Corporate Offshore Banking As Part of a Legal, Sound Business Plan
There has been much focus on the illegal reasons that people take out corporate offshore banking accounts in recent times, with the debacle over information sharing in Switzerland. Offshore bank accounts are known only to much of the world as the accounts that criminals use to extort ransom money or to launder illegal profits. Here we look at some of the major, legal, and often overlooked reasons that companies use business consultancy services for offshore bank account opening.
Tax benefits are one of the major reasons that offshore banking is such big business worldwide. Every country has the right to set their own taxation system, and every citizen also has the right to choose with whom they bank. There is nothing illegal about this; however, there is a line between tax avoidance, which is legal, and tax evasion, which is not. Business consultancy services and investment management services used to dealing with offshore investment business can advise on where an activity sits on the avoidance-evasion continuum.
Offshore bank accounts make for a very profitable investment base. It is easier to buy and sell foreign currencies when you already have an offshore bank account, as well as assets like precious metals and real estate, without being bound by any anti-investment rules in your home country. Insurance and annuity products often have very high returns, and bank account opening overseas can give you easy access to these.
One benefit is particularly important for US customers – corporate offshore banking (and private offshore bank account opening) helps protect your assets from one of the most litigious societies in the world. In the case of a disagreement, potential plaintiffs will be discouraged by the difficulty of accessing offshore assets. Attorneys are less likely to take the case, and frivolous suits are almost erased.
Planning and diversification is another reason that many investment management services advise holding offshore accounts. In offshore facilities, you can set up asset protection trusts, limited liability companies and private family foundations, each of which can share in the profits of the main company. Planning becomes safer with a more diversified portfolio.
The privacy that corporate offshore banking affords is often touted as a reason that all offshore account holders must be criminals. The assumption is that if you have nothing to hide, everyone should be able to know the details of your business. However, anybody that has experienced the repercussions of an outside assumption based on partial information knows that sometimes, in legal circumstances, privacy is best. Although nations such as Switzerland are moving towards a more open environment, the release of details will still need to be court-ordered. The plaintiff must show probable cause for the order to be made.
The benefit of privacy is especially important to American clients, who are feeling the impacts of the post 9/11 panic and the Patriot Act, which allows heretofore unknown breaches of privacy, occasionally in the name of simple individual suspicions. You can use other tools, such as company formation services, and nominee shareholders and directors to further protect your privacy if your bank account is corporate.
Zetland Fiduciary Group provides the offshore investor with investment management,corporate advisory services and Financial consultancy in Hong Kong.
Article Source: Corporate Offshore Banking As Part of a Legal, Sound Business Plan
Incorporation Offshore And Offshore Banking In Tax Havens Made Easy
Companies with incorporation offshore own half the worlds wealth! The worlds wealth does not sit in the offshore bank accounts of businesses with incorporation offshore. It flows to where it is needed by the owner. And it flows rapidly. Many times back into there own countries. How do you own your wealth? Through a limited liability company incorporation or directly in your name?
Let me tell you how easy it is to incorporate a business in a tax haven. I did my first bvi company incorporation when I was 22 years old and an engineering student at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh. Since then I have formed companies with an offshore incorporation in the jurisdictions of Mauritius, Seychelles, Lichtenstein and Luxembourg.
I am not super wealthy and my income is reasonable. I just liked my freedom from the complicated tax laws of my country, which I never understood.
I am an Indian, currently residing in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, a zero income tax country. Utilizing a tax haven company service, it is easy to earn anywhere and save! You too can incorporate a business, maybe with banking, in one of the several tax havens around the world, that too for only a few thousand dollars.
Where do you start looking if you are thinking about starting a new business, charity or venture? This process, called incorporation can be a minefield. Thankfully, help is at hand with a wealth of advice and services offered about moving a business abroad or setting up a business. Some companies offer to do everything for you, others offer just advice and options through incorporation consulting.
Incorporation is a process by which a business exists in its own right. It is separated from its owners in relation to financial responsibility. So if a person goes bankrupt, for example, the business is not automatically sold and vice versa. This process started in America with merchants setting up incorporations for their ships, so that if the ships sank at sea, the merchant could not be directly held responsible.
There is no doubt that looking to set up incorporation is a timely, bureaucratic and complicated business. In order to minimize tax incurred and costs but also ensure you meet the criteria for incorporation in whichever country you are applying, it is important to research the range of possibilities and implications.
