Offshore Bank Licenses

We are often asked to assist clients with the setup of so called private personal offshore accounts. The problem is that generally speaking there is no such thing as a " truly" private personal bank account for clients deposting less than $500,000. 

 The truth is your personal offshore bank account information will not be private and if you not declare your personal offshore bank account to your local tax department you should expect your local tax man to find out about it sooner or later. The problem with personal offshore bank accounts is all transfers, both incoming and outgoing are sent in your personal name, not the name of an offshore company for privacy reasons. All international transfers are sent via SWIFT and this data is available to any government that wishes to check for their citizens using offshore personal bank accounts. As we live in the digital information age and your information will not be private or safe if you are banking with a personal offshore account. This is not the 1980's, it is 2012 and big brother regardless of the country can learn everything about you if you use a personal account. You are better off just using your own personal account where you live rather than opening an offshore personal account. 

Experts all agree, spend the extra 399 GBP or so and form an offshore company to protect your privacy as well as protect your assets. Think of the offshore company as an invisible barrier of privacy protection that is very difficult to penetrate. If you want to know what steps you can take personally in your offshore financial dealings to increase that barrier of protection so that it can likely never be penerated just ask us for a free consultation.

www.Sovereignman.com and Simon Black have quickly become the most popular site for "sovereign individuals" in a very short time. Simon claims to be a former US Intelligence office, or perhaps a current IRS Criminal Enforcement Officer, who dishes out partial information on second passports, offshore banking, offshore investing, offshore corporations and more. While no one is sure who he really is, he is an excellent marketer and knows how to string along the audience before the big whammy.

In addition to his annual membership, the real objective of his marketing is to sell a CD for $1295 with information on how to obtain a second citizenship, open offshore bank accounts, form offshore companies and protect yourself from big brother. The unfortunate fact is after you have paid out the $1295 for pure offshore information you then have to buy the offshore corporations and then likely need to pay for the offshore bank account as well. In fact most of the information he offers can be found on Talkgold Offshore Forum here using the below link and is completely free, http://www.talkgold.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=22. 

It use to be normal for online firms to sell this sort of offshore information for $49-$129 but the sovereignman.com has taken his prices to a new level by tapping into a new market of wealthy, unhappy Americans willing to pay almost any price to get out while they can. But like the free information he offers on his site, he only sells half truths. 

For example, his second passport programs are described as a way of escaping the clutches of the IRS & US government and opening doors to new offshore investments, unlimited banking that is currently prohibited for US citizens. However what he does not tell you is that your second passport will show "United States" as your place of birth and this fact alone may preclude you in the same way your current US passport does from offshore banking and investing unless the person has in fact renounced their US citizenship and for high net worth individuals, pay the wealth tax required to get out. 

Most Americans we have spoken with prefer to take the approach of relinquishing their citizenship rather than renouncing their citizenship as they want the right to return to the US to take advantage of Medicare, visit family, etc. What they will find out though is not only can they not accomplish what they wish after paying Simons $1295 for information as well as the fees to obtain their new passport including lawyer and country fees as high as $250,000 for a family. But worse yet because of FACTA regulations requiring Foreign Financial Instutitons report US citizens accounts, those that are able to successfully open an offshore account will be reported to the IRS who will could charge them with tax evasion and extradite them back to the US, or at the very least require the payment of penalties for failure to report their offshore account if they did not based upon the fact that they used their second passport. 

 Perhaps Americans should consider buying solutions rather than just paying for information.

Itay Signs TIEAs With Bermuda

Bermuda Premier Paula Cox on April 23 signed additional tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs) with Malaysia and Italy in London.

The TIEA with Italy, which she signed together with the Italian Ambassador in London, Alain Economides, was said by Cox to follow Bermuda’s strategy of targeting meaningful TIEAs with key countries in the global financial system that are also Bermuda's major trading partners.

She was also pleased to note that Italy has recently implemented new legislation to bring into effect a ‘white list’ to be populated with countries that have cooperative tax relations with it. Once the TIEA enters into force, Bermuda will be placed on Italy's white list.

It is hoped that the TIEA will strengthen the economic and commercial relationship between Bermuda and Italy, especially in the area of reinsurance. As Cox observed: "Bermuda global reinsurers have an estimated 11% of the broker-placed reinsurance placed for Italy’s domestic insurers and an estimated 40% of European windstorm and flood insurance to European insurers. Signing TIEAs with European countries serves to solidify existing Bermuda business relationships in Europe."

Cox signed the TIEA with Malaysia together with the country's High Commissioner in London, Zakaria Sulong, and was pleased that Bermuda has strengthened its relationship with another leading international financial centre.

She announced that, as Bermuda is currently strengthening its role in the Sharia-compliant Islamic financial services industry, of which Malaysia is the globally most developed and largest centre, the TIEA should create a prime opportunity that will open the doors for business development between the two countries.

Does the FACTA mean the end of offshore banking for US citizens? FACTA, or Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act requires all Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) that have ties to the US must register with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) before the end of 2013. Beginning 2014 these FFI's must report to the IRS information on any US citizens or US residents who hold personal or corporate accounts in which a US citizen controls over 25% of the shares directly or indirectly. The information submitted must include the account number, bank name, total annual deposits and total annual withdrawals. This requirement means additional cost and manpower for FFI's who handle and accept US residents and citizens. The result has been that one by one most offshore banking centres are either no longer opening accounts for US citizens and residents and in some cases, such as in the case of Switzerland, offshore banking centres have gone as far as close US accounts. FACTA clearly will result in additional obstacles to US citizens and residents opening and maintaining offshore bank accounts in most of the world's offshore banking centres. The question is what solutions will be available for US citizens to maintain offshore bank accounts. We believe there will be solutions out there in the near future that will likely utility trust banking service and other alternative banking solutions that are licensed to provide financial services to individuals and small companies but who are not banks. Additionally, it will be imperative that these alternative banking solutions not have US ties.

Offshore banking is a way of operating your business or personal finances in a more private and anonymous way. Offshore banking offers you the ability to hold and invest offshore in multiply currencies such as Euro, British Pounds, Swiss Francs, Singapore Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Norwegian Krone, Swedish Krone and many other currencies. Many offshore banking options allow you to trade stocks, buy futures, invest in precious metals such as Gold and Silver as well as purchase mutual funds from offshore investment firms that can return significantly more than an onshore bank account. Most offshore banking structures allow you to access your funds anywhere in the world with an offshore debit or credit card and all offer complete remote banking to perform almost anything you currently must visit your bank branch to do. Best of all offshore banking can be setup by mail or courier without the need to visit an offshore bank or offshore jurisdiction to setup an offshore company such as a BVI Company, Belize Company or Seychelles Company. Offshore banking is not for everyone and in some countries you must declare your offshore bank account to the government. It is important to discuss this with your accountant, lawyer or financial adviser first. Once your ready let theoffshoreadvisor.com setup your offshore structure from the comfort of your home.