In some countries throughout the world it makes far more sense to establish an Offshore Company and to own your foreign property assets through a corporate structure; what’s more, depending on your personal circumstances it can also make far more sense for an individual or corporate entity to protect themselves, their assets and their home through the use of an Offshore Company…
If you are considering buying a home, an investment or a asset abroad or you already own foreign Real Estate assets, you need to ask yourself ‘do I need an Offshore Company to own my property abroad?’ and look at the options available to you. Consider how an Offshore Company can potentially save a home owner on a variety of tax issues and legal fees and what you need to do to take the next step.
The first thing you need to be aware of is that buying a home overseas is a taxable action, it can draw an increased liability for taxes such as Inheritance Tax, Income Tax, Capital Gains tax and Tax on rental income; not to mention that such a purchase often incurs stamp duty, transfer taxes and of course legal fees. This all means that it is sensible to research your purchase options and obligations carefully from a financial as well as legal perspective before making a commitment to buy.
Sometimes a Financial or Tax Planner will advise that the establishment of an offshore company through which the property to be purchased will be bought is a more sensible approach from a fiscal perspective as it can mitigate or even negate financial losses. However, other tax advisors and accountants may advise against offshore planning, purely because they lose control of your accounting and therefore reduce their ability to carry out further accountancy work on your behalf.
For high net worth or high profile Individuals there is an added bonus of taking this approach – their name can be kept back from Public Record thus protecting who owns a particular asset.