Top Reasons That Make Belize the Best Offshore Jurisdiction

Asset protection and wealth management are top concerns for wealthy individuals and they prefer using offshore jurisdictions to carry out offshore financial services. Establishing offshore firms and bank accounts have literally become a daily chore for those who want their assets to be protected and forwarded to their rightful heirs. Numerous offshore jurisdictions have flourished and faded in the past decades and it is always better not to put all your eggs in one basket. Panama and Bahamas were the pioneer offshore industries of the past, but the economic crunch has defeated both these jurisdictions. In the past decade, it is the Belize which has emerged as a top choice for offshore jurisdictions.

How Belize Became A Tax Haven?

During the early 1990s in Belize, The International Business Company Legislation was enacted along with a varied number of offshore laws. Located on the Caribbean coast of Central America, Belize is easily reachable from the major hubs of US. It is the only English speaking country in Central America and it has a past history of stability, peace and democracy. With moderate taxation and exorbitant exclusions for offshore companies, it is no wonder that Belize quickly gained the name as a tax haven for offshore firms.

Belize Is the Best Offshore Jurisdiction

When the British Virgin Islands (BVI) created the International Business Company (IBC) act to enable foreign companies to start offshore firms in BVI, Belize saw the opportunity and enacted a legislation in the 1990s to start Belize IBCs. Over a period of years, Belize slowly gained the reputation that it is a low cost and efficient jurisdiction to establish offshore firms. Highly skilled workers are available in Belize to provide support and service and this certainly makes the jobs of offshore firms much easier.

• Efficient registration – Belize strives to provide the best possible service for offshore firms and hence, the registration process is quicker and efficient. Offshore companies (IBC) can be registered at Belize IBC registry within 3 hours of submitting documents along with the fee.

• Low cost of establishment and maintenance – Often, the offshore jurisdictions rip off startup offshore firms in terms of establishment fees. In Belize, incorporation of firms and annual fee is just $100 USD and this is the lowest among various other offshore jurisdictions. Panama and other BVI jurisdictions cost about $350USD per annum and this can go up in the upcoming years. In Belize, no adjustment of fees is expected in the next few years and this makes it the right choice.

• Confidentiality – Wealthy individuals are always looking for offshore jurisdictions to protect assets anonymously and Belize offers maximum confidentiality. Memorandum and articles of association are sufficient for filing. The only information that is typically required is name of the registered agent and address of office in Belize.

• User friendliness – The legal procedures of Belize are formulated based on BVI IBC act and hence, the legal proceedings will be familiar with most people. This makes Belize one of the highly preferred choices when it comes to offshore jurisdictions.

• Flexible setup – Belize is still emerging as a prominent offshore jurisdiction and hence, the number of offshore firms is just over 100,000. There is also a lot of flexibility regarding the members of the board and Belize only requires one director per company. Shareholder meetings can be conducted at any place at any time and even proxies are allowed. There is no restriction on the language of the company too.

• Free taxation and free currency exchange – Belize offshore companies can thoroughly enjoy exemption from all taxes and companies are allowed to operate in any foreign currency. The banks in Belize offer complete control to the offshore firms with respect to operating accounts in different foreign currencies without the burden of exchange rates.