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Turks and Caicos is a centre where there are no taxes and the concept of
secrecy is enshrined in law. It has always been understood that when you
decide to conduct your financial affairs in Turks and Caicos you are
accessing a financial environment that is secure, modern and one in which
you can have confidence. TCI has severe penalties for anyone revealing
client information and financial services companies doing busines in TCI
are resonsible to the local governing authorties and to those aurthorities
alone. Only rarely, and then only by local court order, can the veil of
confidentiality be pierced and this occurs in cases of obvious criminal
actiivity such as money laundering.
Having said that, there have been
many changes over the past several years and these changes have come as a
result of the the terrorist attacks on September 11 and the passing into
law of the US Patriot Act. This provides financial institutions and federal
regulators with new powers to combat money laundering and terrorist
financing. "Know your Customer" rules have been implemented to a high
degree and domestic taxing authorities are using the current changes to
battle against perceived tax evasion and flight of capital
offshore.
It is becoming more difficult as
time goes on to help high net worth individuals to implement effective
estate or tax planning. Still, an international tax law professional can
work through all the difficulties and changing legislation to find
perfectly legal and effective ways to reduce tax and shield assets without
crossing the line into tax evasion. It has become increasingly necessary
for the offshore advisor to help with tax planning and be well informed and
current in his knowledge of global tax environment.
Turks and Caicos has such
international tax professionals to help you understand the vehicles that
are available to you. Ask Peter to recommend such a
professional.
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