Dominica is a beautiful English island nation which offers first class offshore financial services. Dominica is an ideal ecotourism destination with beautiful tropical rainforest, lush vegetation, cascading waterfalls, splendid flora and fauna and a breathtaking underwater environment. Though known for its pristine beauty and many attractions Dominica is also becoming identified in the offshore sector as a sound jurisdiction for offshore financial services.

Countries such as The Bahamas, Cayman Islands and BVI have gained wide spread popularity as offshore financial service providers, however over the years The Commonwealth of Dominica has grown to be one of the main locations for offshore financial services, especially the incorporation of IBC’s (International Business Companies). To cater to the business culture of investors coming from all over the world, offshore companies incorporated in Dominica have a wide choice of name endings such as LTD, Incorporated, GMBH, S.A, Inc and LLC.

Besides registering an offshore company in the Commonwealth of Dominica, offshore financial service providers on the island offer other offshore financial services such as banking, internet gambling, exempt trusts and offshore insurance. These offshore financial services in Dominica are all available for the international investor and protected under individual and separate legislation.

The Offshore Banking Act of April 1996 allows banks formed through Dominica offshore financial services to be exempt from local taxation. In addition, accounts at the bank and all transactions concerning those accounts are subject to laws and regulations of the Dominica offshore banking act and for offshore banking privacy. For the provision of Dominica offshore trust services, the Exempt Trust Act is tied directly to the offshore banking act, making it obligatory for a Dominica offshore trust to be established under the administration of an offshore bank or through an existing offshore bank.

Under the offshore financial services umbrella, all companies incorporated under offshore legislation enjoy tax free status and are exempt from foreign exchange control under complete privacy.

Dominica is an excellent for offshore financial services and ensures privacy for the offshore investor. Dominica offshore financial offshore services are relatively inexpensive and promote fast company incorporation. Also, in order to maintain the integrity of Dominica as a haven for offshore financial services, there are due diligence regulations set in place to ensure the credibility of the potential beneficial owner of an offshore company that is in the process of being registered. The Dominica offshore financial services offer fast and efficient registration of International Business companies (IBC). Dominica offshore financial services offer complete offshore company registration services in as little as one business day (24 hours).

For each offshore entity in Dominica specific application requirements must be met. The legislation is there as the support for offshore financial services in Dominica, but in place to administer the conduct of offshore financial services is a specialized body within the government, the Financial Services Unit (FSU). The FSU was established to ensure that Dominica offshore financial services are regulated and supervised, and that offshore financial service providers in Dominica are adhering to regulations and meet set standards when dealing with customers.

IBC incorporation, the quickest offshore financial service available in Dominica, simply includes filing the incorporation documents which have to be filed with the local registry, namely the memorandum and articles of association, followed by the issuing of a certificate of incorporation by the Registrar of Companies. Other documents such as share certificates and a register of members are prepared as well. To obtain Dominica offshore financial services, it is not mandatory to come to Dominica to register an offshore company. Offshore service providers, registered as authorized offshore agents, are in place to manage incorporation processes for clients. Maintenance of the incorporated company, such as annual renewal fees have to be paid from the birthday of the company and every twelve months after and are set by the Government of the country. Offshore financial services like yearly renewal and director changes are done through the registered agent.

The IBC Act enacted on June 26th 1996 makes provisions for the privacy of the client. Under this act, breaching privacy of a person or corporation in receipt of any offshore financial service is an offense punishable by law; either a fine of US$25,000 or imprisonment of 3 years for anyone including an auditor or official liquidator who discloses information regarding a Dominica offshore company. The information regarding the beneficial owners of an offshore company is kept with the licensened agent and not at the Registry. Information on a customer who receives an offshore financial service in Dominica is therefore not available to the public. Offshore investors wishing to incorporate an offshore company in the Commonwealth of Dominica need not worry about any infringement on their privacy.

Legislation for offshore financial services in Dominica is investor friendly and designed with key characteristics which attract investors: privacy, confidentiality and zero taxation. Although the different offshore financial entities all have special objectives and corporate characteristics as with banking, companies, or insurance and trusts, they all benefit from these three factors under law.

Offshore companies registered in Dominica cannot conduct business in Dominica. The capital and revenue raised or earned by a Dominica offshore company or entity must originate outside Dominica to qualify for zero taxation. In the case of exempt trust, the assets put in the trust (real, tangible or intangible) must originate and be located outside Dominica. Likewise, for an exempt insurance, the risks insured and premiums generated must all be from outside Dominica. The same principle applies for all the other offshore financial services in Dominica. As an example of specifics: In the case of International Business Companies, an IBC cannot own property nor do business in Dominica, but for persons wanting to do more than just offshore investing, an application can be submitted to an offshore financial service provider for Economic Citizenship, which provides the opportunity for individuals to own a second passport.

Considered an offshore service based on the fact that it is unavailable to local residents, the citizenship programme was established under offshore services more than 15 years __ ago and requires an applicant to make a one-time non-refundable contribution to the country. The economic contribution takes the form of a direct donation made to the government of the country. Applicants and their spouses and a maximum of two children under the age of 18 are required to pay US $100,000 for economic citizenship and an extra US $25,000 for dependent children between the ages of 18 and 25. As an offshore service in Dominica, the second passport program is an excellent way to preserve wealth and physical safety. The recipient of Dominica citizenship under the program is given citizenship for life and is not obligated by law to live in Dominica. A person who becomes a citizen of Dominica through economic citizenship can also live and work in Dominica and other CARICOM countries, enjoy the rights and privileges of being a Commonwealth citizen (can travel visa free through many countries including countries of the commonwealth) and own land for residential and business purposes without having to obtain an Alien Landholding License (which is 10% of property value).

Dominica offshore financial services offer a safe and legitimate way to minimize taxes. There are no capital gains tax or wealth and inheritance tax. Dominica offshore financial services provide investors with a legal structure that is flexible and capable of being used for almost any type of service, be it onshore in the investor’s country of residence or abroad. Dominica’s quality and efficient offshore financial offshore services and soundness as a tax haven supported by appropriate legislation make it an excellent place to incorporate and offshore company.