Using Tax Havens in Asset Protection
          
          
               Many times people place corporations, trusts, and
          family limited partnerships in tax havens.  Depending
          upon the value and nature of the assets to be
          protected, this can be well worth the extra cost.  The
          idea is that once a claimant has won their suit in the
          United States, they would then have to begin a new suit
          in the foreign country or countries in order to collect
          on the assets, in addition to whatever built-in
          protection there is through using such devices such as
          foreign limited partnerships.   Obviously if the
          foreign partnership owns U.S. real estate, not much has
          been accomplished, because it is too easy to attach the
          real estate itself and proceed in a U.S. court,
          ignoring the foreign judicial system.  But if a family
          limited partnership registered in Guernsey has bank
          accounts in Luxembourg, an expensive nightmare has been
          created for the creditor, who may find it not worth
          proceeding, or who may be interested in negotiating a
          much lower settlement just to get something.   For a
          fully detailed report on the various tax haven
          countries and the legal structures available in each,
          the best reference is The Tax Haven Report published by
          Scope International Ltd., Forestside House, Forestside,
          Rowlands Castle, Hants. PO9 6EE, Great Britain.  They
          will send a free catalog on request.
          
               If you want to gain a good understanding of how
          the government views tax havens, University Microfilms
          International, through its Books On Demand program, is
          now making available Tax Havens and Their Uses by
          United States Taxpayers by Richard Gordon.  Frequently
          referred to as "The Gordon Report," this was a 1981
          U.S. Treasury Department study prepared at the request
          of Congress.  It gives considerable detail and examples
          of the uses of tax havens.  After being out of print
          for over a decade, it is now available from University
          Microfilms for $67.30 softbound, or $73.30 hardbound. 
          Anyone interested in tax havens who has not studied the
          work will find much still-useful information in it. 
          Copies can be ordered through booksellers, or directly
          from University Microfilms International, 300 North
          Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106-1346; telephone
          800-521-0600 or 313-761-4700.  The UMI catalog number
          of the book is AU00435, and UMI accepts Visa or
          MasterCard.  (The catalog number is important as UMI
          has over 100,000 titles.)
          
               In using tax havens for asset protection you are
          not necessarily using either their tax advantages or
          their secrecy provisions.  You are simply using them as
          a tax-neutral place to base these entities, while still
          paying your taxes and being able to disclose the assets
          should you need to in a lawsuit.  By using tax havens
          for this purpose without being concerned with using
          secrecy provisions in the laws of the haven country,
          you don't put yourself in the position of committing
          perjury and you haven't created some flimsy plan that
          falls apart as soon as there is the inevitable leak in
          your secrecy shield.
          
               For similar reasons you are using the haven for
          its tax neutrality, to avoid adding foreign taxes to
          your situation, not as a way to avoid U.S. taxes.
          
               Of course in some cases, with careful planning, it
          is possible to achieve U.S. tax savings as well.