Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

CC, not you. Small c.

Re: Trust funds and off-shore vehicles.

Yes, no doubt they are different in formation, but their purpose is similar, tax avoidance.

it's dead easy to set up an offshore company, though it is now much more difficult to set up an offshore bank account

a proper accountant may tell you differently, because assuredly i am not but ....

a trust fund is governed by all sorts of rules and regulations, not least being that the settlor cannot interfere once it is in place ..... it is run by appointed trustees who have obligations to the ultimate beneficiaries

tiresomely, unless you are an accountant, the rules for trusts get changed every 5/10 years

btw, i have no trusts either as beneficiary or settlor

52495
and what is wrong with that?
however, once any money is brought back on-shore, it is then taxed

as has often been said, if you don't like the rules, then campaign to have them changed

Nothing wrong in itself.

Except, as you just outlined, not easy to do in practice for ordinary folk.



The main reason for asking was because a newspaper a few years ago, pointed out that Cameroon's country seat is in fact held in a trust fund.

ie, He gets to use it, but with no tiresome death duties or inheritance taxes etc.

and who are not "ordinary folk"?

particularly with trusts - and believe me there are plenty of pitfalls, not least when the rules get changed for the umpteenth time - they are probably not worth setting up unless you have a pretty tidy pile, as they are expensive to operate and quite often will not work out in the long run in quite the way hoped when initiated

Time running out Tory Boys........

Ashcroft National Poll: Con 30%, Lab 31%, Lib Dem 8%, UKIP 19%, Green 5%


Mansion Tax just around the corner Hays, and dont worry Labour have had there lawyers checking it out to avoid loopholes. There will be NONE.

YouGov/Sun – CON 34%, LAB 33%, LDEM 6%, UKIP 15%, GRN 6%

Populus – CON 33%, LAB 36%, LDEM 8%, UKIP 15%, GRN 4% (tabs)
Ashcroft – CON 30%, LAB 31%, LDEM 8%, UKIP 19%, GRN 5% (tabs)
YouGov/Sun – CON 34%, LAB 33%, LDEM 6%, UKIP 15%, GRN 6%

Haze and Mauel's morning ritual!

Xmas party at No 10.

Ukip to snatch two million Conservative voters in next election

http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/545335/Ukip-take-two-million-votes-from-Conservative-Party-next-election

hmmmmmmmm and when the Express gets bearish on the Tories you have to take note.

You never know what to make of the Express, they make it up as they go along.

But they are right about snatching votes from the big boys, they just don't know how many and from where.

Cyners, Max,

It's easy to set up an offshore IBC, and the Seychelles and BVI are popular locations as neither jurisdiction requires their companies to pay tax on earnings, nor to even provide financial accounts. Further, they do not disclose ownership details. Contrary to what you may have heard, it's also very easy to set up an offshore bank account, albeit, since earlier this year, places like the Isle of Man have started reporting account details to HMRC where UK residents are involved.

But, before the lefties start jumping up and down about non-payment of tax, it's important to realise that having money owned by an offshore corporation in an offshore bank account doesn't immediately help the individual. If the corporation sends money to that individual at any stage, there's a potential tax liability for that individual. To avoid that liability, you'll need an avoidance scheme, and that's where loan schemes like K2 come in.

Alternatively, to avoid that liability and as Haystack alluded to, you could get your offshore IBC to own property and other assets, although, strictly speaking, that then introduces a taxable benefit in kind on the asset's usage. But, if those properties are in somewhere like France, where there are wealth tax laws in place, and they also have some mighty strange inheritance tax laws, it means that the assets do not need to physically change hands in the event of the beneficial owner's death, because it won't be the IBC that's died.

In addition, benefits are found in other ways. For instance, there's no financial regulation in the BVI or the Seychelles, so both domains have become popular amongst brokers and fund managers looking to set up a business. That's not to say that those brokers and/or fund managers are crooks - they just might not want to (or be in a position to) stump up the security, and have auditors crawling all over their books which would happen if they were domiciled in, say, London and regulated by the FCA.

Also, if you underwrite at Lloyd's, an offshore nameco is a good way of protecting the individual in the event of a catastrophic disaster.

The other thing to say is that you also mentioned trust funds. Well, you get offshore trust funds as well. :o)

Wow do Hils, did you have a good holiday skiing?.

Hilary, sounds like you just summed up Bob Geldofs finances in one hit there..

Fishfinger,

Thanks for asking, but I'll be here till April.

The snow's not really arrived yet - it's still a bit thin, although there's been a dusting overnight, and there's a big dump forecast for Saturday. Unfortunately, we have logs to get inside and icicles to break in the meantime.

Bit like being Im a Celebrity in the Jungle then Hils, other extreme though.

Get plenty of hot wine down you.