“The Bahamas’ International Business Company”

The Bahamas International Business Company or I.B.C., has kept pace with the demands of high net worth clients due to benefits such as tax efficiency, ease of administration and low costs. In comparison to the Cayman and British Virgin Isles. equivalents, the Bahamas I.B.C. is fully supported by an Agency Internet Module or AIM that allows the registered agent to manage the I.B.C. via the internet.

More importantly, there is tremendous pressure from the U.K. Home Office to direct British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to transition to a Public Registry of Companies.  As the Bahamas is an independent nation, this could be a game changer as there are numerous reasons why clients require confidentiality that are not tax or fiscal related.

Because a trust is not considered a legal entity in most common law jurisdictions, an I.B.C. is frequently used together with an Asset Protection Trust to properly custodize the trust fund. This arrangement provides significant tax benefits against U.S. estate taxes as well as succession planning.

When the time comes to consider a trust, its important to remember the benefits of using a Bahamian I.B.C. as the holding company for your trust assets.