OK. But if a *** company working in *** sells products to US citizens, the IRS wants a piece - not my fight.  My fight is US lawmakers painting an unwarranted negative picture of "tax havens" when the real problem has been caused by their own shortcomings.  Stop Tax Haven Abuse - who's doing the abusing?

I don't think that a company that is not a US company should be paying taxes to the US.  If I'm a Bermuda company working in Bermuda and I sell my product to US citizens I shoud not have to pay the US for any of that money I make (if that's what you are referring to).


I believe that's the point of this thread.  My novice understanding is if a US company (ACME Inc.) sets up a company in Bermuda (ACME Bermuda Ltd.) to receive the revenue from the UK manufacturing subsidiary (ACME UK Ltd.) where they manufacture widgets for sale worldwide, including the US, the IRS wants tax on the revenue from the US.  Now if ACME Inc. changes their strategy and no longer offers widgets for sale in the US does the IRS have a valid claim for taxes?  If you answer no that's where the congressmen come in and accuse ACME Inc. of tax evasion, money laundering, terrorist financing, baby seal beating, etc. and generally looting the US Treasury.  There are many other moral arguements against this type of scheme but if the US wants to remedy this situation taxwise wouldn't you think the blame lies within the US and not on the offshore jurisdictions that legally facilitate the ACME Bermuda Ltd.'s?

Look!!...It's Beyonce!!!

No loopholes for toll evaders, sorry.

No it doesn't and I guess that's why I was trying to educate myself

But, please, you don't think that sometimes regulations, laws, etc, here or anywhere else, are so confounding that it would take "an act of congress" years to sort it out while the everday joe doesn't know what's really happening.[/b]


Yes, they are confounding but the everyday Joe has nothing to rely on except the Congressmen (who are responsible for the confounditiousnessment and also have no clue as to what's really happening) who simply has to yell "It's them....They're stealing your $$... Elect me and I'll shut them down..."  That way, Congress doesn't have to fix the mess and solve the real problem* and Joe can sleep at night because Uncle Sam got the bad guy.  Smells of the schoolyard bully shaking down the new kid with the fancy clothes for his lunch money.

Here's a scenario, since the tax situation is difficult to explain succinctly consider swapping the word tax with toll.  Say I can drive from point A to point B in 2 hours via the interstate (toll)  and pay a $4 toll, and drive from A to B in 2.5 hours via the parkway (free).  Both are legal.  I make the trip a few times a month and take the parkway to save $16.  Imagine a business that makes the trip daily with multiple vehicles. 
The Interstate Authority is accusing me of toll evasion and threatens to shut down the parkway.  Make sense?  That's all I can say right now as my case is pending.

Tax (toll) avoidance is the legal utilization of the tax (toll) regime to one's own advantage, in order to reduce the amount of tax (toll) that is payable by means that are within the law. By contrast tax (toll) evasion is the general term for efforts to not pay taxes (tolls) by illegal means.


* Which happens to be writing a tax code that benefits the US without driving away the corporations they depend on for the revenue.

We've had our "study" also, don't remember what it cost...

The indigence line was estimated at CI$1.83 per day, which represented the lowest possible cost of consuming 2,400 kilo calories in the Cayman Islands in 2007. The calculation of this least cost food basket is the basis on which other components can be added in arriving at the poverty line which was estimated as CI$10.90 per day or CI$3,983 per annum. Some key findings of the SLC are summarised in Table I.
Table I: Selected Indicators
Indicator
Findings
Poverty Line Value (annual)
CI$3,983
Vulnerability line (annual)
CI$4,979
Population (count)
53292
Households (count)
18338
Population below annual poverty line (count)
989
Percentage population below annual poverty line (%)
1.9%
Households below annual poverty line (Count)
277
Percentage households below annual poverty line (%)
1.5%
Population living in households below the vulnerability line (count)
1955 (966 + 989)
Percentage population living in households below the vulnerability line (%)
3.7%
Households under vulnerability line (count)
575 (298 + 277)
Percentage Households under vulnerability line (%)
3.1%
With an estimated 1.9 percent of individuals consuming at levels below the poverty line, the Cayman Islands has the lowest rate of estimated poverty in the Commonwealth Caribbean in the present decade. The Bahamas was estimated to have a poverty level of 9.3 percent in 2001 and British Virgin Islands, 11.0 percent in 2002. Most other countries have rates calculated above 10 percent.

from the Cayman Islands National Assessment of Living Conditions (NALC) 2006/07, draft published April 2008.

