Anyone dealt with these offshore consulting companies? How useful are they?

[DavidS]

Can they provide anything more we can read online?

Companies in question:
>Appleby
>Bedell
>Carey Olsen
>Conyers
>Harneys
>Maples
>Mourant Ozannes
>Ogier
>Walkers

Any reviews?

 

[Sols]

In various forms, for various projects, and to various degrees, I've worked with or come across them over the years. They have earned their excellent reputations.

But they're not always the right fit. If all you need is company formation and maybe some basic accounting/management, you can find better value elsewhere.

Go with them if you're looking for tax planning and other more sophisticated arrangements, where you want to be absolutely certain that each step is taken correctly and your structure is sound. They will very often insist on providing directors an even nominee shareholders.

 

[burden]

They will very often insist on providing directors an even nominee shareholders.

is there any benefit of that?

 

[Sols]

is there any benefit of that?

It's on a case by case basis.

Local directorship can help establish tax residence there, which can help solve tax disputes back home. It also tends to make bank account opening easier since the bank will already know the board of directors from before. If you run a high-risk business, though, that will still be a problem.

Nominee shareholding keeps your name out of shareholding registers, which can be a boon in case the jurisdiction has public shareholder register but not (yet) public UBO register. It also lets you have more creative arrangements in the back.

 

[JohnLocke]

Nominees have been used widely in the past and I believe they are still used as @Sols already explained very well.

In our search of finding valid payment processors I can see more and more also ask for local directors if you come with an offshore entity or and entity that is not registered where the owner lives. Not sure why this step has been taken but it makes the requirement for a nominee director even more important.

 

[Sols]

In our search of finding valid payment processors I can see more and more also ask for local directors if you come with an offshore entity or and entity that is not registered where the owner lives. Not sure why this step has been taken but it makes the requirement for a nominee director even more important.

In many cases, that's because of Visa and Mastercard regulations, which require that merchants have a presence where they are incorporated (for a wide range of reasons). For EU/EEA, it's sometimes enough that the directors are resident in the EU/EEA region. But different processors make different interpretations of the rules and aren't consistent with how they apply them, but fundamentally that's the reason why.

 

[DavidS]

It's on a case by case basis.

Local directorship can help establish tax residence there, which can help solve tax disputes back home. It also tends to make bank account opening easier since the bank will already know the board of directors from before. If you run a high-risk business, though, that will still be a problem.

Nominee shareholding keeps your name out of shareholding registers, which can be a boon in case the jurisdiction has public shareholder register but not (yet) public UBO register. It also lets you have more creative arrangements in the back.

Do they work with EU citizens?

What specific value do they provide?

So you have a scheme in mind, what now? Will they point out flaws in scheme or just "execute" the scheme?

Are they more of a consultant service or incorporation service?

And how do they work now where EU is asking for mandatory "offshore scheme reporting" by all corporations that consult?

 

[DavidS]

Nominees have been used widely in the past and I believe they are still used as @Sols already explained very well.

In our search of finding valid payment processors I can see more and more also ask for local directors if you come with an offshore entity or and entity that is not registered where the owner lives. Not sure why this step has been taken but it makes the requirement for a nominee director even more important.

What is benefit of nominee in 2021 where according to CRS governments and all financial institutions report the beneficiary owner information to beneficiary owners jurisdiction and tax office?

 

[JohnLocke]

What is benefit of nominee in 2021 where according to CRS governments and all financial institutions report the beneficiary owner information to beneficiary owners jurisdiction and tax office?

It is not all about reporting, from time to time it can be useful to have a nominee director or shareholder for your foreign setup which may not have sufficient substance but still is used to apply for accounts to separate your entities from each other.

 

[Alex Fr]

And how do they work now where EU is asking for mandatory "offshore scheme reporting" by all corporations that consult?

This is the main question for now!

 

[DavidS]

It is not all about reporting, from time to time it can be useful to have a nominee director or shareholder for your foreign setup which may not have sufficient substance but still is used to apply for accounts to separate your entities from each other.

In what specific cases can a nominee be useful?

 

[troubled soul]

In Some jurisdictions like Mauritius It is compulsory to Have an introducer .

 

[Sols]

In what specific cases can a nominee be useful?

Generally speaking;

• Tax residence: by having local management of the company, it may become tax resident there and if you as the UBO don't overstep your boundaries and start acting like a director (signing agreements, controlling the bank account, et cetera), this can in some cases be enough to avoid corporate tax where the UBO is resident. You're still liable for taxes on dividends. It's not risk free.
• Bank accounts: not always the case, but very often professional directors have bank relationships that they can leverage to more easily open bank accounts. Doesn't always work, especially if you're a high-risk business and/or have a low-turnover business.
• Privacy: not as relevant anymore with UBO registers (some of which are public, some not), but your name doesn't appear in the most basic searches. Usefulness depends on jurisdiction and degree of privacy sought.
• Payment processors: many processors prefer to see directors resident in the same country as incorporation. This is a loosely enforced requirement by major players such as Visa and Mastercard. Some processors are strict about it, others not so much.

 

[DavidS]

Generally speaking;

• Tax residence: by having local management of the company, it may become tax resident there and if you as the UBO don't overstep your boundaries and start acting like a director (signing agreements, controlling the bank account, et cetera), this can in some cases be enough to avoid corporate tax where the UBO is resident. You're still liable for taxes on dividends. It's not risk free.
• Bank accounts: not always the case, but very often professional directors have bank relationships that they can leverage to more easily open bank accounts. Doesn't always work, especially if you're a high-risk business and/or have a low-turnover business.
• Privacy: not as relevant anymore with UBO registers (some of which are public, some not), but your name doesn't appear in the most basic searches. Usefulness depends on jurisdiction and degree of privacy sought.
• Payment processors: many processors prefer to see directors resident in the same country as incorporation. This is a loosely enforced requirement by major players such as Visa and Mastercard. Some processors are strict about it, others not so much.

Extremely useful. Sols, do you work with offshore incorporations or accounting?

 

[crypto7figs]

• Privacy: not as relevant anymore with UBO registers (some of which are public, some not), but your name doesn't appear in the most basic searches. Usefulness depends on jurisdiction and degree of privacy sought.

Do you know if Cayman shows the UBO for public searches?