering the client a General Power of Attorney to operate the company and bank accounts without any knowledge of the "Nominee" Director.  The likelihood of them being involved in some sort of probe into illegal activities of one of their companies is greatly increased which could potentially jeopardize your confidentiality.  Just think about it logically.  Does it make sense that a corporate Director would have absolutely no idea about the operations of a company, location and transactions of bank accounts, contracts signed, etc.? 

Sterling Offshore only provides Professional Director services.  Clients should choose their offshore services firm wisely enquiring about the background and qualifications of the persons who will be carrying out the duties of the Professional Director.  This is certainly an area where the client should not just be looking for "cheap".  Qualified professionals suited to properly administer your company as the Director along with all of the responsibility and risk that comes with this are not going to work for $100/year.

The company objects specify the intended activities of the business.  Many jurisdictions, such as Seychelles, allow a standard objects clause that allows for any lawful activity not expressly forbidden in that country or any other country where business is to be conducted. 

Nearly every corporation, offshore or onshore, must have a registered office and agent in the jurisdiction in which it is incorporating.  The registered office/agent is necessary for local government agencies to have a point of contact to send correspondence and also to provide a location to receive service of process when an entity is party in a lawsuit or summons.  This is a requirement in all jurisdictions offered by Sterling Offshore.  

The Articles of Association (the 2nd half of what is often referred to as Memo & Arts) go into detail regarding the issuance of shares, voting and dividend rights of shareholders, restrictions on the transfer of shares, make up of the Board of Directors, the rules of meetings of the Board of Directors and shareholder meetings, and other similar issues.

The Memorandum of Association (the 1st half of what is often referred to as Memo & Arts) specifies the name of the company, location of the registered office, company objects, liability of the members share capital particulars of the off-shore company.