This is another myth. Tax havens and offshore companies have been around for several decades. Thousands of new offshore companies are incorporated worldwide every day. Millions of IBC`s are in operation all over the globe. In one way or another, offshore companies are owned and used by practically every Fortune-500 super-corporation. In the competitive environment of the 21st century it`s actually a necessity: placing all or part of your business offshore may decrease your overall costs (on tax and management expenses), so You become more competitive. This is true for big corporations and startups, alike. So offshore is not something on the margins of the business society. Rather, it`s an indispensible business instrument. Some estimates say that more than half of all the money in the world actually stays or goes through offshore accounts at any given time. The international trade in commodities and services is predominantly transacted through tax-free companies. Investment funds are often registered in tax havens, so they are not burneded with excessive tax on capital gains, thus providing more value to their investors. A variety of offshore holding companies help businesses invest abroad with minimum loss on witholding tax on dividends. Another success story is the e-business: world wide web and offshore company is a marriage made in heaven. To understand the overall trend in the development of the offshore services industry, just think of money as water. Same as water, money will always flow from high (taxation and burden) to low, and will always find it`s way through.