Incorporation consulting services available will usually research the variety of options available and provide a number of suggestions for what you wish to achieve. Some will only do this; others will also continue to implement your chosen decision and completely set up the corporation for you.
Of course, this comes at a price and incorporation consulting starts at around $500 for the initial investigation service and then more depending on the level of service you require.
Many incorporation consultancy services offer additional services, such as introducing a corporate veil guarantee for free when they set up your limited company or incorporation. This basically means that legally your business finances are separate from your personal finances. So a legal judgment against one does not affect the assets of the other.
Most incorporation consultants come with an extensive background in either business or commercial law. Indeed, many of the companies offering consultancy services recruit a number of people from each of these disciplines in order to provide a range of services.
Many of the consultancies offer ongoing services including financial data collection and storage, tax returns and performance monitoring. You can visit various websites specializing in offshore incorporation to learn more about forming a company.
Ramapati Singhania specializes in creating and managing web businesses. His latest website http://www.incorporation-offshore-saves-wealth.com focuses on helping you to incorporate offshore companies in Seychelles, Mauritius and BVI. You can also visit his blog, http://www.ramapatisinghania.com
Article Source: articlestreet
Offshore Outsourcing to India: Does Indian Outsourcing have Specific Advantages?
Outsourcing to India has advantages over outsourcing to other countries. It is the leader in offshore outsourcing today in most areas – from IT and BPO to data and medical transcription.
Here are some of the advantages and reasons for outsourcing to India:
Strong Presence of the English Language
The penetration of the English language (the main language of the Internet) is massive in India. Almost everybody in the metros areas, such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Chandigarhis are comfortable with english. This is a key factor in effective off-shoring. It helps interaction and communication.
Massive Pool of Skilled and Unskilled Talent
India is a country of many societies and subcultures and a massive population. As such there is a huge supply of both skilled an unskilled labor. If one were setting up an offshore development center, one would get the required profiles and resumes – from the office boy to the CEO and all points in between.
Educational Facilities and Talent
Education plays a very important part in the life of many of India’s citizens. The basic education of an Indian in a metro area will be more or less equal to the education of someone in a more developed country. Likewise, India benefits from overseas education. Tens of thousands of Indian get advanced degrees in foreign countries such as the U.S., U.K. and Australia. Years ago, these people would stay in there host countries.
Now, many of them return to India to take advantage of it’s growing opportunities and power. If you want to tap the talent of these people you can still get them cheaply in India.
Robust Infrastructure
India is one of the most technologically progressed countries in the list of developing countries. In fact, the lifestyle and technology in the Indian metros is equal to many cities in developed countries. Government policies support outsourcing, technology and infrastructure development, and the growth is forecast to continue.
Cost Management
Though India has progressed greatly, and labor is not as cheap as it once was, its currency is still weaker than the U.S. dollar, the British pound and many other currencies. In other words, India is still highly cost effective for many businesses.
Because India is a developing country, outsourcing is looked upon favorably by the most segments of the population. In fact, there is a minimal amount of red tape involved while outsourcing to India and most government policies support it.
In short, India is the leader in outsourcing. Other countries will continue to make strides and increase their capacity, but India is set to remain a key-player and keep developing its capacity.
Ryan C. Nagy, M.A. is a university instructor, small business owner & consultant who uses Indian outsourcing to increase profits and eliminate many mundane business tasks. Come see Ryan at The Outsourcing Review or The Web Whisperer.
Article Source: articlestreet
Jobs Offshore – High Demand For Catering Jobs Offshore
For those seeking jobs offshore, opportunities continue to grow, even with the economic slowdown. Half of the current workforce in the oil and gas industry is retiring in the next 10 years. This is creating a huge labor shortage for the energy companies and drilling contractors, and a huge opportunity for those seeking jobs offshore and on land. There has never been a better time for either experienced or entry-level workers to find jobs offshore.
This growing workforce shortage is creating a groundswell of opportunity for catering personnel who would like to find an offshore catering job. Jobs offshore in catering in 2009 – 2010 is expected to accelerate as the economy begins turning around. While all job categories are experiencing vacancies and shortages, the opportunities are particularly good for offshore cooking jobs and other catering personnel.