I'm your huckleberry..

Not exactly, “Our relations with Trinity have been strained by the divisive statements of Reverend Wright, which sharply conflict with our own views,” they wrote. “These controversies have served as an unfortunate distraction for other Trinity members who seek to worship in peace, and have placed you in an untenable position.”

It's as if absolutely no thought went into the implementation. If anyone complained: expat-shut up and go home - caymanian-are you unpatriotic or what?

One day everyone will wake up to find all the lights on in George Town and nobody home.

But seriously, I think the politicos will have to do a little backpedaling on this one - but may be a little more difficult with elections coming up.

(and so far as I know my boobs didn't win any awards)

But they have certainly attracted my attention...

But at the end of the day, Directors (Bermuda-resident or otherwise) have a responsibility for understanding the business and understanding all aspects of how the company runs the business.

Including compliance with US tax codes?

Your political compass
Economic Left/Right: -0.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.15

 

Perhaps they're forgetting that the guy with the keys to the weapons is a certified nutter...
 

 
An Open Message from The British Foreign Office To the Citizens of the Country formerly known as United States of America

In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy).
  Your new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect: You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary.

1. Then look up aluminium, and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it. How about armor-piercing depleted uranium shells

2. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour', 'favour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise'. Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary'). Henceforth the word "buglarized" will no longer be used. The correct term "burgled" will be used instead. Right after we teach our kids to pull up their pants

3. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as US English only English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell- checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of -ize. Whatever

4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday. Neither will the Queen's Birthday

5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun. You talkin to me?

6. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public. You mean the Mexicans, right?

7. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour. Lucas electrics - now that's funny

8. The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have erroneously been calling gasoline) You will pay $6/gal for it. Get over it! Napalm

9. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar. Ketchup

10. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting Nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion. Tonic drinks will contain no alcohol whatsoever! Agreed

11. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater. Vinny Jones will play everyone, from Bridget Jones to James Bond

12. You will immediately cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies). Don't try Rugby - the South Africans and Kiwis will thrash you, like they regularly thrash us. Give the brothers 10 years...

13. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries. Where else are we going to eat our hot dogs?

14. You must tell us who killed JFK? It's been driving us mad. Lee Harvey Oswald, that's our story and we're sticking with it

15. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776). I'll be in Cayman, come and get it

16. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 pm with proper cups, with saucers, and mugnever mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season. And pole dancers


God save the Queen.
Her Majesties Foreign Office - Her Majesty's Foreign Office you nitwit

I don't equate Morgan's "Stop talking about it" with doing nothing. In agreement with Fast Eddie, I think it takes conscious effort to chop the race out of your discourse if you're accostomed to using it. Some will find that there is a lot more thinking involved.

I hit the reply button and find that I don't know what to say.  30+ years of growth, development, a few families got rich, and the ones who missed the boat are pissed. Developers saw the beauty (and potential $$$) of the island and bought not leased irreplaceable property. Capitalists did as capitalists do and turned a sleepy island into a world-class financial centre.    That's what happened to Cayman. Do I get -k's for stating the obvious?

CO, Cayman or Bermuda can be replaced with a number of Caribbean countries and the article will still apply.

CC, I think your observations are entirely correct and thankfully I don't think the situation here has reached the explosion point, but what does a government do to fix this? The entire region is or will go thru this phenomenon in some fashion and I can't find a precedent for success in getting out unscathed. Apologies for being the armchair quarterback. Who could have predicted this outcome and would anyone have listened?