Quote:
Originally Posted by borked
For those looking to use offshore banking for 4ax evasion are just dumb - every time you use that ATM card it registers. Every time you use that VISA debit card it registers. All cards have a number. 99.5% of cards have a name. The number is immediately identified as non-local the minute it's entered into a machine. Using that card a few times a year in you counry will be fine. More than that and you are asking for big trouble. There are many sites that offer anonymous ATM, but for those that appear truly anonymous, the cost and the amount you can load is not worth it.
|
Would agree with this tho the "anonymous ATM" stuff is a farce and just another way of selling bank accounts or sub-accounts which can often be opened online at no cost - it's not really remotely near any valid offshore activity.
Unfortunately the same scammers offering these services also offer offshore companies and they can cause their victims some damage. If anyone wants a corporation - deal only with an offshore lawyer/formation agent who is actually offshore and not an onshore lawyer (tho seek legal advice from his re his own jurisdiction) or some guy in Virginia or Ireland selling companies.
It's disturbing to think that some folks looking into offshore are still at the level of thinking about non-existant "numbered accounts", tax evasion and plastic as tools.
OECD have implemented transparency rules for banking globally - most countries, including offshore jurisdictions have agreed to those rules and are generally strict in following these guidelines. They are normally enforced by the banking regulatory authority within each jurisdication. If a bank violates the "code of conduct" - they can lose their banking licence and be closed down - within days. Offshore banks are no different and can be even fussier.
There are also a fair number of MLAT's (Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties) in place with several high tax regimes where cooperation is extended to reduce areas of crime and money-laundering.
Bottom line - it is pointless and amateur to be thinking of offshore in illegal terms. No offshore wants this type of business. If a scenario is constructed legally (and normally with a corporation attached) and the background of the beneficiary is "clean" - this is not a problem. In return, an offshore area will provide several benefits, including no or little taxation, privacy in banking, corp trading and several other features.
For webmasters (excluding US folks for the moment since this is probably less beneficial), the simplest legal method of paying no taxes is be resident offshore. There are also numerous "half measures", but these normally need a structure set up (of one or more corps) and legal advice from both onshore and offshore lawyers.