Offshore banking question(s)

F

Fallen Sputnik

hey guys, this discussion is meant to be for 18+ year olds, or who have personal experience with this only.

I was looking into opening an offshore checking/savings accounts...
I am currently located in NY, but will moving to FL this summer.


Without going too much into income details, I have managed to earn a fair amount of money through my numerous businesses (musician, film producer, clothing co owner)....
A lot of my business is done through internet, except for my music career (although revenue comes through that as well).
Currently I have a key bank checking account, and a paypal business account, which all my cash based assets are currently located in.

I have some questions:

1.Is it worth opening it?...and use it as a tax/income net in a way?
2.Could i face legal persecution for having one, being a duel citizen of USA and Russia.
3.How easy can I use my assets that are located in them (if opened)...such as withdraws, deposits, transfers, etc...
4.And what would be best location to open it? (I've considered the caymans and swiss banks)


Thanks a lot for the help guys :).
Happy tax season to all haha.
 
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I will probably do that as well, but I kinda want to get the *real experience*, honestly with those two group of people they will just concentrate on getting their cut of the steak...so I kinda wanted to get opinion of people who went through that process already...
Plus contacting those groups can be risky as well, because some people consider this being "illegal" and "tax evasion" so...any thoughts :)?
 
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Fallen Sputnik said:
I kinda want to get the *real experience*...so I kinda wanted to get opinion of people who went through that process already...
Click to expand...

You're posting with the wrong group; most of us scrounge to get our projects made.


Fallen Sputnik said:
those two group of people they will just concentrate on getting their cut of the steak... Plus contacting those groups can be risky as well, because some people consider this being "illegal" and "tax evasion" so...any thoughts :)?
Click to expand...

Attorneys cannot betray you - attorney/client privilege. And better their piece of the pie than IRS penalties and fees, not to mention Federal accommodations for a five years or so...
 
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They had a story on MSNBC's "American Greed" about a con-artist who was like the low-budget Wal-Mart of offshore banking. I remember them saying that you need to have a LOT of money to make it worth your while (because it's expensive) to go offshore with your money. So this con-artist was able to lure people with his low prices. Unfortunately the guy was basically a Ponzi scheme. Don't trust ANYONE with large amounts of money!
http://www.yourinvestmentadvise.com/
 
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Fallen Sputnik said:
Plus contacting those groups can be risky as well, because some people consider this being "illegal" and "tax evasion" so...any thoughts :)?
Click to expand...

What I would say is that if you do contact your accountant or attorney and they use words like 'illegal' or 'tax evasion' that should, probably, be the end of the conversation.

I presume you're not actively seeking to commit tax fraud, but looking for ways to maximise your income. In that case you have nothing to worry about from a conversation with an attorney (not that you would anyway with attorney/client confidentiality), if it's possible they'll tell you how.
 
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Fallen Sputnik said:
hey guys, this discussion is meant to be for 18+ year olds, or who have personal experience with this only.

I was looking into opening an offshore checking/savings accounts...
I am currently located in NY, but will moving to FL this summer.


Without going too much into income details, I have managed to earn a fair amount of money through my numerous businesses (musician, film producer, clothing co owner)....
A lot of my business is done through internet, except for my music career (although revenue comes through that as well).
Currently I have a key bank checking account, and a paypal business account, which all my cash based assets are currently located in.

I have some questions:

1.Is it worth opening it?...and use it as a tax/income net in a way?
2.Could i face legal persecution for having one, being a duel citizen of USA and Russia.
3.How easy can I use my assets that are located in them (if opened)...such as withdraws, deposits, transfers, etc...
4.And what would be best location to open it? (I've considered the caymans and swiss banks)


Thanks a lot for the help guys :).
Happy tax season to all haha.
Click to expand...

Depending on how much cash we're talking about, if you start moving it around you will get noticed. Also, if you've been doing businees above board and have a tax history, then all of a sudden, nothing; how do you account for that?? To go further, if you start traveling to known banking havens, which you might have to do to set up accounts and what not, you will be entered into the TECS II database(formerly known as EPIC), which is accessed by none other than.....the IRS. Then you have to know whether the country you're considering has MLATs(Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties) with the U.S. and in your case Russia. So it can be tricky. If you're wanting to hedge the taxes you pay in a legal way, consult a tax attorney that specializes in offshore banking. If you're trying to be sneaky:) you had better do some research cause plenty have tried be fore you. So to answer your questions briefly:

1. It can be
2. It depends on what you are doing. Just having an account is legal. Not paying taxes that you should is not
3. If you start accessing your money from the U.S. then all your efforts are for naught because everything here gets reported and you will leave a paper trail right back to your accounts.
4. Switzerland has signed MLATs the Caymans are obvious. In Europe why not try the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. There's also Maritius or the Turks and Caicos

This info is a litle dated and I am giving no legal advice just some things to think about.
 
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