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List of Tax Havens

This list of Tax Havens was based on the OECD list of tax havens 2004 and then adapted to help to gain helpful information for the assistance of anyone hoping to become a tax exile!

Albania
I have been assured that the tax rate is around 7% to 10% in this South East European country, and that tax solutions are possible because of the banking arrangements.

Andorra *
Mountainous country in the Pyrenees between France and Catalonia. Well known for being an independent tax haven nation.

Anguilla *
Anyone have anything nice to say about Anguilla?

Antigua and Barbuda *
There are some funny laws in Antigua, for example you're not allowed to wear any outfit made of camouflage patterned material, regardless of the style. I wonder when Barbuda will gain its independence.

Aruba *
Aruba is a popular tourist destination, a Dutch island in the Caribbean just off Venezuela. There is almost no crime.

Bahamas *
"Red Carpet Not Red Tape" - There are no taxes levied on capital gains, corporate earnings, personal income, sales, inheritance, or dividends. However there is a 1-2% tax/year on property ownership, and a few import taxes.

Bahrain *
An Arabic country which the OECD said was a tax haven. I'd tell you more, but when I visited the embassy in London, it was shut, and all the post had been stuffed under the door.

Barbados *
Possibly a low tax country, some sources claiming tax rates to be about 2% or thereabouts. Other info, from several sources, is that Barbados is no longer a tax haven, and that the tax is more like the UK (40%).

Belize *
Current information to hand suggests there is a 6% tax on companies operating within the Belize market, but not international businesses which are encouraged to move there (IBC). Business expenses aren't considered. Also there is some purchase tax, and some import duty, on some items. I was so impressed with the place that I bought a web domain there. See www.zyra.bz! I was so sure Belize was the place for me to emigrate to, that I went there for three months as a test. Unfortunately I was strangled in Belize and subsequently found there was police dishonesty and prejudice, so I'm now looking for a different tax haven to move to! If you can't trust the police, it's a problem.

Bermuda
Any company in Bermuda has to be 60% owned by Bermudians. We're still not sure if it's possible to become a Bermudian by being granted citizenship or whether you have to be born a Bermudian.

British Virgin Islands *
About 60 islands in the Caribbean, all small. Cost of living is high. Nice place, but I'd question whether this is a tax haven. At 20% tax, it's almost half that of the UK! However, there are some cunning tax solutions which you should consult a tax adviser about.

Canada
I wouldn't have considered Canada as a tax haven, and I would guess that Canadians would agree with me on that! However, I have been informed "Canada lets you set up a 5 year immigrant trust which is tax free. This basically means that you can move to Canada and, provided you have money, investments or a business already in place, you can set up an immigrant trust and be tax free for 5 years (on all money other than earned in Canada). Because it takes 3 years to become a citizen you can actually get 5 years tax free and change nationality and leave before you get taxed. Once you leave - you remain Canadian but you are not taxable in Canada. Canadians get special treatment on living / working in USA." ... Interesting? See a tax adviser! Plus, although Canada is often regarded as a nice place, with plenty of open space and fresh air, not everyone likes it. See Not Canada.com

Canary Islands
The Canary Islands is not a tax haven currently (2005) as it's part of Spain. However, after Canary Islands independence, it might be different.

Cayman Islands
In the Caribbean, just South of Cuba. No income tax, no inheritance tax. Zero percent tax. Some VAT and hotel tax etc. Property price cheaper than in London but more expensive than Up North. Entry requirements: selective. There is a problem however, which is that the place is notoriously not diversity-friendly!

Cook Islands *
You can't own land there, and it's quite difficult to be accepted as a citizen (2006), but there are many good things about the Cook Islands, if your desired life style fits. The place to find out more is: www.cookislands.org.uk

Costa Rica
Income tax is only charged on income made actually in Costa Rica, with international income being exempt. For migration to Costa Rica a helpful contact is ARCR.NET. Also see Costa Rica Real Estate

Cyprus
An island in the Mediterranean. Half of it is Greek, and the other half Turkish. The regimes don't get along well with each other, but most of the people just get on with life and don't worry about the politics.

Dominica *
Commonwealth of Dominica. As distinct from the Dominican Republic. It's a small island in the Caribbean. There is no capital gains tax in Dominica.

Dominican Republic
The people at the Embassy in London are very friendly and welcoming. There's a lot of paperwork to read through, so I'll tell you more later on this. However there is some conflicting evidence suggesting that the Dominican Republic is not a tax haven. Someone said the tax rate was 35%. