Category Archives: international business

self employment tax

If you’re living abroad and paid by a US company, you’ll pay self employment tax on your earnings. If you’re living offshore and operating a business without an offshore company or LLC, you’ll pay self employment tax on your profits. Here’s how self employment tax works when you’re offshore and how to avoid it. All

Panama financial services license
01/04/2017 - 11:42 AM
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A Panama Financial Services Company is a licensed but unregulated financial entity which allows you to hold and manage client funds in Panama. The Panama financial services license is issued by the Panamanian Ministry of Commerce (Ministerio de Comercio and Industrias). It’s much easier to keep in compliance than a license issued by the banking

offshore business

With all the talk about keeping jobs at home and taxing foreign corporations, I wanted to start the year with a post on why Trump is great for the offshore industry… at least, for those operating small businesses, investing abroad, and/or moving assets offshore for asset protection. This article will focus on why a Trump

PFIC investment

In this article, I’ll review the rules around PFIC investments and the Passive Foreign Investment Company statutes. Here’s everything you need to know about passive income in an offshore corporation.   First let me define a few terms around PFIC. Passive Income: Income from interest, dividends, annuities, capital gains, and most rents and royalties. Passive

money management accept client funds

If you want to receive client funds into your offshore account, you must have a license or set up a specially designed offshore structure. Whether you’re raising money or managing money, if you’re not the owner of the cash in your offshore bank account, you will need an offshore money management license.  In this article,

offshore bank license in dominica

The most active low cost offshore bank license jurisdiction is Dominica. If you’re in the process of selecting a country to incorporate and license an offshore bank, give the Caribbean Island of Dominica a look. You’ll find that the capital required for a bank license in Dominica is a fraction of it’s competitors. You will

OECD tax exchange

As of November 2016, most offshore jurisdictions have signed on to the Automatic Exchange Agreements demanded by European governments and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). All but Panama has agreed to share information with European tax authorities. On paper, the OECD defines itself as follows: “the mission of the Organisation for Economic

Affiliate marketers face unique asset protection, privacy, and tax planning challenges. This article will review your options and point out some of the pitfalls to watch out for. We’re specialists in offshore asset protection for affiliate marketers and can help you to grow your online business in an efficient and compliant manner. At the end

software development

Puerto Rico has the best tax deals available to Americans… period. No offshore jurisdiction can compete with the US territory of Puerto Rico when it comes to cutting your taxes. This post will focus on Puerto Rico’s research and development and intangible property tax breaks. Act 73 is for those who develop licensed or patented

retained earnings

According to the N.Y. Times, The IRS has begun tracking homes bought through offshore companies and shell corporations in the United States. If you’ve setup an offshore structure, and used your retained earnings to buy real estate in the United States, you’re probably a target of the IRS. Even if your offshore company is tax

Pre-Immigration Tax Planning

If you’re moving the the United States, get ready for our crazy tax system. Most importantly, if you will become a US resident, be prepared for US tax on your worldwide income. You need to do your pre-immigration US tax planning before you arrive to minimize these taxes. Let me begin by defining what I

asset protection puerto rico

Once you have your Act 20 business in Puerto Rico up and running, you need to think about protecting its retained earnings or distributed profits. Asset protection for a Puerto Act 20 business  becomes urgent because of the amount of capital held in the company tax deferred. There are two levels of asset protection for

taking your business offshore

If you are going to take your business offshore in 2016, your offshore structure must have substance. No more shelf companies, no more nominee directors, no more trying to fake out the IRS. Taking your business offshore today demands a real office, employees, and work being done offshore. Here is a step by step guide

Puerto Rico Act 20

Here’s how to maximize the value of your Puerto Rico Act 20 business using the income sourcing rules. Maximizing Puerto Rico sourced income in an Act 20 business, and thus minimizing US sourced income, is the key to unlocking the 4% tax rate offered in Puerto Rico. The rule is simple: only Puerto Rico sourced

eb-5 visa

If you are thinking about coming to America, get ready for high taxes on your worldwide income. In this article, I will explain how to become a US citizen using the EB-5 Visa and Puerto Rico to pay near zero US taxes. The US taxes its citizens, as well as green card holders and residents,

act 20 business in puerto rico

Good news out of Washington for Act 20 businesses in Puerto Rico. It appears that the US has decided to allow Puerto Rico to reorganize its debts in some manner… not formal bankruptcy, but a restructuring with court oversight. The rules would be similar to Chapter 9 for municipal bankruptcies, with a few sections more favorable