Viewpoints

GENERAL INFORMATION The British Virgin Islands are a British dependency located in the Eastern Caribbean, about 80 kilometers East of Puerto Rico. English is the official language and the official currency is the United States Dollar. The Government is stable and promises to remain that way. There is good commercial and professional infrastructure and the Government is actively encouraging the development of the offshore finance business and has now upgraded the Companies Registry by installing state of the art technology. The International Business Companies Act was passed in 1984 and created the International Business Company (IBC) which is the preferred offshore company vehicle. In recent years the BVI has become extremely popular, particularly in the Far East region, due to the extensive marketing of the jurisdiction particularly by lawyers who moved from Panama during the Noriega regime and set up offices in the BVI. FEATURES OF BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS COMPANY […]

The British Virgin Islands, by virtue of its double tax treaties, was a financial centre long before the enactment of the International Business Companies Act in 1984 (replaced by BVI Business Act 2004). In 1984 the Territorial Government enacted legislation to enable the jurisdiction to meet the increasing demands of the international financial community. The cornerstone of the corporate legislation is the International Business Companies Act, 1984. This legislation has proved so popular with the international financial community that the British Virgin Islands is now one of the world’s pre-eminent offshore financial centres. In keeping with its role as one of the world’s pre-eminent financial centres, the Territorial Government has also been conscious of the need to provide the international financial community with a broader legal framework within which to provide offshore financial services. A legislative review programme was undertaken which has seen the amendment in 1993 of the Trustee […]

A Long and Eventful History   The British Virgin Islands are well known in historical terms, both as a stop-over point for ships on their way to and from Europe and ‘The New World’ and as a haven for pirates, preying on those same ships throughout the latter half of the 17th century and the early part of the 18th century. The multitude of small cays and hidden coves scattered about a jewel-like sea made the islands an ideal base for those intent on mischief. Perhaps the most famous, many would say infamous, of those pirates was the British renegade Sir Henry Morgan, well known for hating not only the Spanish but the sight of both taxes and tax collectors. Maybe we can thank Sir Henry after all, could it be that the origins of the BVI’s present day ‘offshore’ status lie back with him?   Not only did those […]

The Practicalities: what is a TIEA? A Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) is a bilateral agreement that has been negotiated and signed between two countries to establish a formal regime for the exchange of information relating to civil and criminal tax matters.   How does the BVI enter into a TIEA? The BVI either approaches a country, or is approached directly by a country, to enter discussions to conclude a TIEA. TIEAs are negotiated on the BVI’s behalf by a team of officials from the International Finance Centre, the Ministry of Finance, the Inland Revenue Department and the Attorney General’s Office, with ongoing representation from the Financial Services Commission. Once the agreements are agreed in draft form, they are considered at official level for approval by the BVI Cabinet. Once the relevant constitutional arrangements and approval processes have taken place in both countries, a ceremony takes place where the formal […]