Only 5 years earlier, such zones as the BVI and Cayman Islands were considered one of the most popular jurisdictions for conducting international business.
Their main advantages were:
- Zero tax rates;
- Simplified registration procedure;
- No currency control;
- A confidentiality of companies.
What has changed now? Let's take a look at the current situation with island jurisdictions.
British Virgin Islands
The British Virgin Islands is among the zones, that have agreed to cooperate with OECD and FATF. As a result, in March 2018 they were moved from the blacklist to the EU grey list.Around the same time, the BVI Economic Substance Act, 2018 was adopted on the islands. It was updated on February 10, 2020 and supplemented by interpretation rules of the International Tax Authority of the BVI (ITA).
According to this law, in order to prove a significant economic presence in the BVI, it is necessary to:
- Have a registered local office, that matches the type of selected activity and the size of your business;
- Hire qualified staff;
- Relocate management bodies (Board of Directors) to the BVI;
- Carry out revenue generating activities in the British Virgin Islands;
- Have an appropriate level of operating expenses.
In 2020, the BVI also adopted amendments to the BVI Securities and Investment Business Act in order to strengthen supervision of closed-ended funds, with the result that the jurisdiction entered the EU white list.
This means that today, registering a company in the BVI implies the presence of a local entreprise conducting significant taxable activities.
Cayman Islands
On February 18, 2020, the EU announced the inclusion of the Cayman Islands on the blacklist. This decision was made on the basis that the jurisdiction refused to comply with international requirements on tax legislation reforms.This means that the Cayman Islands still has a preferential tax regime that arouses the interest of a considerable number of entrepreneurs.
Conclusions
Based on our brief review, we can say that these EU white and blacklisted island jurisdictions lose their attractiveness and are inferior to jurisdictions with more transparent and efficient taxation.As a result, although the BVIs appeared on the EU’s white list, at the same time, they lost their previous tax incentives. In addition, due to the introduction of requirements for the implementation of Substance, the conditions for maintaining a company in this jurisdiction can no longer be called simple and low-cost.
In turn, the Cayman Islands, although they retained the right to a preferential tax regime, however, for the same reason, they were placed on the EU blacklist. The consequence of this decision is the almost complete disability to open an account for a company from the Cayman Islands, as well as the occurrence of difficulties in carrying out business operations with partners.
In this regard, we recommend you contacting our specialists for individual advice on the selection of the most suitable solution or consider possible alternatives to such zones on the EU and OECD lists, for example, opening a company in:
- England;
- Australia;
- Portugal;
- Singapore;
- USA.
YB Case services
Whether you consider an island or a European jurisdiction as a launching pad for business, our employees are ready to offer you a list of relevant solutions.We are ready to advise you in detail on the most appropriate jurisdiction, taking into account the specifics of your business.
To learn more, use the contact information specified on the site.
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