Foundations have been at the core of the abuse that has taken place in Liechtenstein. And just as they have become the pariah instrument of the tax haven world it’s almost comical to note Jersey is planning new legislation to make them available in St Helier. Indeed, Jersey Finance, the state sponsored promoter of all that is bad in that Channel Island, held a seminar on the subject on 22 February.
Curious to note that, of course, this is not a local initiative. The proposal is being written in Saffron Walden, in Essex in the UK.
That, of course, is hardly surprising. There is no reason at all why anyone in Jersey would make use of these foundations. They are just another vehicle for subverting the taxation system of the UK and the other populous states of the world to be provided by the tax haven lawyers, accountants and bankers of Jersey for the benefit of their good friends, the accountants lawyers and bankers of the UK and elsewhere.
8 Comments
Well, they walking slap bang into the EU Savings tax amendment which will certainly cover these types of entities.
Comically, Foundations will probably be included in the savings tax directive before Jersey finailises its own legislation. Nice to see tax havens wasting their time, effort and resources for a change.
Ironically, it seems it will be a non fiscal issue that causes the demise of the Chief minister…
Yes, but can you legally Register a private foundation in the UK? Just being devil’s advocate, especially if other jurisdictions are offering something they cannot obtain at home.
They are I suppose offering a Foundation essentially to offer to people from jurisdictions (Europe and Asia) whose law does not have and whose people therefore don’t understand trusts, so they are diversifying!
Pretty soon the whole smorgasbord of kit for hiding money will be available in Jersey!
What is the benefit to the UK (the Queen) of the amount of abandoned property that is forfeited to the State each year? All these complicated corporate structures are sure to leave unclaimed assets all over the place.
Foundations of various types can be established in the UK, USA, and many other tax jurisdictions. Foundations engaged in business of any type pay taxes on earnings much as any corporation does. Many foundations or trusts are established as charitable non-profits. the only “tax-avoidance” inherent is a foundation would be (maybe) some form of estate tax taht would have been collected from the founder(s) upon their death. foundations, much as trusts, basicly serve to provide an asset base from which to continue an activity with conditions set by the founder(s), i.e., to prevent unfriendly takeovers by an entity that might change the nature of the business. What’s Richard’s problem with foundations?
I could not see a mention of Delaware LLP/LLC’s anywhere. They are used more often than BVI’s.
Andy F
I’ve corrected that today
Richard
One Trackback/Pingback
[…] Richard Murphy: […]
Post a Comment