Offshore company formation is a very old tax trick that businesses, big and small, have been using since time immemorial. However, in recent times, all kinds of taxes are being exacted in the United States forcing an increasing number of businesses to search for tax havens such as Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands to reduce their tax obligations.
Seeking Help from Abroad
It is ironic that when many countries all over the world are reducing their tax rates, the reverse is happening in the United States. This tax related issues are taking place as the U.S. Congress remains to be unwilling to lower the tax rate to 35 per cent.
The tax rate in the United States remains one of the highest in the world. No wonder, many companies have established offshore companies in countries that offer all kinds of tax benefits.
Defective Tax Code the Culprit?
The present administration along with many lawmakers seem to agree that tax shelters, tax inversions, and all kinds of tax reduction schemes are just a natural reaction to a defective tax code. Still, they contend that this is not enough reason for companies to withhold paying their taxes due the government.
Tax Havens of American Companies
Recently, the Democrats have created a chart of companies that utilized tax inversions since 1983. From this list, financial analysts developed another list detailing the countries where these American companies have gone to in order to reduce their taxes.
The following is a sample listing of the countries where most of the American companies are going for tax reduction purposes.
Year / Company Name / Type / Country of Incorporation / Revenue
1983 McDermott Int’l Eng’g. Panama $2.7 billion
1994 Helen of Troy Consumer Products Bermuda $1.3 billion
1996 Chicago Bridge & Iron Eng’g. Bermuda $11.1 billion
1999 Transocean Offshore Drilling Cayman Islands $9.4 billion
1999 White Mountain Insurance Bermuda $2.3 billion
2000 Applied Power Engineering Bermuda $494 million
2000 Everest Reinsurance Insurance Bermuda $5.6 billion
2000 Seagate Technology Data Storage Cayman Islands $14.4 billion
2001 Foster Wheeler Engineering Bermuda $559 million
2002 Noble Corp. Offshore Drilling Cayman Islands $4.2 billion
2002 Nabor Industries Oil and Gas Bermuda $1.6 billion
2002 Ingersoll-Rand Ind’l. Manufacturer Bermuda $12.3 billion
2002 Herbalife Nutrition Cayman Islands $4.8 billion
2005 Luna Gold Corp Mining Canada $85.3 million
2007 Argonaut Group Insurance Bermuda $1.4 billion
2008 Covidien Healthcare Ireland $10.2 billion
2010 Valient Biovail Pharmaceuticals Canada $5.7 billion
2011 TE Connectivity Manufacturer Switzerland $13.3 billion
2011 Pentair Water Filtration Switzerland $7.5 billion
2012 Eaton/Cooper Power Management Ireland $22 billion
2013 Perrigo/Elan Pharmaceuticals Ireland $3.5 billion
2013 Liberty Global PLC Cable Company UK $17.3 billion
2014 Chiquita Brands Produce Ireland $3 billion
2014 Medtronic Pharmaceuticals Ireland $16.5 billion
We will take a look on “how an offshore company formation can reduce tax” next time. If you would like to learn more about offshore company registration, please visit our website.