This is what the Asset Protection/Financial Privacy experts USED to do. This is no longer reliable. Seriously, people on this thread should study what has been happening the last few years since 9/11 and what Western Governments have been doing to pry open the financial havens and money hiding/tax evasion methodologies. It just ain't working reliably any more.
I don't see the problem, but please correct me if I'm wrong. Offshore tax havens don't report to your home government unless asked about a specific account and even if they start doing that the money is in your companys name so they don't know who you are.
That might get you past the first layer of scrutiny, but according to US tax law, you are required to report any offshore bank accounts if you have contol over the funds--it doesn't matter if the funds are in an IBC or Trust. So you would have to have a manager under contract or some other person on record as the actual signatore for the account to avoid this requirement.
financial institutions are required by law to spy on you for the us government. By using offshore accounts and engauging in activity the us govt considers shifty, u will only succeed in being put on "high risk" watch lists, which will cause ALL of your financial activity to come under much tighter scruteny by any financial institution you use, IRS, homeland security, etc. Just make money and play by the rules! its actually quite simple. I swear, some people are literally just looking for trouble.. what is it, the thrill?
It's still possible to get out of US gummit surveillance, you just have to find the right jurisdictions and open accounts the right way. During Nazi Germany, people went to Switzerland to open numbered accounts, of course these days numbered accounts are banned (what a coincidence) but there are still ways to do it. In the current situation, I think having offshore accounts that the government doesnt know about is a must, I wouldnt give anyone, much less the gummit, the power to have my accounts arbitrarily frozen and confiscated. In the past, many if not all governments with inflationary problems had implanted currency controls or simply seized their citizens money outright. Sadly we might be getting there.
Good point. There is still a lot of benefit in having an off-shore account. Especially in the scenario of divorce, bankruptcy, legal judgments, a black-swan event in your futures account, unforeseen massive liabilities, etc. It's simply another form of risk management, having an account that a judge or the gov't can't seize. Just play by the rules and report the existence of the account, interest received, etc.
http://baumanblog.sovereignsociety.com/2008/02/backdoor-curren.html February 29, 2008 Backdoor Currency Controls on Americans ABN AMRO, one of Europe's leading banks, announced Tuesday that within 30 days it is banishing all Americans with any bank portfolio investment accounts. Citing "strategic reasons," an ABN AMRO spokesman in Amsterdam condescendingly said the bank would still allow U.S. passport holders to have checking and savings accounts, but would have to close any investment accounts, such as funds investing in stocks. It did not say who would cover losses if they resulted from this abrupt action. "It has nothing to do with individual clients, but is part of a strategic assessment and affects only a very small part of the client base," the spokesman said without giving any details. De Telegraaf reported that the decision to cancel the accounts was a result of high costs in complying with American and IRS regulatory laws. So what's the significance of one of the world's largest banks summarily rejecting all American investment clients? It means that, by indirection, the IRS is slowly succeeding in imposing de facto currency controls on Americans. It has become so onerous for foreign banks to comply with U.S. regulations, they don't even want to try any more. A History of Restrictions Throughout the ten years of the Society's existence we have repeatedly underscored a basic fact -- that the politicians and bureaucrats who run the United States government have done everything they can to prevent Americans from "going offshore" financially. Beginning with the New Deal in the 1930s, restrictive SEC rules cut off most U.S. investors from direct foreign investments. Now IRS "qualified intermediary" rules claim U.S. jurisdiction over foreign banks' operations and demand they follow Washington's rules. The U.S. government, and especially the IRS, have done all they can to keep you and your money at home -- where, under the PATRIOT Act, they can confiscate cash at will and in secret. Justified Concerns Earlier today our Sovereign Society Executive Director, Erika Nolan, after cataloging in The A-Letter all the bad news about the U.S. economy, added: "Could the days of currency controls and mandated wealth restrictions be on the horizon? I don't know for sure, but don't wait for the writing to be on the wall." At a Sovereign Society investment conference in St. Kitts last weekend, Erika talked with our members who were seriously concerned with the state of U.S. economic affairs. She said: "Strategic investments were on everyone's minds but there was another concern that held equal merit. They wanted to know how to secure their wealth away from the grasp of public and private rouges." Erika's answer: "Don't wait any longer to diversify your wealth by moving a portion of your assets offshore." Handwriting on the Bank Wall With over 105,000 employees ABN AMRO during 1991-2007 became one of the largest banks in Europe, with operations in 63 countries around the world. One of the world's leading asset managers, the bank managed over â¬175 billion (US$265 billion) in assets worldwide. ABM AMRO was a Dutch bank with a history dating back to the founding of the Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij in 1824. In 2007 a consortium of three European banks, Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS), Fortis, and Banco Santander of Spain, bought control of ABN AMRO in the largest ever bank takeover in history and split up its services among them. ABN Amro never has been a bank we recommended to our members and readers, but we do strongly recommend offshore bank accounts for asset protection and as investment vehicles. It is indeed a sad commentary on how far the United States has fallen in the world when a major foreign bank no longer wants Americans as clients. And that rejection happened on the very day that the dollar reached a new low of $1.50 against the euro. That, also, tells us something. Act Now In her A-Letter remarks Erika rightfully warned: "If you do nothing else in the next six months, at the very least, open an offshore bank account to gain access to global markets and foreign currencies while securing an additional bit of asset protection. You'll be able to sleep better at night knowing that you have a path around the Wall Street monopoly." The Sovereign Society offshore banking information page explains in detail why you need and offshore bank account and how to acquire one. It can be done in person, or using a trust for family foundation See http://www.sovereignsociety.com/offshore-banking.html In addition, our 16,000 members have direct access to leading bank contacts across the worlds. See http://www.sovereignsociety.com/vmembers.php?sec=convacct If you by chance have not yet joined us as a member, you can do so now at http://www.sovereignsociety.com/vmembers.php?nid=649 to gain immediate access to that page and our other "Members Only" web site sections. Yes, the Sovereign Society can provide you with an offshore bank account securely located in places such as Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Hong Kong, Singapore or Panama, to mention a only few. But as Erika says, you had better act now.
I'm pretty sure that all of those countries has a TIEA with the US. Surprised they didn't include St. Kitts in that list even though they mentioned it further up, no TIEA there..
Panama Liechtenstein Singapore don't have a TIEA with the US, dont know about HK. However, they won't open accounts for US citizens but I think they might do it through entities.