Offshore Company Incorporation: What To Consider
Fran Malatosin
When deciding on what type of offshore business you would like to open, one of the first decisions you will have to make is what type of business you are going to open. There are two main types of offshore IBCs you can open including Limited Liability Companies and International Business Corporations. Many jurisdictions are also adopting new legislation which allow people to replace the Multi-National Business Corporation with a simple Corporation Corporation.
There is also the matter of whether you want to establish a basic company or a complete company. A basic company would be beneficial to the individual that has a small business and simply wants to transfer it offshore to receive many of the tax benefits. The individual would hold all of the shares, be the only director, etc. A basic company is very simple to configure and would only provide a minimum amount of services.
With a complete company, the process of setting up your offshore incorporation has a greater level of difficulty and more requirements. Complete companies have more than one individual involved, such as shareholders, directors, etc., which can somewhat complicate the process of setting up your offshore business.
If you have an existing business that you would like to transfer to an offshore business, there are many offshore jurisdictions that will allow you to merge businesses or relocate them. When merging one business with another, you will most definitely have to hire a third party firm to help assist you, as there are often contractual difficulties that these firms can help you to overcome, however some offshore jurisdictions do not have this problem because they now allow companies to form a complete new entity during the merger, rather than one company simply taking over another company.
You need to fully understand what you will be using your offshore company for prior to setting it up or you might end up incorporating your company either in an incorrect jurisdiction or with the wrong configuration. This is where the services of an attorney who understands offshore incorporation can be invaluable and a money saver.
Using a lawyer to set up your offshore company has many benefits such as; attorney client privilege, connections in the industry and company incorporation experience. Watch out for scams where websites will purport to be law firms but are in actual fact nothing more than shell websites that will sell your personal details to anyone who will pay. These types of sites are rampant in every industry, not just offshore company formation, so watch out.
Those with no experience incorporating an offshore company should definitely utilize these services. The initial cost may be higher than you will find in other places on the Internet but does cheaper mean better? Personally I like the piece of mind knowing that my company has been registered properly and not resold to countless others.
To learn more information about (
http://www.offshorelegal.org/bearer-share-corporation.html ) forming a company offshore please visit the (
http://www.offshorelegal.org/) Offshore Legal website.