Offshore tax havens

I've seen quite a lot of websites that are in one of these two camps: - Either they're dead against the use or even the existance of tax havens in principle, or - They're all for them and advocate that everyone can use them to reduce their taxes. In my view both of these are flawed. The first camp are essentially outlining a political view - which I don't really want to get involved in. But the old phrase about 'every taxpayer having the right to arrange their tax affairs in a manner to minimise their tax bills'springs to mind here. Why would anyone choose to pay more tax than they have to - I can't understand this line of thinking? No one knows better what to do with your cash than you, and you should use whatever legal methods are available to keep more of it where it belongs - in your bank! Note that I say 'legal methods' here. There are always those inscrupulous people that look to save tax by hiding or not declaring income or gains. This is foolish when there are so many legal options to reduce your taxes. This leads onto the second group of websites... These usually have no professional tax interest but add a bit about tax on their websites. Various company incorporation websites are a good example. These give the impression that just by incorporating a company in the Bahamas or the BVI you can avoid your tax liabilities. This is dangerous. There is already a pretty widespread view that offshore companies are the ultimate tax solution and can be used to avoid UK taxes, and this kind of view does nothing to subdue it. Don't get me wrong, I'm the first to advocate using an offshore solution when the facts warrant it, but if you're a UK resdient domiciled individual carrying out a trade in the UK using an offshore company is rarely relevant. The ream of anti avoidance rules would negate many benefits and could actually result in a worse tax position (ie increased tax charges and increased Revenue scrutiny). So if you're looking at reducing taxes I'd always look at the UK tax reliefs first, then consider offshore opportunities. For info on using tax havens and offshore companies and trusts check out these articles: Using Offshore trusts Different offshore entities Using an offshore recharging company