[LivinLOS]

Because if your the sort who doesnt always fill in your tax return correctly the UK gov cant find out whats in the account without a court order from the country the account resides in..

Jersey and IoM dont as a rule give those out easily so unless your involved in terrorism guns drugs or prostitution the inland reveneue cant assess what you have.. If you step up the complexity to a blind company that they cant even tell if you own it or not theres many advantages.

If your income is sourced in the UK then its not as much of an advantage but if you have an overseas source of income then you can not pay taxes on money held there.

You can also do tricks like form a blind company where the beneficial owner and director are private info.. That company can invoice for your work done.. Your employer pays the 3rd party company which builds up assets.. That 3rd party pays you whatever amount you need to live or whatever amount brings you just under a tax level in the UK. You can in effect decide how much money to decalre to the UK IR each year based on your deductables.

Of course the IR HATE this and WILL pursue you and try to make life hell so you have to balance how much to give them the finger against how much you are prepared to walk away.. The Dutch assessed me for well in excess of 18 million Euros but quite obviosuly they can go whistle...

Other simple to envisage uses include having your car registered in the name of an offshore company so you never pay another parking ticket or speeding fine.. You can be 'employed' by a company you own for a small salary but the company can as part of your contract of employment agree to pay your rent or own your home and give it to you rent free.. The false employer company can give you an expense account via a credit card that no one will ever have to account for etc so your whole cost of living can be shifted into the 'tax free' side of your lifestyle.. Your hosue payments are met by your employer, your car payments are met by your employer, your basic costs of living and entertainment are on your employers credit cards, and that 'employer' is just a blind front company that never has to submit accounts.

A good specialist tax lawyer who is familiar with working an offshore structure can save even a normal mans tax bill down to small amounts.. When it comes to the well off or the really rich it makes huge differences. The hardest part is getting an employment or contract situation that pays the blind compnay in the first place, not easy as an employee, you need to be in a contract or self employed environment and HMIT does jump all over it but there really isnt much they can do.