There are many openings for a variety of jobs offshore in catering positions, including Chefs, cooks, assistant cooks, night bakers, galley hands, stewards and stewardesses, housekeeping and cleaning staff. Offshore catering is typically contracted out and managed by catering and food service companies. The catering contractor is responsible for all food service, to include meals, snacks, and special Holiday requirements. Additionally, the offshore catering service manages the cleaning and upkeep of the kitchen and chow hall, as well as the recreational and common areas and sleeping quarters. The following jobs are in high demand and available now.
Offshore Catering Jobs, Duties and Wages
Camp Boss
The Camp Boss is responsible for running the catering department. He oversees the chefs, cooks, night bakers, stewards, and housekeepers. The rig crew work long, hard hours, and an important part of running the operation is ensuring they have adequate energy and good morale. Ensuring that the kitchen puts out great tasting and nutritious food is what the Camp Boss does every day. He is assisted in this responsibility with a small crew of Chefs, Cooks, Night Bakers, Galley Hands and Stewards Stewardesses. Four to Six main courses are prepared and served every 24 hours, split into 12 hour shifts, so that both shifts get good meals. The Camp Boss also manages the Stewards and Stewardesses, ensuring that the rig’s recreation areas, downtime areas and, living quarters are kept clean, and the laundry completed.
Chef Head Cook
For the Chef or Lead Cook position, while previous offshore experience isn’t a requirement, previous cooking experience is. The quality of offshore food preparation is often comparable to the fare one would receive in the nicer Hotels and Restaurants; the food is good, nutritious, and there is lots of it. The Chef plays an important role in keeping morale high among the drilling crews; looking forward to a good meal goes a long way in maintaining job satisfaction. Experience managing a kitchen is a must. This is not an entry-level cooking position, one is expected to have a proven record of preparing quality food. However, those with less experience will be considered for the Galley Hand or Night Cook. Salaries run from the mid 60s – 70s, depending on the rig, the catering service company one is working for, and experience.
Night Baker
This is a very important position on the rig. All bread onboard is baked by the night baker, as well as pastries, muffins and desserts. On smaller rigs, this may be rolled up with the Assistant Cook Sous Chef as one job; on larger rigs, the positions will be two separate jobs. Offshore Night Baker wages will run from the 50s to 60s.
Night Cook
Most people with experience seeking an offshore cooking job will start here. The Night Cook will work the night shift. This is a great position in which to obtain one’s first offshore job. The Assistant Cook will prepare meals according to the recipes and directions of the Chef or Lead Cook. If you do a good job, and prove capable of running the kitchen in the Chef’s absence, you can move into a Lead Cook or Chef’s position fairly quickly. Offshore Assistant Cook wages will range from the mid 50s to mid 60s.
Galley Hand
If you have worked as a dishwasher or busboy in a Hotel or Restaurant for any decent amount of time, you can qualify of an Offshore Galley Hand job. This is a great way to get a foot in the door for those wishing to progress up to Chef or Head Cook – as on the mainland, many Offshore Chefs have gotten their start in the industry by starting at the bottom and working their way up. Offshore Galley Hand wages salary will range from the mid 40s to mid 50s.
Cleaning Housekeeping Staff
Generally speaking, anyone with mainland experience in a janitorial or housekeeping position, especially in industrial facilities or hotels, can qualify for jobs offshore in the same capacity. It is not uncommon for people wanting to break into the industry to accept a cleaning or housekeeping job, get to know people, and then, when the opportunity arises, advancing into a position of greater responsibility. This could be a supply room job, a roustabout job, or moving up the ladder to become a maintenance supervisor. It is quite common for people to start in this sort of position and then make a career in the offshore oil industry, moving in whatever direction they choose. A great way to get the proverbial foot in the door. Offshore Janitorial and Cleaning Housekeeping wages salary will range from the mid 40s to mid 50s.
Steward
The Steward Stewardess position is essentially a combination of Galley Hand and Janitorial Housekeeping responsibilities. On small rigs, these jobs may be rolled into one, and that would be the role of Steward. Offshore Steward wages will range from the mid 40s to mid 50s.
Getting Hired for Jobs Offshore in the Catering Section
For those without industry experience, it has been proven that the fastest way to get hired is to utilize one of the legitimate employment services for jobs offshore. Be sure to work only with honest, legitimate companies that will assist you with getting your resume written correctly for an offshore catering job.They should have references of people who have landed jobs offshore with them. A legitimate recruiter or job finding service will make no guarantees of getting hired, but should guarantee your satisfaction with their services, with a refund if no job is procured.
