Offshore Planning – Alexander John Hay PLLC

Offshore Financial Planning

Offshore Financial Planning is a tricky business and is not the right choice for most people. But for some people “going offshore” can be a legal, ethical and reasonable way of protecting their assets, reducing their taxes, and of obtaining greater financial privacy. Sometimes it is simply necessary to more efficiently handle international business transactions. Whatever the motivation, I strongly encourage clients to carefully review and consider all their options before moving forward on this option.

Just setting up a foreign company and then doing business inside your old jurisdiction will not work. You need to be in a situation where some or all of your business can be successfully transplanted to that new more friendly jurisdiction. Examples of “offshore” friendly businesses are: importing/exporting, software design (particularly if you are already using offshore technicians or have significant offshore clients), Internet services, financial services, entertainment industry, and other types of intellectual property. If you do not have a business that lends itself to “going offshore” then it would be wise to focus on more cost effective domestic alternatives.

However, if you are in a situation where “going offshore” might be a good idea, there are a lot of really interesting options available.

The United Kingdom Limited Partnership

The United Kingdom Limited Partnership is the ultimate pass through tax entity. As long as you are not a UK resident, and the business does not take place in the UK there are no taxes on the LP income. Even better, there is no need to even file anything with the UK authorities after the LP has been registered.