Low tax offshore companies also refer to different types of offshore companies that can be formed in an offshore centre or jurisdiction such as the British Virgin Islands, Belize, the Seychelles or RAK UAE. Companies incorporated in jurisdictions offering both offshore and onshore companies, they may benefit from favourable tax regulation and/or special offshore company regimes.

Mauritius is an example; it has two types of companies that are used both for offshore business and international tax planning. The Mauritius GBC II Offshore Company pays zero tax and is effectively a tax haven company, similar in many respects to a BVI Company, whilst the Mauritius GBCI Company is tax resident and typically utilised for double tax treaty and international tax planning.

Hong Kong is another example; although not typically regarded as a tax haven, it has a favourable tax regime which effectively means that properly structured, managed and administered Hong Kong companies can be used to undertake offshore business and international business without paying tax in Hong Kong provided that incomes are generated overseas (outside HK). This type of tax regulation is known as “territorial taxation”.

There are several countries as known as Onshore Countries, offering tax regimes that are by statute tax advantageous for specific international purposes. Offshore business consists not only of tax havens but also of onshore high tax countries competing to attract international companies and individuals with a wide manner of tax planning regulations and opportunities. These tax advantageous regulations are used for a large variety of tax planning business, such as:Double tax treaty planning relating to dividends, interest and royalty payment The establishment of holding, international headquarter treasury and finance operations Specialist business, for example, leasing Personal and family wealth management and tax planning

In fact, almost all countries offer tax regulations of one kind or another to encourage inward investment.International tax advisers have long been aware of the opportunities which exist for improving tax efficiency by using the special low tax regimes offered by high tax countries seeking to encourage international business.However, successful implementation of such structures is dependent on a wide range of issues, often relating to matters such as anti-avoidance provisions, double tax avoidance, controlled foreign company and management and control tests and provisions, transfer pricing, thin apitalisation, participation exemptions, capital gains tax and a myriad of other ever-changing tax regulation.More recently, the weapons contained in the armoury of the tax collectors have been supplemented by exchange of information treaties and provisions.So, today the offshore world includes the expert implementation of specific tax advantageous structures domiciled in high tax onshore countries as diverse as the UK, Singapore, Belgium, Austria, Spain, Switzerland and others.