Julian Gaston is a Freelance Writer, Chef, Webmaster, and Adventurer. For more information on the exciting world of Offshore Jobs, and how to break into the field, please visit www.OffshoreJobsReview.com, where you will find a plethora of information on jobs offshore and how to get hired for one.
Article Source: articlestreet
How to Deal With the Dangers of MRSA, Staph Infection, And Mold on Offshore Living Quarters
By their very nature, oilfields and offshore structures can pose a real hazard in the form of bacteria, viruses, and mold to the people who live and work on them. These invisible but potentially harmful microscopic organisms can easily appear and spread in an offshore establishment, and once there they can have devastating consequences.
Workers on offshore oilrigs usually live on the rigs for long periods of time, and on top of this they often live in very close quarters. This can become a breeding ground for different forms of bacteria and mold with relative ease unless the right precautions are taken.
Staph bacteria in the form of MRSA and E. Coli, as well as viruses such as Influenza A and B and harmful mold spores, could all become established on an offshore platform with relative ease in a short period of time. And after they have made a presence for themselves they will start leading to serious problems for the employees who are living amongst them.
Protect Your Employees
Whenever an employee gets ill and misses a day at work, the company loses money. It is a common problem for any business, but in an offshore establishment the problem is increased significantly. The costs involved in removing a sick employee from an offshore platform are vast: not only do you miss their productivity for the day, but you will also have to pay for them to seek help, and the costs can quickly add up.
If the problem was caused by a failure on the part of the offshore establishment to properly clean the area and maintain the hygiene of the rig, then this lack of responsibility could even lead to you finding yourself with some hefty legal bills to pay, especially if the problem is severe, such as those involving MRSA.
Employees will be more productive in a healthy, clean environment that has good air quality. Bad air quality from the presence of mold spores, which can lead to headaches and breathing difficulties, can have a very problematic effect on the staff, reducing their capability to work to their maximum potential.
But it’s not just the actual rig that should be considered for treatment. Any area where humans are present will pose a risk, and therefore it is essential that support vessels, ships, and even decompression chambers are all treated with the same level of care and attention.
Get Treatment
Luckily, all of these problems can be resolved by using, a full service cleaning and antimicrobial treatment company that will lead to MRSA control and MRSA prevention through its treatment for staph bacteria. It will also lead to staph infection prevention, mold prevention, and virus prevention, meaning a reduction in staff illnesses caused as a result of these harmful micro organisms. Along with the initial treatment a full service anti-microbial company will provide follow up products and training to maintain the safe, healthy environment.
The treatment is simple, safe, cost effective, and will provide long-term protection for your offshore establishment, meaning a happier, healthier workforce with greater productivity.
Read more about Staph Infection Prevention and MRSA Prevention.
Article Source: articlestreet
Benefits of Offshore Banking
Offshore banking has now become an important segment of the international financial system. Offshore banking is simply a practice of working with an offshore bank. An offshore bank refers to a bank located outside the country where the depositor lives.
Usually, these banks may be located in such a jurisdiction with substantial financial as well as legal advantages. Offshore banks provide a continuum of services in connection with financial management, such as, deposit taking, money transmissions, creation of provision of foreign exchange, trade finance, credit facilities, investment and fund management, corporate administration, and trustee services.
Creation of a bank account with an offshore bank is great alternative particularly for those who have to travel frequently or someone whose career changes a lot. People prefer offshore banking for a myriad of other purposes such as expansion of your business, tax-free investment, anonymity with regard to financial matters, asset protection, and estate planning.
A specialty of offshore banking is that an account can be opened with an offshore bank simply as a saving account. Account can also be opened to carry out main business functions. Apart from these, through an offshore bank, you can even make investments and take loans.
This type of banking has now been legally used by many individuals and corporations worldwide. Offshore banking is usually preferred by people falling under three categories, such as, high net worth individuals, expatriates, and business owners. High net worth individuals are usually people with a non-refundable income in excess of one million US dollars. Included in the expatriates are people residing oversees away from their country for employment purposes or any other reasons.
