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http://panamapapers.sueddeutsche.de/articles/56febff0a1bb8d3c3495adf4/ http://panamapapers.sueddeutsche.de/articles/56febff0a1bb8d3... >Generally speaking, own

by ikeboy 11y ago

http://panamapapers.sueddeutsche.de/articles/56febff0a1bb8d3c3495adf4/ http://panamapapers.sueddeutsche.de/articles/56febff0a1bb8d3... >Generally speaking, owning an offshore company is not illegal in itself. In fact, establishing an offshore company can be seen as a logical step for a broad range of business transactions. However, a look through the Panama Papers very quickly reveals that concealing the identities of the true company owners was the primary aim in the vast majority of cases. This makes it sound like owning an offshore company solely to conceal your identity is illegal. Is that true?

qaq 11y ago
It highly depends on your country of tax residence and citizenship.
- dragonwriter 11y ago
  And the countries in which you do business that in some way involves the offshore entity.
sdenton4 11y ago
Even if concealing your identity isn't illegal, you may be concealing it because you're involved in something shady. Like tax evasion.
- woodman 11y ago
  You wouldn't describe your position on cryptography and privacy in general as "moderate" by any chance?
  - themartorana 11y ago
    I don't think those two things are analogous. Being an owner of a company is something decidedly public. It has nothing to do with encryption or privacy.
    - woodman 11y ago
      > decidedly public If that were true then the concept of registered agents wouldn't be tolerated, but in reality they're commonly used - even by the lowly working class setting up their LLCs. In any case, an appeal to the tyranny of the majority isn't a strong argument - I certainly wasn't a part of that decision... unless we're talking about the social contract I implicitly agreed to upon emerging from the birth canal.
mullen 11y ago
It actually all depends on what you want to do. Opening an overseas is not illegal for Americans, you just have to declare it when you file your taxes. However, having a bank account out of the reach of creditors or others who may seek legal action against you is advisable for people in certain fields. You could be a doctor in a risky part of medicine where people will sue you at a drop of a hat. You would put your money into a Cook Island Trust and then no one can get access to it. You are not doing anything illegal, you have paid taxes on that money and the government knows about it. Someone who has gained money through crime or sinister methods could do the same thing, but instead an American judge would just throw them in jail until they returned the funds. You could also own a company that does the majority of its business overseas. If you need to move money from one part of the world to another, sometimes it is just easier to keep it in Panama or Singapore. When you move the money back into the US, you would have to pay taxes on it. However in all cases, if you have an overseas account with a lot of money in it, you must accept that you are willing to flee the US to keep it.

by ikeboy 11y ago

qaq 11y ago

It highly depends on your country of tax residence and citizenship.

dragonwriter 11y ago
And the countries in which you do business that in some way involves the offshore entity.

sdenton4 11y ago

Even if concealing your identity isn't illegal, you may be concealing it because you're involved in something shady. Like tax evasion.

woodman 11y ago
You wouldn't describe your position on cryptography and privacy in general as "moderate" by any chance?
- themartorana 11y ago
  I don't think those two things are analogous. Being an owner of a company is something decidedly public. It has nothing to do with encryption or privacy.
  - woodman 11y ago
    > decidedly public If that were true then the concept of registered agents wouldn't be tolerated, but in reality they're commonly used - even by the lowly working class setting up their LLCs. In any case, an appeal to the tyranny of the majority isn't a strong argument - I certainly wasn't a part of that decision... unless we're talking about the social contract I implicitly agreed to upon emerging from the birth canal.

mullen 11y ago

It actually all depends on what you want to do. Opening an overseas is not illegal for Americans, you just have to declare it when you file your taxes. However, having a bank account out of the reach of creditors or others who may seek legal action against you is advisable for people in certain fields. You could be a doctor in a risky part of medicine where people will sue you at a drop of a hat. You would put your money into a Cook Island Trust and then no one can get access to it. You are not doing anything illegal, you have paid taxes on that money and the government knows about it. Someone who has gained money through crime or sinister methods could do the same thing, but instead an American judge would just throw them in jail until they returned the funds. You could also own a company that does the majority of its business overseas. If you need to move money from one part of the world to another, sometimes it is just easier to keep it in Panama or Singapore. When you move the money back into the US, you would have to pay taxes on it. However in all cases, if you have an overseas account with a lot of money in it, you must accept that you are willing to flee the US to keep it.