January 2007 Archives

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HEDGE FUNDS FLEE TAX HAVEN IN VIRGIN ISLANDS, HOUNDED BY IRS
Mosler complains that hedge funds were chased away by federal tax law changes and an Internal Revenue Service that says it suspects rampant fraud by those that signed up for the tax incentive. Mosler, 57, and two other hedge fund managers -- Kevin Brandt, president of James River Capital Corp., and Paul Saunders, the firm's chief executive officer -- bought and renovated the Tamarind Reef Hotel four years ago in anticipation of an influx of Wall Street money managers to the island, which is 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers) southeast of Miami.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=avwOz7YrGJLU&refer=germany

Jumeirah, the fast growing Dubai-based luxury hotel group and member of Dubai Holding, has been appointed to manage the first new luxury resort to be built in Bermuda in 35 years. Pending approval by government agencies, the resort plans to open in mid-2008. The Dubai-based group's properties, also include Burj Al Arab, the world's most luxurious hotel, and six other luxury hotels and resorts in Dubai, that are among the most innovative and iconic in the world.

The US has suffered a setback in a World Trade Organisation case that accuses the country of protectionism against international online gambling companies.

The US admitted on Friday that the WTO had ruled against it in the latest stage of a long-running dispute with the tiny Caribbean island of Antigua over whether US laws allow online gambling on horse racing, but unfairly forbid international companies from competing in the market.

Continue reading "WTO Rules Against US in Internet Gambling Case"

by Vernon Jacobs, CPA & J. Richard Duke, JD, LLM

An Extensive Collection of Tax Reduction Alternatives that Are Sanctioned by the U.S. Tax Law and Will Work Anywhere in the World. Do you want to know how to save taxes offshore or just how to save taxes without getting into an argument with the IRS? Do you wonder if you are paying more taxes than the law requires? Then read on.

Partygammon.Com Million is the Richest Backgammon Tournament in History

Total prize pool over $1.2 million -- winner to take home over $600,000.

Nassau, Bahamas (PRWEB) January 24, 2007 -- The inaugural PartyGammon.com Million, the world's first ever million dollar backgammon tournament, at the famous Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in The Bahamas, is underway with a record prize pool. The winner will collect over $600,000 from a total prize pool of over $1.2 million which is above the expectations of tournament organisers. The guaranteed first prize easily exceeds this year's world championship top prize more than five times over.

Just over a week on from the 5th anniversary of the first transfers to the US prison camp at Guantánamo, over 5,000 people from more than 90 countries have set off on a virtual voyage to the US detention centre.

The travellers are taking part in AI’s latest online campaign to persuade the US government to close Guantánamo. The campaign will run until 26 June, International Day for the Protection of Victims of Torture.

If you are reading this you are apparently a person concerned with not only protecting that which you have worked hard to obtain, that which you hope to build and acquire in the future, but also with making sure the products of your labor are protected and transferred to those you care about. Sadly, in a society with excessive government bureaucracy, high taxation, as well as persons with a predatory nature and little in the way of moral principles, building and protecting wealth and assets can be a difficult challenge.

The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) is a unique professional body providing members with a local, national and international learning and business network.

STEP provides education, training, representation and networking for its members, who are professionals specializing in trusts and estates, executorship, administration and related taxes. Members advise clients on the broad business of the management of personal finance.

To find a professional in your area visit STEP

The general misconception is that anyone who moves money offshore is a criminal, as the headlines about money laundering with offshore havens would lead one to conclude. Since the majority of people receive their news in thirty second blips or from short 300 word news articles like the one on MSNBC´s website (www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7046153), most will probably never take the time to research the true benefits of offshore assets protection, worldwide business formation and international investing.

International Regulatory & Judicial News Alert provided by Capital Conservator Treasury Services

FACT-BYTE: Five nations have taken the political decision not to negotiate with the OECD: Monaco, Andorra, Liechtenstein, the Marshall Islands, and Liberia.

By Casey Halloran

Panama City, Panama -- In the late 90s, I first began hearing about Panama while living in Costa Rica. There was a groundswell movement of expats who felt that the cost of living in Costa Rica was too high and sought greener pastures, quite literally. They found their lower cost lifestyle a few hundred miles south in Panama’s highlands.

In light of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), as one would expect, the online gambling industry has indeed shifted its focus to non-US countries. In addition, the UK has taken steps to make it more complex to use its services illegitimately. Meanwhile, although it may not be quite as harsh as the UIGEA, Turkey has begun to issue new restrictions on its own online gambling sites.

Expert research commissioned by the Sunday Times before the new year deemed the UK the world’s first “onshore tax haven.” Acountancy firm Grant Thornton calculated the scale of tax avoidance by the super-rich and concluded that Britain’s 54 billionaires pay tax on only a tiny fraction of their wealth. The Sunday Times was forced to commission the research after HM Revenues & Customs (HMRC) refused requests by the newspaper under the freedom of information act to disclose the aggregate payments made by Britain’s super-rich.

Moody’s Investor Services latest Credit Opinion on the Bahamas has noted that official foreign exchange reserves remain ample relative to debt service requirements, despite a fall in the first ten months of last year.

The report shows that the national budget was in a small surplus for the first 3 months of the 2006-2007 fiscal year, due to continued buoyant revenue growth, coupled with expenditure restraint.

Israeli online casino entrepreneur, Avi Shaked, has offered to give $100 million to help boost the poor Palestinian economy if the prime minister sits down with his Israeli counterpart. He will give the Palestinine leader another $900 million if the talk results in an agreement that would bring long lasting peace to the area.

The initial instalment of $100 million was promised to be made if Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a leader of the Islamist militant group Hamas, and Israel's Ehud Olmert simply sit down and start the negotiations.

The Belize economy is essentially a bifurcation of two different kinds of people: the locals versus the foreigners. With such a small population that is Belize born and raised, the foreigners are really the ones who have started to dominate the economy on all cylinders. Because of this, many locals feel left behind due to a lack of education, lack of resources, and high crime rate especially in the capital city.

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The Benefits and Pitfalls of Banking and Investing Offshore

Filled with in-depth insight and expert advice, Tax Havens Today arms you with the knowledge, strategies, and contacts needed to avoid expensive mistakes and make the most of your offshore endeavors. Divided into four comprehensive parts, this timely resource will bring you completely up to speed on a variety of issues that anyone aspiring to go offshore must be familiar with.

Order the Book: Tax Havens Today

Happy New Year to all of you! - (from Vern Jacobs)

Hopefully, the new year will be both prosperous and free of further restrictions on our liberties, but I'm somewhat apprehensive about the latter.

With a Congress controlled by the Democrats, the prospects for beneficial tax and economic legislation isn't favorable -- particularly in the international part of the tax law.