Finance in the Turks & Caicos Islands

It's Flexible, Safe and Offshore: Finance in the Turks & Caicos Islands

People from all over the world come to the Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI) to relax and slow down the pace of living for awhile. Increasingly, many of these same people are bringing their financial transactions offshore as well, for unique opportunities not found at home.

Money flows offshore for many legitimate reasons. The three most prevalent are the desire for increased privacy in the handling of financial affairs, the need for asset diversification and estate planning.

Privacy
In the Turks & Caicos Islands privacy is not only valued, it's the law. Financial institutions operating within TCI are answerable and responsible to the local governing authorities and only to those authorities.

Asset Diversification
Investment opportunities in the offshore world are vast and include all asset classes and investment styles in a myriad of currencies. Given the flexible regulatory environment found in TCI, creative investment structures can be put in place extremely quickly.

Estate & Tax Planning
With so much uncertainty, planning for the future requires financial structures that allow for flexibility. In TCI, the establishment of an offshore trust can prove to be very profitable, as foreign-held assets will continue to grow tax-free. Most importantly from the perspective of estate planning, in TCI there is no tax on the disposition of these assets from the trust. Additionally, a properly structured trust will not be subject to probate fees.

WHY THE TURKS & CAICOS?
When operating your financial affairs offshore, you want to be in a jurisdiction that is accessible and where the laws and form of government are familiar and stable.

The Turks & Caicos Islands, located 575 miles southeast of Miami, Florida, are a British Crown Colony ruled by a Governor appointed by the Queen. The legal system is based on English Common Law, similar to that used in the United States and Canada with respect to land ownership and the use of trusts.

TCI is a tax haven with no direct taxes on income, capital gains, inheritance, profits or gifts for individuals or companies. There are also no exchange controls and no tax treaties with any sovereign governments.

A COMMON MISCONCEPTION
There is a common misconception that you have to be very rich to have an offshore account and that it's very expensive to operate your financial affairs offshore. It actually costs a lot less than you might think. In fact, it costs about the same to operate an offshore account as it does to purchase a front-end load mutual fund.

WHY AN OFFSHORE TRUST?
Trusts may be established for a variety of reasons including estate and tax planning, asset protection and continuation of business activities.

Asset Protection
One of the most common uses of an offshore trust is for asset protection. The trust provides security and comfort against potential litigation, creditor and damage awards.

These days, corporate directors use trusts to protect their personal assets from personal liability claims that could arise as a result of the assumed liability that comes with the directorship.

Obviously, the tax advantages and consequences of using an offshore trust will depend on the unique circumstances of each individual. However, when it comes to tax planning, a trust can be set up to segregate wealth and avoid the often-times punitive domestic tax load imposed on the disposition of an estate through inheritance.

For individuals who are nearing retirement and are contemplating emigrating to a warmer climate, offshore trusts offer some very attractive tax planning opportunities. As a general rule, the earlier you establish your offshore trust, the greater the tax benefit.

Links to Offshore Information

Offshore Finance Canada Canadas leading magazine on offshore investment

Offshore Finance USA Covering the offshore finance sector from a strictly American perspective

Times of the Islands, The International Magazine of the Turks and Caicos

TCI Mall - Travel Directory to the Turks and Caicos Islands