Best place to offshore?

Selling services and drop ship but not living anywhere - Where should I off

[davidoff]

Hey,

I am a student who is doing his PHD not in my home country and when I finish soon I am planning to travel for a few years, I don't stay in one country for more than 2-3 month. I sell through a web site services and some time drop-ship related items. I do not have a registered company I get paid with paypal and 2CO to my bank account in the US, but I am not American.

I want to register a company and do everything "more clean" from now on, but I don't feel that I should do this in my home country since I don't live there. The question is what is the best combination of registering an offshore company + offshore bank account + merchant account for me? Does any one have an idea?

[shri]

Offshore companies, bank accounts and credit cards can get pretty expensive.

Look for a neutral low tax location where company setup and maintenance costs are low. I'm a fan of Hong Kong and Singapore.

[davidoff]

No other comments on this one? Until now I found these options the best:

British Virgin Islands
Panama
Belize
Seychelles - Companies incorporated in all these countries are exempt from any kind of taxation, are empowered to conduct all types of business and may have clients, contractors, suppliers and employees from any country.

Jersey - but companies incorporated on Jersey are subject to accounting and auditing.

Any experience with these jurisdictions anyone?

[percentages]

How much money are you willing to invest to solve this problem?

There are many good solutions for non-US citizens, but, most of them are expensive. A good solution is going to cost $10K-$20K to setup, if you have that as an investment goal then you should be looking at BVI, possibly some other parts of the Caribbean.

[davidoff]

I was looking at Jersey and the setup fee is no more than $4000.

[percentages]

>I was looking at Jersey and the setup fee is no more than $4000.

You can setup in the Isle Of Man for pocket change.....it is not the best solution though, I did that several years ago ;) Jersey is no better!

The better long-term solutions are more expensive, if it is good for you, generally have to pay to get it :(

The ultimate solution is to live where you choose to operate. That becomes a balance of lifestyle vs. low or zero taxation and corporate hassle.

IMHO there is no easy solution, I've been looking at possible solutions for several years. The best solutions typically involve you being resident in a place that is not hospitable.....at least to those used to USA comforts.

I still think the Caribbean is the best choice, but, I haven't made the leap yet as I also believe the lifestyle has a too higher price :(

[davidoff]

IOM needs a resident director and local secretary or something like that. There are not a lot of companies that recommend IOM.

[chodges84]

What about someweher else within Europe, but Outside of the EU such as Guernsey, Gibraltar (which i hear is popular), Andorra, Monaco etc.

I also hear Cyprus is popular.

I am no kind of expert though, but just trying to throw some ideas in.

It's quite an interesting subject. The Isle of Mans income tax is only 18%, compared to 40% max in the UK.