Business owners are usually those people who own business and whose shares are owned by family members or any other close people. Nowadays, many of the corporate clients including multi national corporations, large industrial as well as trading companies, shipping companies, and banking corporations, are also getting attracted to the benefits offered by offshore banking.
One of the prime benefits of offshore banking is that it provides access to economically as well as politically stable jurisdictions. This proves to be advantageous to such people whose residing area has risks of political disorders. There are certain offshore banks that function with low cost base, which in turn can offer higher interest rates to the depositors when compared to their home country.
Another great benefit is that it is a great way for developing countries to enhance their economic growth, since offshore banking allows to redistribute finance from the developed economies to the developing economies. Perhaps the most prominent of the offshore banking is tax benefits, ie, most of the offshore banks makes payment of interest without deducting the tax.
This is highly beneficial to individuals who do not make tax payment on worldwide income or who do not make payment until the tax return is agreed. Further, many of the services rendered by the offered by offshore banks many not be available from banks located in home country.
Offshore banking is usually associated with formations including offshore trusts, offshore foundations, and offshore companies, which in turn may provide some kind of benefits in the form of tax as well as asset protection. As a healthy competition is seen in the industry of offshore banking regarding tax benefits, it enables to choose the most appropriate facility offering tax advantages. In addition, offshore banking allows you to easily move your assets, if you want to join an employment or spend long periods outside your home country.
Other significant benefits of offshore banking are:
- Since it provides a broad range of features, offshore banking can provide you absolute safety and security
- As offshore banks are mostly located in a jurisdiction with sound economic and political condition, it provides stability
- Many of the offshore banking facilities assure privacy and confidentialty
- Above all, offshore banking system provides flexibility, ie, it provides flexible structure to business owners and expatriates requiring global access to their fund
In order to acquire the full benefits above mentioned, it is recommended to review or examine your decision of opening an account with an offshore bank. Primarily, it must be checked whether the offshore bank you have chosen is located in such a jurisdiction that can meet your requirements. The next to be considered is that whether the chosen offshore bank renders all the services it mentions.
Despite any challenge, setting up an offshore bank account is considered a wise decision.
The Zetland Financial Group provides the offshore investor with fiduciary Services, investment management and corporate advisory services, offering personal service and professional advice with total confidentiality.
Article Source: articlestreet
Offshore Banking–Have We Heard It’s Final Death Knell?
Offshore Banking is being targeted by cash hungry governments around the world. Can the concept stay viable much longer?
Just before the health care bill was passed another bill went quietly through the legislature; implementing new regulations requiring ALL American citizens to report not just their income but all of their assets regardless of whether they live in the United States or not.
The fabled confidentiality of offshore banking is no more. All US citizens must declare all to the US government. The IRS is aggressively following up on this–NOW that it’s the LAW!
Can other countries including Canada be far behind? Governments around the world spend more than they take in and are desperate for ways to get even more money.
Offshore banking is in the crosshairs of governments all over the world. In the name of security and borne of desperation governments are negating individual privacy to gain access to more cash.
Opposition politicians do nothing to help — spurring on this reckless spending with claims of "Vote me in — I’ll lower taxes, reduce the deficits and increase military spending to protect you". NONSENSE! Taxes have only one way to go and that’s up.
They are good at making promises, but the math is really poor!!
What they will target is what so many ill-informed people call ‘entitlements’ that is programs you and I have paid for through taxation all of our working lives to which we are ‘Entitled’ to — hence the moniker ‘entitlements’.
These are programs we have paid for–whether we wanted to or not–by contributing our hard earned money. Now that we are approaching the age where we will need this assistance . We are told by ill-informed politicians that we must reduce the amount of entitlements people get!
Most politicians have no clue that any decision involving spending programs will eventually be taken from their hands and passed on to a nebulous group — the IMF (International Monetary Fund). Whose control of a country’s finances is in many cases is total.
Obviously the hope of offshore banking was to give you a way to extricate yourself from this mess and legally bypass the income tax stream. Fortunately there are still things you can do to bypass this stuff.
Canadians still have an opportunity called ‘Insured Retirement’. Using insured retirement can give you all the benefits of offshore banking with none of the drawbacks and at the same time is completely legal and above board when it comes the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency).
Now that you know there is a legitimate way to eliminate your income tax in retirement and protect your entitlements — isn’t time you found out how you do that?
