One of the most important reasons that people decide to protect assets abroad is to find strong jurisdictions that resist or eliminate many of the traditional threats against wealth. Yet compliance with US laws and regulations has never been more important than today. That begs the question: is it possible to do both? The simple answer is "yes".
 
 Regulatory compliance for foreign based structures and assets held abroad has increased over the past years. Just some of the forms that need to be filed include:
 
 A) The Report for holding a foreign bank account with more than $10,000 commonly referred to as the FBAR. This is an annual form required to be
 filed with the US Treasury.
 

Recognizing that Belize was faced with the inevitable loss of preferential markets for its traditional exports, the Government of Belize created the Trade and Investment Promotion Service (TIPS) in 1997. TIPS was created to provide investors with trade and investment information as well as to facilitate business processes. In 1998, TIPS was renamed the Belize Trade and Investment Development Service (BELTRAIDE) and given a wider mandate. The vision was for BELTRAIDE to operate as a one-stop-shop where local and foreign investors could access technical information important for the successful implementation of their projects.

In 2008, the world changed and so did the world’s population’s perspective, there was a strange, silent, almost undetected polar shift in popular understanding of the investment world around them…what was it? For many, both the risks and reward potential of investing in the “Western” versus “emerging” worlds were turned on their heads! Previously, the US, Europe and UK was viewed by most as the safest environment to keep your money. You were unlikely to get a double digit return, but not wanting to risk ones life savings, these were viewed as the most assured way to maintain your wealth, hard earned money that you had battled for. What happened? What changed? In short, the unthinkable!

Many investors continue to look for investment opportunities throughout the worldwide marketplace.

Dear Readers,

In 1986, the U.S. domestic oil and gas industry was on life support. Oil dropped below $10 a barrel, natural gas was cheap, and the investment community was unimpressed with the overall results of the 1973-1982 “boom” in exploration. Driven by high marginal income tax rates in the late seventies and the boundless promises of promoters, through the public markets and private placements, investors dumped billions into oil and gas companies and drilling ventures. In fact, the value of all oil and gas reserves discovered in that period was less than the total cumulative exploration and development investment!

Hemisphere’s conferences are regularly held on the exotic Caribbean island of Ambergris Caye, Belize. The purpose of each conference is to inform attendees of  their offshore investment options. But at each conference there are also opportunities to learn about a variety of diverse international investments. One of the investment options presented is land or property on the island.

But is investing in real estate on Ambergris Caye a worthwhile investment? This article gives a quick summary of the history of the real estate market on Ambergris Caye since 2008.

I spoke at a conference in Florida recently and during the Question & Answer session after my speech, one of the attendees asked me “what was the most erroneous assumption made by folks with regard to international business and investment”?

“The timing of taxation on global profits”, was my immediate response.  You see, many people operate under a false assumption that if they make money abroad, they only pay taxes when they bring their money back into the United States.  And while that may be the case in certain limited circumstances (which we will discuss below), the assumption as a starting point for global business and investment is false.

In the waning days of 2010 President Obama and the United States Congress agreed to a variety of compromise tax measures designed to “extend” the Bush Era tax cuts.  Tax rates were largely maintained at the current levels through December 31, 2012 at which time they are once again set to revert to their old (higher) levels.

There are significant tax, asset protection and investment diversification benefits available with an Offshore Variable Universal Life (VUL) policy.   However, there are additional advantages to consider when evaluating an Offshore VUL policy that you might not have considered in the due diligence process.

Many offshore jurisdictions offer life insurance contract legislation that is better than legislation under U.S. state law. The assets invested with an offshore policy are considered to be in a separate account of the policy and will receive protection from creditors.  This is different than a domestic policy which might subject the owner of the policy to creditor risk in the event of an insurance company bankruptcy.

Our mission is to help people accumulate and keep wealth in an uncertain global economy. We look at and analyze hundreds of investments to find the select few that have a high degree of probability for success and preservation of invested capital, and that also have the potential to multiply wealth in 6-30 months.