For those of you who have not heard of the little chain of islands known as the Turks & Caicos Islands, let alone visited them, you are not alone!
- English speaking,
- close proximity to the United States,
- direct flights,
- US currency,
- modern law,
- stable government,
- NO income, estate, corporate, real estate TAX
....these are a few of the reasons that the Turks & Caicos Islands are attracting tourists and investors from all over the world.
The Turks & Caicos Islands seem to be one of the best kept secrets of the past 30 years. That is fast changing as high-end tourism and international investment and some of the prettiest beaches in the world are putting these islands on the map.
The country is located at the southern end of the Bahamas, 575 miles southeast of Miami and only a 1 1/2 hour direct flight to the island of Providenciales. American Airlines, US Airways, Delta Airlines, Air Canada and British Airways offer direct routes from Miami, New York, Boston, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Toronto and London. In addition those wishing to travel from within the region can make it easy by flying with BahamasAir, Air Jamaica Express, SkyKing and Air Turks & Caicos from Nassau, Montego Bay, Puerto Plata, Cap Haitien or Cuba.
One of the most valuable possessions of the islands are the pristine white sandy beaches, which in total cover 230 miles and are complemented with crystal clear turquoise waters and world class diving.
The islands are relatively flat but vary from sand dunes to lush green vegetation. There are 40 islands and cays, but only 8 are inhabited: Salt Cay, Grand Turk, South Caicos, Middle Caicos, North Caicos, Providenciales, Parrot Cay and Pine Cay. East Caicos is currently uninhabited but slated for development, while the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Dellis Cay and the Ritz Carlton Resort on West Caicos are underway.
The Turks & Caicos Islands are officially English speaking with a population close to 25,000 people made up of both "Belongers" (citizens) and Expatriates. The official currency is the US Dollar.
Presently, the Turks & Caicos Islands are an internal-governing Overseas Territory with a ministerial system of government. The country operates from the 1988 Constitution which provides for a Governor appointed by HM the Queen, an Executive Council and a Legislative Council.
The Governor is responsible for external affairs, defense, internal security, offshore finance and certain other matters, but is otherwise normally required to act on the advice of the Executive Council.
The Executive Council deals with the affairs of the Government. It is presided over by His Excellency the Governor and is made up of the elected Ministers of Government. The Legislative Council is responsible for the passage of laws, monitoring Government policies and bringing to account the Executive Branch on behalf of the electorate.
Under this structure the Turks & Caicos Islands enjoy a stable government guided by British Law. The Government is pro-development but is taking a responsible approach by learning from the experiences of other West Indies neighbours such as the Bahamas. Tourism is the number one industry with the Financial services industry coming in second and growing.
Traditionally the investment opportunities in the Turks & Caicos Islands have been based in real estate as witnessed by the recent high-end condo developments springing up along 12 mile Grace Bay Beach on Providenciales. As more people become familiar and comfortable with this country as a viable investment centre, opportunities for international investment structures and funds have become popular.
Part of this attraction is a well defined regulatory framework within which to operate a comprehensive range of financial activities including banking, insurance, trusts, mutual funds, investment dealing, companies and partnerships. TCI's modern legislation is complemented by an experienced professional infrastructure in the public and private sectors.
The Turks & Caicos Islands provide a full range of international banking and trust services. There are six licensed entities that carry out banking business, five licensed to carry out domestic and international services from within the islands. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) embodies in a single agency all regulatory aspects of the Financial Services industry. The FSC is appointed by the British Government and is responsible for licensing and supervising all finance-related operating entities to internationally accepted standards. The FSC also provides a centralised and cost-effective service for registering companies, partnerships, trademarks and patents in TCI.
Recently the Financial Services Commission introduced legislation to regulate Mutual Funds. This legislation provides for mutual funds to be established in the islands and also for mutual funds constituted under the laws of a foreign country to be licensed in the islands as 'recognised mutual funds'.
As well, Investment Dealers legislation was recently introduced which provides for persons to be licensed as a fund manager, investment adviser or investment dealer.
Asset protection is the proactive positioning of one's assets beyond the immediate reach of future potential creditors and/or adversaries. This objective is achieved by simply making one's assets unattractive and legally unreachable by such parties. This is the primary objective of international asset protection planning.
Nine out of ten lawsuits in the world are filed in the United States, with Canada not far behind. If you own a business or practice a profession you have one chance in three of being named a defendant in a lawsuit in the next year. The legal system in most developed countries has become unpredictable with high punitive damage awards and frivolous actions designed to provoke a quick settlement becoming commonplace. No longer is your Insurer there to protect you.
It is everyone's legal right to seek ways in which to lawfully reduce their tax liabilities. One's tax burden can be significantly reduced by proper structuring of both personal and commercial activities in other jurisdictions, especially those that are known as "tax havens" due to their low-tax/no-tax laws.
The most favorable international financial centers like the Turks & Caicos Islands have no tax reporting requirements, no tax on income, capital gains or interest and no succession duties or estate tax.
There are many dynamic investment opportunities which are only available internationally. Most of the stocks traded around the world are outside your home country, indicating significant investment potential abroad. Thus, an international component may actually increase your portfolio returns, reduce overall portfolio volatility over the long term through diversification and take advantage of currencies outside your home country. Clearly, if your portfolio is not invested in foreign markets, you may well be missing out on significant investment opportunities from around the world. Furthermore, if you look overseas for investment opportunities, you can invariably discover that you have a vastly greater basket of funds, markets and interest earning, tax-deferred possibilities than those on offer to the domestic investor. These include the worlds leading hedge funds, investment trusts and debt instruments or mortgage backed securities.
For individuals who live in economically and/or politically unstable countries, having assets abroad can be the difference between financial security and financial ruin. We advocate global investing for any client based on the grounds that, for the long-term investor, focusing all of one's investment eggs in his domestic market is an unnecessary portfolio risk.
Intrusive government activity is an ever-increasing reality in most all of the developed countries of the world. As a result, many individuals seek the greater privacy they require by moving assets and activities to the global market. Confidentiality of one's personal affairs is an obtainable objective.
Considering the combined forces of estate, income and property taxes, it is easy for a considerable estate to be eaten up by government alone. With proper estate planning one's investment income and assets can be eventually passed on to designated beneficiaries with minimal tax liability and administrative procedure. International planning and investment is not for everyone, but the above reasons taken together form a solid case for moving a portion of your wealth internationally in order to take advantage of the many unique opportunities.
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