Terry C. Johnston Certified Financial Planner with years of experience. Has helped many clients remove themselves from the income tax stream in their retirement years. Find out how Terry does it visit his Web Site http://www.blue-collar-financial-planning.com Today
Article Source: articlestreet
Australian Property: Popular with Offshore Investors
Copyright (c) 2010 Nadine Davis
Even those who know very little about the Australian real estate market know that Chinese investors have long been buying property here. However, recent changes to important laws have made offshore property investing more popular than ever – and the Chinese aren’t the only players. Find out why this is the case below.
The Allure of Australian Real Estate:
Although the pace has picked up significantly in recent years, foreign investors have long been enamoured of the Australian real estate market. Indeed, buyers agents Brisbane are regularly hired by investors from Russia, China, Malaysia, South Africa and other far-flung places. Along with the assistance of a buyers agent, investors like these are able to make extraordinary money from well-chosen investments in property in Qld – especially in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. With full ownership now possible, it’s clear that foreign investments in Australian property are only going to escalate.
Who’s Doing the Investing?
There are two main players when it comes to offshore investing in Australian property: Russia and China. The Chinese invested approximately $22.76 million in the last year alone; Russians invested approximately $22.7m themselves. Since it’s only been a little more than a year since the new laws went into effect, it is quite likely that these numbers are only going to grow going forward. It’s easy to see that the Russian, Chinese and many others are experiencing very favourable outcomes from their investment in Australian property.
The Chinese have been investing in Australian property for quite some time. and continue to be the biggest foreign buyers of property in the country. A country that is catching up quickly though is Russia, due to its economy as its fast changing demographic points are prompting many citizens to buy into the real estate market. Success in the mining and oil industries has armed many Russians with the means to invest seriously in real estate – and Australia is a natural choice. Furthermore, a growing middle class in Russia means that there are more people with expendable income than ever in that country.
The Dubai Connection:
Not only due to the fact that the laws in Australia have changed, but developments in Dubai have had substantial impact on the broadening popularity of offshore investment in Australia. The real estate market in Dubai collapsed, leaving many investors high and dry – and scrambling for new, more reliable opportunities. For many of them, Australia was a natural choice. Close on the heels of the Dubai real estate market crash, Australian rules and laws changed, opening up the playing field to more foreign investors. All of these converging factors have created key opportunities for offshore investors in the Australian real estate market.
There’s no doubt that Buyers Agents Brisbane assist local residents with property investment. Did you realise, that it’s very common for a foreign investor to hire a Buyers Agent Brisbane like Hot Property Specialists http://www.hotpropertyspecialists.com.au/ to assist in the purchase of their investment?
Article Source: articlestreet
Oil Spill May Threaten Offshore Drilling Plans
The ever-growing oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico may threaten more than the environment. It will make it significantly harder to open up more coastal areas for oil drilling.
The Gulf oil slick moved within 16 miles of the Mississippi River Delta last week, placing residents from Louisiana to Florida on alert against the possibility of oily beaches, closed harbors and a decimated fishing catch. That makes President Obama’s plan to increase offshore oil drilling a much harder sell.
Such drilling is "clearly not clean enough, after what we saw today," Florida’s Independent Governor, Charlie Crist — a former drilling proponent — told the Miami Herald Wednesday after flying over the slick. "That’s horrific, and it certainly isn’t safe enough. It’s the opposite of safe.”
Lawmakers from Maryland, Virginia, Rhode Island and Delaware have also expressed concern over offshore drilling following the Gulf disaster.
"The tide has shifted as a result of this spill," said Kevin Book, a managing director at the research firm ClearView Energy Partners. "It will be much harder to open up any new areas."
Last month, President Obama said the federal government would begin the process of leasing some areas off the coasts of Virginia, Alaska and maybe Florida to oil companies for drilling.
New offshore drilling in most U.S. waters had been banned since the early 1980s, when mounting public pressure pushed lawmakers into action. A disastrous oil spill off the California coast in 1969 sparked protests that grew into a broader environmental movement, which eventually succeeded in forcing a drilling moratorium. The ban was renewed each year until 2008. But that year, public outcry over soaring oil prices made it politically impossible to reauthorize.
"Given our energy needs, we are going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel," Obama said last month. "So today, we’re announcing the expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration, but in ways that balance the need to harness domestic energy resources and the need to protect America’s natural resources." But the federal government can’t open up new areas for drilling all by itself. It needs the approval of the states where the oil will eventually be offloaded, and whose coastlines would be damaged by any spill.
