What to do with an off-shore company anno 2020 Many of us, including myself, decided in the late nineties – early 20th. century to put their property in an offshore structure and maybe even put it in Trust.
Moving from Malta to Portugal We are now (2019) faced with a situation whereby many property owners wished that they never had involved themselves in buying a property through an off-shore company. Many years ago many jurisdictions were blacklisted and the majority had the choice either to move to Delaware or Malta. Some opted for the latter others for Delaware. What it was all about in fact nobody realised at the time.
The Central Register of the Effective Beneficiary (RCBE) consists of a database with accurate and up-to-date information about the persons who, indirectly or through a third party, have ownership or effective control of established entities in Portugal.
The walls continue to close in on Offshore property holding companies in Portugal. Once a popular solution for home ownership, these structures are based in low-tax jurisdictions that allow shareholders to take advantage of certain “loopholes” to avoid paying Capital Gains tax when selling.
EDITORIAL: NIKI PATEL nikisha.patel@scottishwidows.co.uk
Having looked at the inheritance tax treatment when a discretionary trust is created and when capital appointments are made, moving another step on, I now focus on the tenth year anniversary charge known as the ‘periodic charge.’
International company structures established in decades gone by to help wealthy owners of property in Spain avoid tax are now a ticking time-bomb for some, as the Spanish tax authorities set their sights on them.
Are offshore trusts back on the agenda? A recent move by the Portuguese government surprised the expat community by declaring the immediate removal of 15 tax jurisdictions from their offshore black list. The fundamental reason for such a move was the signing of bilateral Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA).
Only a few decades ago, bearer shares were the normal way to establish ownership rights in a company. When you incorporated a company, you received share certificates with no one’s name recorded on it. Whoever possessed the certificate controlled ownership.
Much has been said and written about the question if it wise and advisable to bring an off-shore company on-shore. The leading companies in the Algarve dealing with this have/had different opinions on this matter.
