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Lowtax
Network Content Update | Issue XXIII | 31 January 2008 |
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Dear Colleague, This week:
I hope you find this update useful. Please remember that you can customise your mailing preferences by visiting your own profile page to choose from 29 offshore tax and law subjects in order to receive just the information you want. You can also unsubscribe completely by following the instructions at the bottom of this page. Kind regards, |
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Offshore The Marshall Islands are situated nearly midway between Indonesia and Hawaii, and are the easternmost island group in Micronesia. British naval officer John Marshall gave his name to the islands in the 1700s. The Marshall Islands were under the control of Spain from 1500 to the late 1800s, Germany from 1885 to World War I, and Japan from 1917 to 1944. After the Second World War, the Marshall Islands became a United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands under United States administration. The Republic of the Marshall Islands gained its independence in 1986, after signing the Compact of Free Association with the United States. The Republic became a full member of the United Nations in 1991. The Constitution, signed in 1979, is a blend of American and British models of government and the official language is English. The Marshall Islands has enjoyed political stability since its independence as a nation. The jurisdiction maintains a democratically elected parliamentary system of government. Under the Marshall Islands’ parliamentary system, the legislature known as the Nitijela, elects a President from among its members. In turn, the President nominates a Cabinet of 6 to 10 members. The legal system consists of local courts whose judges are appointed by the Cabinet. The court system consists of local Courts of First Instance, a Traditional Rights Court with jurisdiction over real property matters and a High Court with maritime jurisdiction. Appeals may be brought before the Supreme Court in all cases. Agriculture and tourism are the mainstays of the economy. The principal trading partners are the United States, Japan and Australia . Air transportation is facilitated by two international airports, plus airstrips scattered throughout the larger islands. There are twelve deepwater docks for large ocean-going ships. Excellent international communications are provided by satellite links for telephone, fax and e-mail. Banking services are provided by the Bank of Guam (which is FDIC insured) and the Bank of the Marshall Islands. Learn more in our full Marshall Islands Knowledgebase. |
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Directory For Visitors Click here for the new directory home page. For Service Providers Click here for the new directory home page. |
| Offshore Andorra
Charlemagne Made Andorra Independent in 748 . . . . . . but in practical terms Andorra became independent in 1278. Its co-princes are the French president and the Spanish Bishop of Urguel, but they don't interfere! Andorra is a parliamentary democracy. Squeezed between France and Spain in the Pyrenees, with 467 sq km and a population of almost 72,000, Andorra has an amazing 11.6 million visitors annually. The skiing is excellent, but the valleys are warm enough in summer to grow tobacco, the dominant agricultural activity. There's no airport but the roads to France and Spain are good. The language is Catalan. Economy Based on Tourism Tourism accounts for 80% of the economy one way or another. There is some local manufacturing (including tobacco processing) but Andorra is structurally import-dependent. There is no unemployment and growth is around 5%; inflation tends to mirror that in France and Spain. Andorra has no currency - most important currencies are acceptable; but the Government works in Euros. There is a budget surplus; national debt is very low. GDP per head at $38,800 is the eleventh highest in the world. Andorra protects its domestic business sector with ownership restrictions. Andorra's Lowtax Specialisations There are no taxes in Andorra for companies or individuals other than modest annual registration fees, municipal rates and property transaction taxes. There are no special regimes for 'offshore' entities and no trusts (Andorra is a civil law jurisdiction). The problem for offshore enterprises is that Andorra insists on two-thirds majority ownership of all types of business entity by Andorran nationals or long-stay residents. Although nominee arrangements can bypass this problem in day-to-day terms, the legal reality remains. This has tended to limit Andorra's offshore business to wealthy individuals. Andorra's Bank Accounts Are Very Secret As a home for money, Andorra is hard to beat. Banks are solid, and there are no capital or exchange controls. Numbered accounts are said to be known about only to you, your banker and God. Strict anti-money laundering legislation stops criminal activity, but excludes tax avoidance which is no crime in Andorra. In June, 2004, however, Andorra was obliged to accept the EU's Savings Tax Directive, and as from July, 2005, is imposing a withholding tax of 15% on returns on savings paid to citizens of Member States of the EU, of which 75% is remitted onwards to the States concerned. Immigration Controlled by Residence and Work Permits To encourage immigration by high-net-worth
individuals (often retired) the Government offers Passive Residence
Permits, which are not cheap. Otherwise, long term residence is
only possible to those with work permits, which are controlled by
quotas. It is possible to get around this system by owning a nominee
company, which is relatively expensive, but the Government watches
closely, and any kind of doubtful activity (or competition against
locals) will bring rapid expulsion. |
