Offshore investment club

[Pauls' Revere]

I was thinking about forming an investment club. Then it struck me. Instead of starting a LLC, LLP, or LLLP here in the states, why not start one overseas. Specifically, Im thinking of the Bahamas. Does anyone have any insight or experience with this?

This part here from The Bahamas got me thinking.

TAX POLICY


The Bahamas has no personal, capital gains, estate gift or inheritance taxes. There is also no corporate tax unless revenue is derived from within The Bahamas.


Having regard to and structured upon the accepted international standards of transparency and tax information exchange, the Government has brought into force the International Tax Cooperation Act, 2010,and concluded twenty-two tax information exchange agreements with our major international business and financial partners.

[Indy Vidual]

Interesting idea.
bump to watch and learn...

[hazek]

You cannot evade being robbed by the small group of people with guns calling themselves the government. If they want to rob you it will happen no matter what you do.

The only way you could potentially protect yourself from this theft is if you make it impossible for them to carry it out. Might I suggest you research my avatar and what functionality the advertised system offers, you might find it helpful in what you are trying to do *wink* *wink*.

[Indy Vidual]

You cannot evade being robbed by the small group of people with guns calling themselves the government. If they want to rob you it will happen no matter what you do...

Many wealthy people use legal offshore accounts, eventually someone here will share their experience, and/or we have Google to help...

...

...The only way you could potentially protect yourself from this theft is if you make it impossible for them to carry it out. Might I suggest you research my avatar and what functionality the advertised system offers, you might find it helpful in what you are trying to do *wink* *wink*.

BTC is related but somewhat off-topic *wink* *wink*

[Pauls' Revere]

Found this, not sure if any of these business models would/could fit as an investment club. The learning curve is pretty steep for me. Possibly the closest one might be a Bahamas International Business Company described as follows:

Bahamas International Business Company

The International Business Company is the most widely used vehicle for offshore operations in the Bahamas; it normally takes the form of a private company limited by shares. The governing legislation is the International Business Companies Act 1989, updated by the International Business Companies (Amendment) Act 1994, the International Business Companies Act 2001, and the International Business Companies (Amendment) Act 2004.

Until 2001, there was no need to register details of beneficial owners, directors or officers, but under the International Businesses Companies Act 2001 which came into force at the start of 2001 IBCs are required to submit their identities, addresses and names of directors and owners to the Registrar General's Department. Otherwise, statutory requirements are minimal, and flexible:

•Only one director, who may be corporate, and one shareholder are required;

•Shareholders, directors and officers need not be resident in the Bahamas and there is no stipulation as to their nationality;

•There is no minimum capital requirement; shares must be registered and may be issued in any currency; bearer shares however are no longer permitted;

•Accounts need not be kept; however, if they are kept there is no requirement for an audit.

•A share register needs to be kept; it is unclear whether nominee shareholders are still permitted;

•Shareholders and directors meetings need not be held in the Bahamas and can be held by telephone;

• The Memorandum and Articles of Association are the only documents to be held on the public record;

•The legislation contains asset protection clauses against actions emanating from without the Bahamas; it also contains provisions for the protection of minority shareholders;

•An IBC is exempt from Bahamian Exchange Control, from stamp duty and from other taxes and estate duties for 20 years from the date of incorporation;

•an IBC can be managed, controlled and operated from the Bahamas.

A company incorporated or (if foreign) registered under the Companies Act 1992 can switch to IBC status if it qualifies under the legislation.

IBC status is granted subject to certain conditions:

• No business may be transacted with residents in the Bahamas;
•No ownership interest in real property in the Bahamas is permitted; property may be leased for office use only;
• Banking, insurance or re-insurance business is not permitted;
•Engaging in the business of company management or providing registered facilities for Bahamian incorporated companies is not permitted.

IBCs are permitted to own shares in other Bahamian companies, maintain bank accounts in the jurisdiction and employ the services of local professionals.

It is obligatory to use a registered agent in the Bahamas to incorporate an IBC. Fees for incorporation of an IBC are based on the company's authorised share capital. Normally, the incorporation process takes no more than one day.

http://www.lowtax.net/lowtax/html/jbacos.html

[Pauls' Revere]

Or, perhaps a joint venture?

Joint Ventures

Joint Ventures are also permitted under the laws of The Bahamas. There are no registration or incorporation requirements for joint ventures. Fees for establishing a joint venture will vary depending upon the complexity of the arrangement and will usually be restricted to fees for professional services rendered in connection with advising generally on the joint venture and for preparation of documents. There is no requirement that a Bahamian or a foreign national be a participant, manager or director in a joint venture and there are no restrictions on capitalization. Further, there are no special rules which determine an investor’s potential liability and under Bahamian law there are no tax consequences for participating in a joint venture.

http://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=6949

[oyarde]

I always wanted to hunt quail there , but you have to be a resident , based on that alone , I will put no money there ...

[Pauls' Revere]

Came across this in my research:

Guatemala: who'd a thunk?
http://www.panamalaw.org/guatemala_bank_account.html

and something called the: Tax Information Exchange Agreement
http://www.ato.gov.au/content/00161158.htm

and something else called an MLAT Mutual legal Assistance Treaty
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_...istance_treaty

Why Use Guatemala – Guatemala is the largest nation in Central America having over 14 million people. It has the largest economy in Central America coming in at 75 Billion dollars GDP. It is a democracy with free elections. Guatemala has a constitution. The country maintains a military force of 19,000 including Army, Navy and Air Force. The national police is another 12,000 strong. In addition there are municipal police in some municipalities. There is a large amount of foreign investment flowing into Guatemala.

No Tax Information Exchange Agreements – Guatemala has tax treaties with the following countries countries: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, Denmark, Greenland, Finland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Norway and Sweden.

No Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties with USA, Canada, EU Nations – There are NONE. Guatemala also has NO double taxation treaties. The nations indicated below in bold are popular banking jurisdictions that the USA has Mutual legal Assistance Treaties with. MLAT's can only be used in criminal cases filed by national governments through the treaty. The offense must be a crime in both countries (dual criminality). They are difficult to use and must go through diplomatic channels. They can take months or years to use. All that being said it is better to not have any such treaty in place at all than to know it is there but difficult to use. We get asked if it is possible for the MLAT to be used in a tax matter. The answer is yes if the tax matter is pursued as a crime. This is not something that has been seen much to date but it is entirely possible.


Still researching...