🚩 ‘Abandoned’ offshore companies: why old companies in the BVI or Panama are now a problem rather than an asset

Ten years ago, the logic was different: the more complex the structure and the more companies involved, the ‘cooler’ it was. Today, the trend is the opposite – simplification.

⚠️ But removing these old components from the structure is proving difficult:

Some agents have ‘disappeared off the radar’ – even to change agents, you need to be in contact with the previous one

Payment systems are increasingly refusing to service accounts in traditional offshore jurisdictions – nobody wants to risk their licence because of a company ‘stuck in the past’

Navigating local legislation (for example, in Belize) is difficult – it’s even hard to find a lawyer who genuinely understands how the law works in practice, rather than just reading it

💡 On IP box regimes: an attractive tax rate (2–12 per cent depending on the jurisdiction) isn’t the main thing. The main thing is whether you can actually meet the criteria for its application. And that, once again, comes down to substance.