Introduction - What we are going to do here is explain to you some of the ways others have used Offshore Corporations. For purposes of this article when we refer to an offshore company or an offshore corporation we mean a bearer share corporation. It is the bearer share corporation that has the possibility of being anonymous. Not all bearer share corporations are as anonymous as others, the jurisdiction matters greatly. It seems the Republic of Panama has the best bearer share corporations in that the ownership of the corporation is based on who has the physical possession of the stock certificates. There is no requirement to report ownership anywhere so it is not recorded in any registry or database. There is also no requirement to record transfers of ownership of the corporation in whole or in part in Panama. Panama has no tax treaties with any countries and no treaties with any country regarding mutual enforcement or collection of civil judgments.
To make the scenarios work effectively the offshore corporation must be formed by an attorney so there is attorney client privilege covering the formation of the corporation. If one uses a corporate agent the attorney client privilege is absent and the corporate agent could easily be compelled to reveal who formed the offshore corporation in question. If one took an attorney to court to get into the records concerning an offshore company formation the attorney would likely go to court kicking and screaming attorney client privileged communications all the way and give a heck of a fight to protect his client which in turn protects the livelihood of the attorney. If a corporate agent was use the corporate agent would need to retain an attorney to try to protect the records. The corporate agent has a case is weaker in terms of protecting you since attorney client privilege is a pillar of law in just about every country. The question of how much money the corporate agent would spend to protect your records is a scary question at best. You do want the security of dealing with a lawyer and having attorney client privilege. In Panama corporate agents do not exist, only a lawyer may form a corporation. Buying a corporation from an agent who bought it in turn from a lawyer does not make things any better in terms of the corporate agent still exists as a weak link in your privacy and security.
Panama also does not tax capital gains and offshore derived income without even a need to file any income tax returns if all your income was offshore derived.
1 - Use the offshore company to hold real estate. This works best when the real estate is free of mortgages and any other encumbrances. The title is transferred to the anonymous bearer share corporation and so recorded in the government registry. Now no one can tell who currently owns the property. This is a useful tactic employed by people residing in high crime countries where property owners are at risk for kidnapping, home invasion robberies/kidnapping, extortion and blackmail. It also works as a deterrent against frivolous litigation since most attorneys would run an asset check before filing a case to make sure there is something to collect and real estate is very hard to run away with.
2 - Use the offshore corporation to write a mortgage against real estate. This can be a first mortgage, second mortgage or third mortgage, etc. This so to speak removes equity from a property not leaving one as a target for kidnapping, and frivolous litigation.
3 - Use the offshore corporation to write a loan against property such as heavy equipment, boat, airplane, etc. This removes the equity from the item thus removing it from being a focus point for attorneys interested in filing a frivolous lawsuit. The loan can be a subordinate loan or a senior loan.
4 - Use the offshore company to own your boat. Register the boat in Panama like the major cruise lines do. This way snoops and criminals don't know who owns that nice boat and this removes you from being a target. If you use a corporation with the words charter in it they will think it is a rented boat.
5 - Use the offshore company to register your airplane. Provides anonymity and asset protection.
6 - Use the offshore company to own art, coins, stamps, jewelry or other collectibles. Document and receipt the transfer to the offshore corporation.
7 - Use the offshore corporation to make loans. The loans can be secured or unsecured. They can have regular payments, interest only with balloon payment at end of term or whatever terms the corporation decides upon using.
8 - Work for the offshore corporation. The corporation can be a professional services company and can hire your services out. You would then be an employee or independent contractor of the offshore company. The corporation can decide how much to pay you, what benefits to provide for you such as full medical coverage, legal insurance, company auto, office, what expenses to give you, the company can hold conferences for all or some of its employees in exotic locations like the Caribbean or Las Vegas, etc.
9 - The offshore corporation can be used as an intellectual property company which holds copyrights, trade marks, software, and licenses.
10 - The offshore company can invest in stocks, bonds, futures, commodities etc. with everything in the name of the anonymous offshore company.
11 - Offshore companies can lease equipment, vehicles, machinery, real estate etc.
12 - An offshore corporation can own the shares of other companies or legal entities
13 - A offshore corporation can own bank accounts, trusts, fixed deposits, CD's etc.
14 - The offshore corporation can be used for internet businesses. The web site can be owned and registered to the anonymous bearer share corporation thus providing anonymity and protection from personal liability.
15 - The offshore corporation can be used as a Bidding Entity where privacy is important thus concealing the true owners identity from the bid process.
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