Since there is no generally accepted definition of an offshore zone, no one knows their exact number.
Here’s the most comprehensive list of offshore companies in:
Europe: Andorra, Cyprus, Malta, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, Sark, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madeira and Monaco.
Asia and the Indian Ocean: Brunei, Hong Kong, Labuan (Malaysia), Mauritius and UAE.
Africa: Liberia, Botswana and Seychelles.
The Pacific: Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Nauru and Niue.
Central America and the Caribbean: Anguilla, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Grenada, Netherlands Antilles, Panama, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts, Turks and Caicos Islands.
Offshore zones have been under scrutiny since 2000, and especially since April 2006, when the G20 meeting of the leaders of the largest states of the world took place. Then, it was decided to develop measures against jurisdictions that do not want to cooperate. Initiatives put forward by the OECD, FATF and the International Monetary Fund have had a significant impact on the offshore industry. As a result, most of the major offshore zones have strengthened their legislation regarding money laundering and other illegal activities.
Today, there are about 1.4 million offshore companies in the world, being concentrated in preferential tax zones: the Caribbean, Asia Pacific and Western Europe. About 65% of all offshore centers are located in developing countries, the rest - in developed countries. Many offshore centers are located on island territories.
If we analyze the geography of these territories, we can conclude that they are united by limited natural and labor resources or their generla absence. The consequences of such resource “poverty” is the sale of a legal address in the territory of the state, with the possibility of exemption from taxes. In addition, as a rule, offshore zones are located in territories, islands or archipelagos with a favorable geographical position, developed transport and telecommunication networks, close to major international financial and shopping centers.
Services provided in offshore zones are often driven by demand for them and also financial instability. Innovation and necessity, therefore, are important conditions for their occurrence. Still, these elements are irrelevant without the consent of the legislature to introduce laws for innovative offshore companies.
The developing markets of Asia and Latin America have become one of the most attractive offshore zones in the world, not only because of low or zero tax rates, but also because of huge sales markets, access to cheaper raw materials and a large number of qualified specialists.
An offshore zone such as Hong Kong has set a fixed tax rate, which is very attractive to both international and domestic businesses. As a new offshore zone, Hong Kong allows domestic companies to trade in their zone and enter alternative markets, not limited to any special tax regime for foreign companies.
The Bahamas area long established financial services jurisdiction. Offshore financial services make up at least 12% of this country's GDP. The Bahamas are among the ten countries in the world with a developed banking sector. As a banking center, the Bahamas offshore zone has accumulated an asset base that exceeds $ 200 billion through its diverse financial services: private banking, trust fund administration and portfolio management.
Singapore is a well-known financial center enjoying a good reputation. In this offshore zone, the number of centralized services provided is constantly increasing and thus, multinationals are increasingly choosing Singapore. There, taxes are levied on a territorial basis and, therefore, Singapore companies are not liable and do not pay taxes on income that is not received there.
The Dubai zone is gaining in popularity. The implementation of corporate mechanisms in this country is becoming more accessible, and investment opportunities are becoming increasingly attractive. Dubai offshore zone has set a zero income tax rate and does not enter into information exchange agreements.
Switzerland gained its offshore status due to the tradition of maintaining bank secrecy, stability and protection of assets of account holders in Swiss banks. Largely due to the strategic location of Switzerland, hundreds of companies from Europe and North America have chosen this country as the location of their regional headquarters and research / production bases.
Offshore zones of the world are not only separate states. They may be provinces or states within a country, having their own jurisdiction. Examples of such offshore zones are Delaware and Oregon, which are US offshore zones.
The existence of offshore zones is of great interest to the world community, as they have a wide impact on the global economy. Still, the ability of an offshore zone to attract global resources largely depends on its political, legal and social stability, as well as its infrastructure and level of development.
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