Switzerland itself explains that “According to the Swiss conception of democracy, citizens are not here for the State, but rather the State is here for the citizens. Citizens are not primarily taxpayers, but rather free human beings who have a right to privacy. Banking secrecy should be seen in this context. Banking secrecy protects the financial privacy of citizens from unauthorized access by other private persons or also by the State. Banking secrecy does not protect criminals, however: banking secrecy is subject to various legally defined limits.”

One could always argue about how strong secrecy laws should be but the philosophy that the citizens are not here for the State, but rather the State is here for the citizens is something that most of us will be prepared to accept even though in the practical life you have the impression that the situation is quite the opposite.

Switzerland has published a more detailed account for its bank secrecy and the country’s obligations in an international context with exchange of tax information etc. It is definitely worthwhile reading for anyone who would like to get more knowledge in the subject and the complete text can be obtained by clicking the link down below.

Swiss Banking Secrecy according to Switzerland

1. they have had been habitually resident in Monaco for 5 years on October 13, 1962 and they hold dual French and Monegasque nationality;
2. they are attached to the Prince’s household; or
3. they are the French spouses of foreigners residing in Monaco and the marriage took place before the January 1st, 1986.

Those UBS clients who has not turned themselves in and are on the bank’s list of accounts face back taxes and fines that well can exceed what they own, as well as potential prosecution and jail time.

In 2003 did launch a similar amnesty with the objective to luring Americans who evaded taxes through offshore credit cards to declare their savings in a correct manner in the US. That ‘campaign’ led drew only 1,300 Americans to disclose their savings in foreign offshore savings account and therefore the last campaign must be said to be a huge success for the IRS.

According to the I.R.S. documents, UBS will disclose American clients who had unreported accounts of at least a million Swiss francs. UBS will also disclose Americans who were the owners of secret offshore sham company accounts with that total. The accounts in question cover 2001 through 2008.

ILO Real Estate Co is a Thai Law Firm that has published an example of how a Thai Company Structure in order to buy real estate in Thailand could look like. The Schematic consists of a pdf-file that can be downloaded down below.

Thai Company Structure

Deloitte’s professional services in Cyprus includes:

• audit of financial statements in accordance with International, UK or US audit standards tax services to both Cyprus and foreign companies,
• consulting services including financial and management consulting,
• EU advisory services,
• information technology (IT) and human resource consulting,
• investment & wealth advisory services,
• e-business services including technical and tax services,–
• corporate finance services as well as advice andassistance to private companies considering to go public, –
• accounting services, formation of companies with lawyers and special services to international business companies.

Deloitte has published en excellent brochure/book with the title ‘Cyprus Tax Facts 2010′ that gives an easy to understand but still comprehensive description of the Cyprus Tax System. The publication is a must for anyone thing about incorporating a company in Cyprus or in any other way setting up an offshore structure where Cyprus is included.

The publication informs about almost everything in the Cyprus Tax system from offshore companies and International Business Companies to Royalties and pensions.

The publication is in pdf-format and can be downloaded directly by the link below and the website of Deloitte Cyprus can be reached at the following address: http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_CY/cy/index.htm

Download: Cyprus Tax Facts 2010

The German authorities did already in 2008 purchase data stolen from a bank in Lichtenstein and earlier this year the German federal government authorized the state authorities to buy the information, even though it was obtained illegally. Therefore it seemed rather obvious that the states would take the opportunity to hit hard against the tax evasion and on Friday a spokesperson for North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) said it now had received the information about the bank accounts bank on a CD. How much it has paid for the information was not revealed.

The case has deeply shaken Switzerland’s large private banking industry and Germans hold an estimated 200 billion euros in undeclared funds in Swiss banks. Only in the past months almost 6 000 Germans have turned themselves in to the authorities which is expected to make it possible for the German authorities to recover about 500 million euros of lost taxes.

A “seasoned” Swiss company has an original incorporation date that remains intact providing increased levels of goodwill, prestige, and marketability. This can be very valuable when merging operations into an existing Swiss company, when added to an investment company or offshore bank structure, or when justifying transactions with the company that might be questioned if it was a newly formed entity created at the time of the transfer.