TAX HAVENS

It’s not really surprising that as locators of luxury properties, our clients’ specified locations often include recognised tax havens. The purchase of offshore real estate is one of the best ways to place funds overseas and a residence in a tax haven still has some benefits. Since the early 20th century, wealthy individuals from high-tax countries have relocated to low tax regions. In most countries in the world, residence is the primary basis of taxation.

A Tax Haven is a country or region that levies a lower rate of taxation compared to other countries or regions. Some levy no tax at all and most do not tax income earned outside their jurisdiction. Tax Havens have specific local laws and tax schedules which differ from those of other countries but this is not tax evasion which is an illegal activity.

Several regions claim to be the oldest tax haven in the world. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man claim that their tax independence has been established for centuries. In modern times it is generally accepted that Switzerland was the first recognised tax haven followed by Liechtenstein and Bermuda.

Globalization of the world's businesses and the growth of offshore banking have in recent years played a significant part in the further development of tax havens.

The U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research has suggested that about 15% of countries in the world are tax havens, and that these countries tend to be small and affluent. Most have not suffered in the current recession.

Examples of Tax Havens.
These may be either - No tax; Low tax; or No tax on foreign source income.

Andorra
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Aruba
The Bahamas
Barbados
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Dominica
Liechtenstein
Panama
St Kitts and Nevis

This list is by no means exhaustive and each country has its own laws and regulations.

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