wiring money into these offshore firms is like sending money to a personal account...it's impossible to get your money back if they go bankrupt of close shop. or very difficult if they close shop..
US Residents are required to declare and pay income taxes on all their income worldwide -- unlike almost every other country.
I don't think so! If you earn your money overseas, you will only be liable to pay taxes on the amount brought into US. Hence, can have a Corp. overseas that trades through a US broker and the profits go to the Overseas Corp. as long as you do not realize your profits from that corp then you don't pay US taxes on them(I think)not bad hey?
US citizens and residents of america are taxed on a worldwide basis. if this was not the case resident aliens in the US would be taxed at a lower rate than resident american citizens. the US is one of the few countries in the world which attempts to tax its citizens on worldwide income whether they live in the states or not.
My base is in HK. I have done some work in the past for U.S. citizens who were currently of non-resident status, but know little of current legitimate tax avoidance/deferral schemes for U.S. residents, i.e. tax-residents. For those expat Americans, (and I'm speaking of 10 years ago) I used an insurance structure ...the 'Offshore' Deferred Variable Annuity , which were (apparently) still IRS-friendly after the owner returned to the U.S. But I believe that the IRS has been challenging the use of these in recent years. Almost all of the reputable offshore asset management firms I deal with will not accept U.S. residents' business, though some accept U.S. citizens. However, that still doesn't eliminate the requirements of U.S. tax codes. Expatriate U.S citizens do, of course, invest into offshore funds and asset holding vehicles. In countries where there is a national I.D. card, they will use this as their proof of identity rather than using a U.S. passport which would betray nationality. Often, they use a product popular with British expats and HNW individuals called a 'portfolio bond' (technically a unit-linked whole-of-life assurance policy) which facilitates the purchase/sale of equities and bonds across a multitude of global exchanges, as well offering low minimum investments into hedge funds. The assets within the policy are transacted and held in the name of the insurance company, and the policy itself can be owned by an offshore company. - melo
GreenTreeFrog - The 'portfolio bond' product I mentioned in my preceding reply to wilburbear might also be appropriate for your tax strategy, as well as providing more convenient access to a greater range of investments globally, with the security of having those investments protected by confidentiality, investor compensation schemes, and sound financial institutions. - melo
Thanks Melo - lots of excellent info there... I appreciate your reponses. I am not resident in Australia and I do not currently live in Vanuatu. I used to and own resi property there. I hold a Residency Permit. We live elsewhere - travelling so as not to fall into any tax residency rule time frames in any one country. "simply said - vanuatu is heaven." Oh I do agree!
you are referring to greentreefrog rcanfiel posted this link in regard to the OP http://www.ato.gov.au/content/downl..._Tax_Havens.pdf what is there in this link that greentreefrog needs to know. instead of calling him "naive of australian tax issues" be specific what he needs to know.