You are wrong. The BVI Company have to pay Uk Corporate tax since he is managing the Company from the Uk. And the Link you sent have nothing to do with this.
Yes a UK resident company is subject to UK corporation tax on its worldwide income and gains. By contrast a non-UK resident company is only subject to corporation tax on its UK income.
I did not mention once that he didn't have to?
Using a directly owned offshore company is not a straightforward option to avoid UK taxes. One of the reasons for this is the issue of 'deemed' company residence. A company is regarded as a UK resident if:
- It is a UK incorporated company, or
- Its central management and control is in the UK.
Revenue and Customs would initially be concerned with where the board of directors meet, when they meet, and whether they actually exercise control over the company and make management decisions.
So if a board of directors meet overseas and review management decisions and strategies, this should constitute overseas central management and control.
However, where there is a controlling shareholder in the UK, there is a risk that the directors will not correctly exercise their authority over the company with the result that HMRC may argue that the company is run by the controlling shareholder in the UK. In these circumstances the company would be classed as UK resident and subject to UK corporation tax.
In order to pass the central management and control test the majority of the directors should be non-UK resident, and the non-UK resident directors should actively participate in making board decisions.
This therefore means that key business decisions should be taken at overseas board meetings. A UK resident shareholder may therefore establish a non-resident company but it is essential to ensure that the running of the business is left to the non-resident directors
The High Court in the United Kingdom ruled: "the company resides for purposes of income tax where its real business is carried on where the central control and management actually abides"
Clearly you should ensure that detailed professional advice is taken based on your specific facts. As a general rule you should ensure there is an active board which meets and takes decisions.
Some of the key points to bear in mind include:
- Hold at least six board meetings a year (Although three or four should be acceptable).
- Keep full minutes which show the directors exercising central management and control.
- Hold meetings in a fixed place (at least usually).
- Do not hold any board meetings in the UK. In addition you should ensure there is not a quorum of directors resident in the UK (to avoid accidental UK meetings).
- Do not allow directors to participate in directors' meetings by telephone/video conferencing or by using e-mail from within the UK. In addition, where directors' resolutions are passed in writing, don't sign them in the UK.
- If the board wants things done in the UK it needs to delegate the activities to be performed by people in the UK and then supervise what they do at the regular (overseas) board meetings.
If the CFC rules apply, the UK company will have to pay tax on the overseas company's profits, provided the percentage of profits apportioned is at least 25%.
You should note that the UK CFC regime will not apply if you are an individual owning an overseas company.
Before falling within the CFC rules a company would firstly need to meet the definition of a 'controlled foreign company'.
A CFC is defined as:
- A non-UK resident company, and
- A company controlled from the UK, and
- A company subject to overseas tax which is less than 75% of the equivalent UK tax.
Therefore the CFC provisions are going to apply to overseas companies established in countries with low tax. What you would need to do is calculate the company's profits and find out what the overseas tax charge is.
You would then calculate the UK tax liability and, if the overseas tax paid is less than three-quarters of the UK tax, the overseas company could fall within the CFC provisions.