Virginia is the only state so far that doesn’t currently have drilling operations to give the feds the green light. Book still expects new leases to be awarded, perhaps as soon as 2012. But he predicts that the process, which will include a lengthy public comment period, will now be much more difficult. Especially given the comments this week from Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J.
Pallone announced that he is "adamantly opposed" to Obama’s plan to expand drilling.
"Advocates of offshore drilling will have a hard time convincing people along the East Coast that they have nothing to fear from drilling in our waters as they see the oil slick moving through the Gulf of Mexico towards the shorelines of three or four states," he said.
New Jersey’s beaches, packed during the summer with tourists from the greater New York City area, lie just 45 miles from the northern reaches of Virginia’s offshore waters. But environmental concerns will have to be weighed against two tough realities: America needs more oil sources, and the federal government needs more revenue. Royalties from U.S. offshore drilling currently contribute $10 billion to $12 billion to the federal coffers each year — a sum that would rise if drilling expands.
As for Obama’s offshore drilling plan, the administration still appears to be moving slowly forward.
"The president’s announcement was the beginning, not the end, of a long process," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said, when asked if the spill would affect the President’s proposal. "The president does believe that we have to increase domestic production."
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Top Offshore: Make An Informed Choice Of Jurisdiction
Generally top offshore choices are made on the basis of confidentiality, cost, ease of communication, complexity of the incorporation e.g. trusts, protected cell companies, resident companies or simple IBCs, and speed of response.
There are different types of jurisdictions:
1. Well established, full service, expensive, can handle complex incorporations, require extensive Know Your Client due diligence, and are manned by very experienced professionals. e.g. Switzerland, Guernsey.
2. Full service, focused on international business companies, with experienced professionals, require extensive Know Your Client due diligence, but without the glamour of a Switzerland, but not so expensive. e.g. British Virgin Islands [BVI].
3. Established only in the last 15 years with extensive tax treaties with selected countries, less extensive KYC due diligence, can handle complex incorporations but have less experience than their European counterparts, are less formal and less expensive. e.g. Mauritius.
4. Established in the last 10 years, simple KYC documentation, focused on International Business Companies [IBC], have better confidentiality norms because are not so big and do not have disclosure treaties with the US or EU. e.g. Seychelles
A lot though depends on what you are going to use the company for! Below is a summary of the different types of jurisdictions:
1. Switzerland: Old, well established, good for complex transactions, experienced service providers, good for the wealthy, very expensive.
2. Guernsey: Well established, focus on financial services companies, Know Your Client [KYC] documentation is complex. Expensive but easily accessible for the old world clients.
3. Mauritius & British Virgin Islands [BVI]: Medium costs, full service, Mauritius has double tax treaty advantages, and simpler KYC documents.
4. Seychelles: Focused on simple International Business Companies, inexpensive, simple to form a company, quick.
But which kind of company do you need? Do you want to invest in India or China or a specific country? Or is it for trading overseas? Or another reason?
You will need to examine why do you want an offshroe incorporation? What is your type of activity. Do you want a full service jurisdiction or one that is cheap. And what about communication ease? How comfortable are you with the documentation?
Making a choice for your top offshore jurisdiction is dependent on various factors as also anonymity. Mauritius and Seychelles have followed in Switzerland’s footsteps and made it a criminal offense to disclose client information to anyone.
However, since 9/11, both the US and EU have put severe pressure on most of the popular jurisdictions to disclose information. British Virgin Islands [BVI] has signed a comprehensive treaty and Mauritius a water down version. In any case both Seychelles and Mauritius are far enough away and not very important to either the EU or the US at this time.
I recommend Seychelles as the top offshore jurisdiction for most of the simple cases and Mauritius for the more complicated requirements. However if you are more comfortable with the ‘Old World’ tax havens, then the top offshore jurisdictions are Switzerland for the complicated cases and BVI for the simple ones.
Ramapati Singhania specializes in creating and managing web businesses. His latest website http://www.incorporation-offshore-saves-wealth.com focuses on helping you to incorporate offshore companies in Seychelles, Mauritius and BVI. You can also visit his blog, http://www.ramapatisinghania.com
Article Source: articlestreet