Offshore banking talk. Do the new regs coming in Costa Rica affect much?

[Masxmenos]

Anyone know more on the new regulation limiting Offshore Operations with regard to financial firms in Costa Rica? hno: What are the pros and cons that could come from this?

Does Panama have these same policies or is Panama more relaxed on their regulation? Is this change in policy because of the banking chaos currently going on in The United States? Any insight is appreciated.

:toast:

 

[wolfie_cr]

it will affect the banks themselves mostly who get an additional profit by using some advantages by operating an offshore-arm

its not fueled by the current mess but mostly a goverment (like all of them) that want to tax/control whatever they can

also, banks operating under the SUGEF rules are at a disadvantage against people showing up in companies and offering loans straight out of their briefcases (the newspapers call those 'briefcase banks' )

Panama in here is a no-no if you want to hide assets from you know who, its too well known and Panama and CR have agreements in place

Cayman Islands is also well known as a place to hide stuff

if you are looking at 'planning your tax liabilities' to put it that way.......you can either look at islands in the English Channel ........or Hong Kong OR some lesser known legislation in the Carribean ...but it has to be truly LESSER known (Turks and Caicos......Antigua ...all those are obvious to me ........)

IF you are an US citizen, you are mostly toast because they don't want to do business with you either

 

[Masxmenos]

it will affect the banks themselves mostly who get an additional profit by using some advantages by operating an offshore-arm

its not fueled by the current mess but mostly a goverment (like all of them) that want to tax/control whatever they can

also, banks operating under the SUGEF rules are at a disadvantage against people showing up in companies and offering loans straight out of their briefcases (the newspapers call those 'briefcase banks' )

Panama in here is a no-no if you want to hide assets from you know who, its too well known and Panama and CR have agreements in place

Cayman Islands is also well known as a place to hide stuff

if you are looking at 'planning your tax liabilities' to put it that way.......you can either look at islands in the English Channel ........or Hong Kong OR some lesser known legislation in the Carribean ...but it has to be truly LESSER known (Turks and Caicos......Antigua ...all those are obvious to me ........)

IF you are an US citizen, you are mostly toast because they don't want to do business with you either

As always Wolfie, you do a superb jon of clearing the air for me... and some. Thanks you kind sir!

ope:

 

[fuzebox]

Costa Rica hasn't been a viable offshore tax haven for many years now.

 

[AdamSelene]

Costa Rica hasn't been a viable offshore tax haven for many years now.

Bullshit, Costa Rica is an awesome tax haven. What makes you say this?

 

[AdamSelene]

Panama in here is a no-no if you want to hide assets from you know who, its too well known and Panama and CR have agreements in place

Who is "you know who"? Not "He Who Must Not Be Named"? (LOL)

I took you to claiming that Panama shares information with Costa Rica, but now I suspect that's not what you meant.

 

[AdamSelene]

IF you are an US citizen, you are mostly toast because they don't want to do business with you either

After the Raoul Weil conviction (UBS), no bank outside the United States is going to do business with U.S. citizens.

Of course if you'd paid attention to the letter of the law (reporting requirement of any account over $10k to which you have any signatory authority, regardless of whose name the account is in, individual and corporate); you'd have realized long ago it was stupid to bank with a U.S. passport anyway.

 

[wolfie_cr]

Who is "you know who"? Not "He Who Must Not Be Named"? (LOL)
.

well, that is what happens when you try to translate expressions

in Spanish is "tu sabes quien" as in 'you know about what goverment I am refering to'

and no, I actually meant (tried to say ) that I thought that Panama and CR had some sort of tax treaty/exchange of information but researching on it ......its obvious I was wrong

of course that if anyone has serious money and is trying to hide it by using accounts under their own name.......that is a recipe for disaster

 

[wolfie_cr]

you'd have realized long ago it was stupid to bank with a U.S. passport anyway.

totally agree.....since here is one of those (probably rare by now) places where a non-resident can get a drivers license........all a US citizen has to do is get a drivers license....and use it as an ID to send to the bank instead of a passport but that is just 'security by oscurity' and not a real 'solution'

 

[AdamSelene]

totally agree.....since here is one of those (probably rare by now) places where a non-resident can get a drivers license........all a US citizen has to do is get a drivers license....and use it as an ID to send to the bank instead of a passport but that is just 'security by oscurity' and not a real 'solution'

Eh? Banks here won't accept driver's license as identity. I don't think they'll even accept residency cedulas, they require passports for all foreign individuals (and won't accept CR passports, ironically, only CR cedulas for nationals).

Where can you bank with a driver's license (outside the United States)?

I any case that's not what I meant. Lawyers, fiduciaries, and wives; which unfortunately all require a degree of trust, but if you can't figure out who you can trust or not you're lost anyway.

You can also buy passports; haven't heard any positive story for anyone trying that, but when I have some more money I'll let you know.

At the very least I'll have a Costa Rican passport some day.

 

[AdamSelene]

well, that is what happens when you try to translate expressions

in Spanish is "tu sabes quien" as in 'you know about what goverment I am refering to'

and no, I actually meant (tried to say ) that I thought that Panama and CR had some sort of tax treaty/exchange of information but researching on it ......its obvious I was wrong

Your expression was fine, I was making a Harry Potter joke.

Panama has banking secrecy laws, but that's not to say they don't have their own Dirección de Inteligencia taking liberty with everyone's bank account details.

Although most Costa Rican (Presidents excluded) don't need to "hide" anything in Panama, offshore income isn't reported nor taxed.

 

[offshoreXplorer]

After the Raoul Weil conviction (UBS), no bank outside the United States is going to do business with U.S. citizens.

Of course if you'd paid attention to the letter of the law (reporting requirement of any account over $10k to which you have any signatory authority, regardless of whose name the account is in, individual and corporate); you'd have realized long ago it was stupid to bank with a U.S. passport anyway.

Just to clarify Raoul Weil has been indicted and not convicted as yet.

Of course we all know conviction is inevitable in the US "justice system" (I use the term VERY LOOSELY) as he would be crazy to even make a legal response, as it would be acknowledging and consenting to jurisdiction.

A conviction in absentia will be useless unless he lands in the USA and trying to enforce any kind of judgment in Switzerland will require a new trial in Switzerland ( a real court ) which considering he has not broken any Swiss laws will be a dead end.

 

[wolfie_cr]

between the UBS scandal and the one where someone working at a bank in Liechtenstein got info from the bank accounts of wealthy guys and sold it to Germany who later on shared with the UK and the US....and then the time when the US authorities got ahold of the SWIFT transaction records.......

well........you better know what you are doing regarding hiding $ from Uncle Sam