We have heard all our lives that the sun never set in the Spanish Empire, especially during the sixty years that the Portuguese Empire was incorporated into the Spanish Empire, with the House of Austria. Well, the sun on the “British Empire” has not set yet, as the UK maintains properties all over the world, much of which are tax havens subject to the scrutiny of the UN Decolonization Commission, which is handling matters quietly.
The sun never sets on the “French Empire” either, although the northern neighbor incorporates its overseas possessions into the French Republic and are therefore not colonies, but part of France. The UK is another story In practice, it maintains colonies all over the world, providing them with special and advantageous situations.
It occurs with Anguilla, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Santa Clara, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha, in addition to Falkland Islands and GibraltarIt is the only remaining colony in Europe and the European Union.
“Pirate Caves”
These British possessions enjoy great financial privileges, which is why they are sometimes publicly called real “pirate dens” where money is laundered without a problem due to… Its characteristics favor it. It happens in Gibraltar, Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands… although the most famous and common location for this practice is none other than the Cayman Islands.
Celebrating Pirate Week in the Cayman Islands.
This British overseas territory consists of three large islands – Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman – and two smaller islands, located in the Antilles, between the island of Cuba and the coast of Mexico, northwest of Jamaica. In fact, it began being administered by the Jamaican colonial government in 1863, and when Jamaica gained its independence in 1962, it began to gain its own rights. Current status as a British Overseas TerritoryBeing one of the 17 non-self-governing territories under the supervision of the Decolonization Commission.
The Cayman Islands are back in the spotlight again after FC Barcelona signed an agreement with Mountain & Co to create a new company without operational activity based in the Netherlands and the Cayman Islands. Its sole goal is to increase capital. The Cayman Islands, in addition to being a tourist paradise, allows almost everything in tax matters and companies and investors can enjoy all the benefits of establishing companies in these islands comfortably from their home countries.
Zero taxes
Establishing a company in the Cayman Islands is full of incentives, especially when it comes to sectors Investment management, legal and financial services. The United Kingdom is the country with the largest number of tax havens, by far, and among them the Cayman Islands stands out as one of the most advantageous and attractive, because it is initially a tax-free jurisdiction.
There are no corporate, property, capital gains, payroll, or withholding taxes. There is also no tax on the sale of goods and services, and Residents do not pay income taxes.
For all these reasons, the Cayman Islands are a The ideal place for companies to establish their subsidiary businesses, in order to protect part or all of your income from taxes. But also, unlike other jurisdictions, in the Cayman Islands a single person can assume the role of director and/or shareholder, regardless of his nationality and place of residence, and does not have to reside in the archipelago.
Grand Cayman Island, the largest island in the archipelago.
There is no minimum capital requirement To establish companies, nor the annual audit of an external company. Corporate bank accounts are established in large numbers in the Cayman Islands and the territory is widely used as a listed entity on major stock exchanges around the world. In addition, there are Cayman Islands tax legal experts who provide their services from anywhere on the planet.
Five types of companies
In the Cayman Islands, companies and corporations can be formed based on five main types of companies: Each has its own rules, is reflected in the Cayman Islands Public Register. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully consider which of them is most suitable depending on the type of company.
A limited liability company: It is the most suitable option for companies that will operate mainly from abroad. Their biggest advantage is that the officers of the combined company, the executives, directors and shareholders, cannot be held personally liable for the debts and actions of the entity.
Exempt company: It is intended for companies that conduct business outside the Cayman Islands and are not required to register their members for public inspection or hold annual general meetings in the Islands.
Resident company: These are companies that operate on the islands and therefore must have a physical office there, register their employees and submit annual reports to the registry.
Non-resident company: They are those who have no intention of doing business within the Cayman Islands, and to do so they will have to associate with a local entity, but they are allowed to buy and sell shares of foreign companies and exempt companies.
Abroad or foreign company: Companies incorporated outside the Cayman Islands, but if registered in that name, have the right to own property and maintain business in the islands, as well as the ability to associate with an exempt Cayman limited company.
Basic procedures
Applications for company incorporation are processed at Within 6 to 10 business days. Although there are different types of companies that can be incorporated in the Cayman Islands, they all have to follow a series of basic guidelines that do not vary much, and are common, such as reserving a company name, registering it in the public registry, the Cayman Islands Registry, and paying incorporation fees that range from $2000 and $3000 initially.
However, all companies must pay an annual renewal fee of US$5,000 to US$6,000, not Cayman Islands dollars, which is the local currency. a Cayman dollar It is equivalent to 1.19 US dollars.
Companies must open a company bank account, where it will be necessary to fill out a detailed application form and submit various documents to create it. Some banks require identification of the major shareholders, but not all of them, as well as those responsible for managing the account. For these procedures there Specialized companies all over the world Who are responsible for implementing all procedures.
More than twenty tax havens
Last February, the Ministry of Finance and Public Administration approved the order defining which countries and territories, as well as harmful tax regimes, are considered tax havens on the basis of The new international concept of “non-cooperative jurisdiction”.
Under Order HFP/115/2023, dated 9 February, the Treasury updated it in 2023 for the first time in 31 years, Reducing the list of tax havens to 24. The European Union temporarily removed the Cayman Islands from its list of tax havens in 2020, but its tax terms clearly say otherwise.
The new text updates the definition of “tax haven” and adapts it to the international concept of “non-cooperative jurisdiction” with new factors and purpose. Combating fraud, tax evasion and money laundering. The standard aims to “identify those countries and territories that are characterized by the facilitation or presence of extraterritorial companies.” Opacity and lack of transparencyThis is due to the lack of regulations with the aforementioned country regarding the exchange of tax information, or due to the lack of an effective exchange of information with Spain or due to the results of evaluations conducted by the Global Forum on the effectiveness of the exchange of information. Information with the countries, countries and territories mentioned.”
In the current list of non-cooperative territories, we no longer find Malta, Hong Kong or Cyprus, although new tax havens such as Bahrain, Dominica, Guam, Palau, Samoa and American Samoa have been incorporated. In the full list of 24 regions, there are a lot of them Under British guardianship And others who stopped doing so. It consists of Anguilla, Bahrain, Barbados, Bermuda, Dominica, Fiji, Gibraltar, Guam, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Falkland Islands, Mariana Islands, Solomon Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands, and United Nations Virgin Islands. USA, Jersey, Palau, Samoa, American Samoa, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, Vanuatu and the Cayman Islands themselves.
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