The following is the edited and finalized text of a speech/presentation I made at the 4th Family Investment & Citizenship Planning Asia Retreat 2017 held in Bali, Indonesia in September 2017 and represents my views only. In today’s world there must be risk management for all offshore planning, not just with regards to trusts. Trusts, […]
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For several years now, some of us in the financial services industry have lamented the plethora of legislation which has been foisted on jurisdictions, especially the British Overseas Territories like Anguilla and the BVI, by international bodies and foreign countries. We have argued in public and in private to government officials that some of this […]
Have you ever wanted to incorporate a company in another country? Ever wondered what steps you may need to take to make this possible? Ever wondered how to incorporate a local company in Belize? If so, then we are here to guide and inform you on the steps you need to take to incorporate your […]
On Jan. 15, 2016, Justice Courtney Abel of the Supreme Court of Belize handed down a decision which should be read across Caribbean IFCs, especially by regulators and law enforcement agencies from common law jurisdictions. The court found that the manner of the execution of a search warrant on the private offices of a licensed […]
On June 17, 2015, the EU published its list of top 30 non-cooperative jurisdictions – or tax-havens as they are called by both a hostile media and politicians – ostensibly as part of a crackdown on companies which are using these financial services centers to minimize paying taxes, legitimately I might add, in the EU […]
At the recently concluded Dec. 1-2, 2015 Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in London, held with the UK Minister for the Overseas Territories, James Duddridge MP, the British Overseas Territories (BOTS) agreed to “hold beneficial ownership information in our respective jurisdictions via central registers or similarly effective systems.” The communique issued by the BOTS and […]
On April 14, 2015, the then-Chairman of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, addressed the citizens of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) on decisions taken by the Monetary Council (MC) of the ECCB on Feb. 24, 2015, at its headquarters in Basseterre, St. Kitts. […]
In the 1970s the late American cartoonist Walt Kelly coined the phrase “We have met the enemy and he is us.” This was derived from the American Commodore, Oliver Hazard Perry’s famous War of 1812 report of the Battle of Lake Erie to General William Henry Harrison in which he wrote: “We have met the […]
Is this the end of Russia as a source of business for international financial centers? On Nov. 24, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed Federal Law No. 376-FZ, with the unwieldy title: Concerning the Introduction of Amendments to Parts One and Two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (Regarding the Taxation of […]
a solution in search of a problem In June 2014, the government of Anguilla published for public consultation, a document entitled: “Enhancing the transparency of Anguillian company ownership and increasing trust in Anguillian business.” The document stated that the objectives of the consultation, which is currently ongoing until later in the summer, are to […]
Are they an option for international financial centers? Recent moves by the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) government to enact legislation to provide for an investor residency program has thrown into the spotlight the issue as to whether or not economic citizenship and residency programs could be an option for IFCs seeking to increase […]