The Cyprus Courts have issued an interim court order preventing deductions on deposits at Bank of Cyprus without fair compensation. This decision follows on from announcements last week in which Laiki Bank would be split into two banks, a ‘bad’ bank and a ‘good’ bank, with the ‘good’ bank being rolled into Bank of Cyprus. [...]

Updated 22/03/2013 It looks like the situation is coming to an end today with the government setting out measures to restructure banks whilst protecting depositors. One such agreement that has been reached is that Greece are taking control of assets and branches of Cypriot banks based in Greece. Proposals have been put forward to split [...]

Further to our article dated 5th December 2012 in which we reported that due to the signing of a protocol between Cyprus and Russia which is aligned with the OECD policy standards on fiscal transparency and exchange of information on taxation matters Cyprus is now removed from Russia’s ‘black list’ of unsupported tax jurisdictions, we have decided to [...]

This story has caught the imagination of many in the United Kingdom and the US , where Churches are funded through voluntary contributions. Germany income Tax system is amongst the most complex in Europe included in income Tax is the Kirchensteuer surcharge , which has been part of the German Tax system since the formation of Germany [...]

Offshore companies and bank accounts are now an undeniable fact of our financial times, however these are still largely misunderstood entities. Certainly when conversation arises about such entities it is common to hear comments regarding tax evasion. Whilst it is certainly undeniable that these entities in most cases do benefit with regards to tax relief [...]

Foundations are most likely to be used for ‘holding’ purposes and are generally favored for confidentiality and asset protection.  Some Foundations act like a trust but operate like a company. Whereby assets are only settled into a trust by the Settlor a Foundation can purchase assets and enter into agreements. There are different types of foundations [...]

When it comes to choosing a location for your offshore company there is certainly a lot of choice, but how do you know that the one you are choosing is the best for you? In order to help you with your decision we at Chesterfield have selected some of our most popular jurisdictions and prepared [...]

The Chancellor of the Exchequer in the UK, George Osborne has delivered an Autumn statement announcing a further 1% cut in corporation tax in 2014 which will bring the rate down to just 21%.    When compared to recent levy’s in the US – 40%, France – 33% and Germany 29%, this will make the UK [...]

On the 16 January 2013 the Office of Tax Simplification, which is an independent office established in July 2010 to provide advice to the Chancellor to improve and simplify the UK tax system, has produced a final report on the taxation for unapproved employee shares. In this report they condemned the current regime stating that it [...]

In 2008 Cyprus was added to Russia’s blacklist consisting of 54 countries for reportedly failing to share tax information. A new protocol was signed between the two countries on the 7 October 2010 amending the existing Cyprus-Russia Double Tax Treaty of 1998.  This protocol is aligned with the OECD policy standards on fiscal transparency and [...]

The Isle of Man has long had a reputation as a hub for corporate finances particularly offshore which makes it a much sought after jurisdiction when considering setting up an offshore company. However, this is an important decision to make and should not be made lightly therefore it is best to review the pros and [...]

Cyprus has fast become one of the more popular places for offshore formation. Cyprus was occupied by the United Kingdom from 1878 until they relinquished it back in 1960, however this has left its mark on the Island, in particular that it follows British Common law especially when it comes to corporate law. The majority [...]

Global Crisis’ is a term that is thrown around a lot lately, but what does this actually mean and how does this affect the individual and the offshore environment? In short Debt is considered to be substantially  to blame for the current crisis.  Large scale external debt, like the debt between countries where underdeveloped countries [...]

Most people know that if you were to come to a provider such as Chesterfield and ask for a company you would get a company in an offshore location.  However, this is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the services provided by Chesterfield. Below is an easy to follow overview of [...]