As a corollary to the “Going offshore to escape the CFTC” thread I would like to discuss how and where to setup an offshore business.
It seems to me that in the very near future this will be the only option for those of us who insist on trading without restriction.
Currently I am trading with one of the overseas brokers who allows me to trade freely. Having said that they are very non committal as to how everything will shake out after July 11.
The biggest reason I haven’t made the move yet is because I can’t come up with a creative name. Ok Ok I’ll be honest I’m completely clueless about how to go about doing this, as well as the implications of doing so.
Soooooooooooooooooo the big questions are simple.
Where is the best place to do this?
How do I/we go about getting the ball rolling?
How much is this going to cost?
What are the tax implications?
etc etc.
Lets get the ball rolling here…all input is appreciated. Add your questions and add your answers just be forewarned that the NSA is watching you!
As expected it looks as if there aren’t too many peeps doing this yet. I say get ahead of the curve. This overwhelming response might force my hand. I may have to do my own down and dirty research.
well this thread is going slowly…mostly because I haven’t had much time to research this. Hopefully in the next month I will be able to apply a couple of days to figuring this out.
I’m sure google will be my friend when the time comes.
ive actually been researching this type of stuff for years… but like my FX “career”, i have yet to pull the trigger.
instead of typing for hours i will point you to a website that will give you a great education. they will set up everything for you & seem to be very libertarian. they also move outside simple asset protection & business/corporation formation… they dabble in back door citizenships & basic freedom information. their services seem to be extremely overpriced - but i also don’t have much of a reference to compare too, so maybe i’m just being a cheap skate. i also emailed them once & never got a reply - but the information they post seems accurate (i have found the same information on other sites… they seem to have everything here).
panamalaw ORG
personally, i think the writing has been on the wall for so long its beginning to flake off… its damn near at the wire. do everything you can now to get hidden & protected, get your US passport & if at all possible (right of return, marriage, economic programs, even naturalization) get a 2nd one (even a 3rd).
all empires fall… usually faster than they rose… i can think of 2 possible peaks in our history… the most recent being in the middle of the 20th century… IMO america is on a crash course that can’t be recovered.
of course this is my POV & it may not be that serious (yet) - but i was a boyscout… always be prepared.
FXDD, headquartered in NY, announced quite some time ago that they also have a brokerage setup in Malta free of US restrictions. While I have heard some negativity regarding Malta and its regulatory regime I would think that FXDD would be very careful to see that their US customers would receive top flight supervision when relocating their accounts in Malta. I personally wasn’t interested so I did not persue the matter beyond the original announcements. And I’m not worried about US forex accounts that much, I worry more about the individual brokers.
For all of the wasted retoric regarding British interferring regulations the one that makes the most sense, common sense, is segregating customers’ funds from the broker’s general funds. Plus the customers’ funds are insured.
I closed out my small acct with FXDD in late Jan. but before that, last year, I rec’d an email offering the info - I didn’t persue it or even checked it out so I don’t know what the “rules” are.
Edit: I wonder if “access” is denied if one doesn’t have an existing Malta acct?
Thanks for the suggestions fellows. From past experience I’m not too interested in anything fxdd as to the white label I’m not even sure what that means.
The panamalaw.org website IS quite interesting and is full of information. I haven’t been able to peruse it very thoroughly but it looks like one of the main offshore domiciles THEY recommend is Hong Kong.
Here is THEIR reasoning.
19 Reasons to Use Hong Kong for Banking & Corporation
You do NOT need to travel to Hong Kong to do this using our law firm
Bank in a trillion dollar HK bank, one of top 20 banks in the world
Hong Kong Government Insures Bank Accounts
Official Language of Hong Kong is English
Online Banking in English
Tight Bank Secrecy Laws
Bank in 10 different currencies
Hold Gold in Bank Account.
Buy Government & Private Bonds from around world in Bank Account, Different Currencies
Currency Pair Investments – Hi Yield Potential, Capital Preservation Guaranteed
Excellent CD Rates in different currencies
Visa or Master Card in USD, Euro or Renminbi(Chinese Currency)
NO Tax Information Exchange Agreements with any nation
NO Tax on offshore derived income
NO capital gains tax
NO Inheritance Tax
Hong Kong Corporations acquired through us are completely anonymous
Fast formation and bank account opening time, 3-4 weeks
Hong Kong is a financial center without the stigma of an offshore tax haven
So Hong Kong bears some more research.
Another Question semi related to this, which may have its own thread somewhere on BP I just haven’t seen it.
What base currency should the discerning trader use? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the USD, Euro, and maybe even GBP are in trouble. Over the long haul which currency is going to win? Chf? Aud? Jpy? Shekel?
I second the request…a step by step guide with names, addresses and phone #'s where to send the doc’s and the fees could be awesome…kinda like a do-it-yourself guide.
Ok Ok I’ll be honest I’m completely clueless about how to go about doing this, as well as the implications of doing so.