Do Your Business with Ease!
For many years, established business systems and the associated tax planning strategies have been undergoing changes. Under the pressure of predominantly socialist governments, traditional tax havens are collapsing. However, some countries have successfully managed to replace them and attract entrepreneurs from around the world with their sophisticated tax systems.
It is not only the favorable tax system that attracts entrepreneurs from around the world. Equally appealing is the simplicity of managing a business entity, the ease of communication with government authorities, and the minimal regulation of business activities.
For our current (and potential) clients, we will conduct a professional analysis of their business activities and assess whether, and under what conditions, their business model is suitable and eligible for relocating their business operations, or a portion thereof, to a more tax-efficient and administratively favorable jurisdiction.
Decline of Traditional Tax Havens
Over the past five years, particularly following the implementation of the FATCA legislation in the United States and the adoption of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) organized by the OECD, it has become increasingly challenging to establish and operate an entity that is administratively and financially low-maintenance, eligible for a favorable tax regime, and able to open a standard bank account without extreme minimum balance requirements.
Instead of previously popular jurisdictions such as Cyprus, Malta, Singapore (due to high operating costs) or Hong Kong (high operating costs, frequent in-depth tax audits, and currently significant political instability), Estonia - the northernmost of the Baltic states - has surprisingly emerged as a new phenomenon.
Legal Updates
Beneficial Ownership Information - USA
Effective January 1, 2024, many companies in the United States must report information about their beneficial owners - the individuals who ultimately own or control the company - to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Filing is simple, secure, and free of charge. Beneficial ownership information reporting is not an annual requirement. Unless a company needs to update or correct information, a report only needs to be submitted once.
Who Has to Report?
Companies required to report are called reporting companies. Reporting companies may have to obtain information from their beneficial owners and report that information to FinCEN. A company may need to report information about its beneficial owners if it is:
- a corporation, a limited liability company (LLC), or was otherwise created in the United States by filing a document with a secretary of state or any similar office under the law of a state or Indian tribe;
- a foreign company and was registered to do business in any U.S. state or Indian tribe by such a filing.
How to Report?
Reporting companies report beneficial ownership information electronically through FinCEN’s website: www.fincen.gov/boi. The system provides a confirmation of receipt once a completed report is filed with FinCEN.
When to Report?
FinCEN began accepting reports on January 1, 2024.
- If a company was created or registered prior to January 1, 2024, it will have until January 1, 2025 to report BOI.
- If a company is created or registered in 2024, it must report BOI within 90 calendar days after receiving actual or public notice that company’s creation or registration is effective, whichever is earlier.
- If a company is created or registered on or after January 1, 2025, it must file BOI within 30 calendar days after receiving actual or public notice that its creation or registration is effective.
- Any updates or corrections to beneficial ownership information previously filed with FinCEN must be submitted within 30 days.