Tax evasion is the general term for efforts to not pay taxes by illegal means. This in contrast to the term tax avoidance which is used to describe actions that are within the law in order to minimize or avoid taxes. Tax evasion is in most jurisdictions regarded as a criminal behavior.
read moreTax avoidance is the use of the tax regime to one’s own advantage within the rules of the law, to reduce the amount of tax that is payable. This is contrast to tax evasion which is a term used in order to describe a behavior to not pay taxes by illegal means.
read moreThe term tax haven is not clearly defined and there is some discussion as to how the term should be defined. For being regarding as a tax haven it is not sufficient that a jurisdiction offers low taxes. The OECD has stated that the following factors should be decisive if a jurisdiction should be regarded as a tax haven:
A nominee shareholder is when the real or beneficial owner chooses not to have his or her name on the share certificate or in the share register. Instead another person agrees to appear on the share certificates and in the share register. In order to protect the real of beneficial owner the nominee should sign Declaration of Trust to the beneficial owner giving up any right to exercise any powers over the shares including voting rights or the right to sell or transfer the shares.
read moreA registered shareholder is when the real or beneficial owner records his or her name on the share certificates or in the share register. However, concerning offshore companies very often the real or beneficial owner is not registered in the Register of Shares and not on the share certificates. Instead nominee shareholders are used in order to not disclose the beneficial owner.
read moreThe Offshore Magic Circle refers to a number of offshore specialized law firms which are considered to be the leaders in the field of offshore law. There is disagreement both with regard to the concepts as well as which law firms that should be included in the magic circle. The Legal Business magazine listed the following law firms as constituting the Magic Circle in 2006.
You read more about the Offshore Magic Circle at Wikipedia by following the following link:
Offshore Magic Circle