The word “Tax” is one of the most significant concerns for business investors and owners. Every professional looks forward to figuring out the best possible way to lower their taxes, be it professional (corporate) or personal (income earned). With the growth of business incorporation process at a global level, the government of different countries have taken a step forward by providing tax benefits to the business owners to grab the attention. This leverage of low tax payment is stated as tax-haven jurisdiction. This guide will help you to understand what tax-haven is all about and how investors can gain the respective benefits. Let’ start by understanding the basics.
Meaning of Tax Haven
A tax haven is a foreign country that offers minimal tax liability to business investors. Tax residency doesn’t require any residency proof or business presence to proceed ahead with tax benefits. In simple terms, the tax havens are successful and well-governed economies that promote offshore company formation. However, there might be different reasons for which a country opts to become a tax-haven.
Why Countries Become Tax Haven?
Over some time, the concept of offshore and tax-haven has been widely accepted by global business investors. Most of the countries restructure and re-design the existing tax proceedings to enhance employment and revenue. Certain countries offer a lower tax to the large corporate organizations in exchange of locating a branch or division in the particular jurisdiction. The income that gets generates is one of the substantial sources of government revenue that includes registration fees of business entities, annual renewal fees, license fee.
Who Needs Offshore Tax Haven?
The option of offshore tax-haven is preferable by the following individuals or corporations:
Top Tax Haven Countries in the World
The top 20 tax haven jurisdictions in the world are stated below:
Rank |
Jurisdiction |
CTHI Value4 |
CTHI Share5 |
Haven Score |
Global Scale Weight |
1 |
British Virgin Islands |
2,769 |
7.29% |
100 |
2.12% |
2 |
Bermuda |
2,653 |
6.98% |
100 |
1.86% |
3 |
Cayman Islands |
2,534 |
6.67% |
100 |
1.62% |
4 |
Netherlands |
2,390 |
6.29% |
78 |
12.76% |
5 |
Switzerland |
1,875 |
4.93% |
83 |
3.41% |
6 |
Luxembourg |
1,794 |
4.72% |
72 |
10.53% |
7 |
Jersey |
1,541 |
4.05% |
98 |
0.42% |
8 |
Singapore |
1,489 |
3.92% |
81 |
2.11% |
9 |
Bahamas |
1,377 |
3.62% |
100 |
0.26% |
10 |
Hong Kong |
1,372 |
3.61% |
73 |
4.37% |
11 |
Ireland |
1,363 |
3.58% |
76 |
3.11% |
12 |
United Arab Emirates |
1,244 |
3.27% |
98 |
0.22% |
13 |
United Kingdom |
1,067 |
2.81% |
63 |
7.30% |
14 |
Mauritius |
950 |
2.50% |
80 |
0.65% |
15 |
Guernsey |
890 |
2.34% |
98 |
0.08% |
16 |
Belgium |
822 |
2.16% |
68 |
1.82% |
17 |
Isle of Man |
804 |
2.11% |
100 |
0.05% |
18 |
Cyprus |
698 |
1.83% |
71 |
0.73% |
19 |
China |
658 |
1.73% |
58 |
3.67% |
20 |
Hungary |
560 |
1.47% |
69 |
0.49% |
Benefits of Setting Up a Company in a Tax Haven
Establishment of a company in a tax-haven jurisdiction helps the investor to gain the following benefits:
1.Minimal Tax
One of the most common reasons why individuals and corporates seek tax haven is as they can minimize or nullify their tax liability. The tax haven jurisdictions provide a perfect business climate to the investors to step forward and avail the tax-free zones. Most of the Fortune 500 companies have established their divisions in these regions to operate without paying tax.
2.Maximum Privacy
Another benefit of proceeding ahead towards tax havens is the utmost privacy that individuals and corporates require. Most of them don’t want to disclose their company’s existence in public or even corporate bank account information. Thus, tax havens serve as a boon in this regard.
3.High Security
In certain countries like the US, not paying a tax stands as a crime, which involves a penalty that needs to be borne by the individuals or corporates. Tax haven provides leverage to the corporates to free themselves from this burden as it is a safe region to operate business activities without paying any tax. Moreover, tax havens are often situated outside the taxable zones and usually doesn’t have a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEAs). No legal framework is present, and any investigation turns out to be a tough job.
4.Convenient
The process of company incorporation gets completed within a concise span of time and requires a meager registration fee. Some tax havens provide the flexibility to the business investors to proceed with business incorporation tasks without even visiting the country.
You can see that proceeding ahead with tax haven options turns out to be one of the profitable options that you being a business owner can go ahead with. Moving forward with the guidance of business experts can help you to complete the entire process in a hassle-free way.
Why to Avail Professional Services?
The business owners and investors can enjoy the following leverages by taking expert’s help to incorporate their business in tax haven jurisdictions:
- Tasks are carried out at a speedy rate
- The business activities are maintained in a professional manner
- Experts provide quick solutions to solve relevant errors
- Market information can be known better
- Error-free incorporation process
At Business Setup Worldwide, we understand your business needs and provide effective incorporation solutions accordingly. Since inception, we have been helping numerous clients in setting up their business in multiple locations. Our business experts are well-versed with the incorporation process, which allows them to provide tailored solutions. In case you hold any query, feel free to ask the same to our advisors. Contact us today-we’d be glad to assist.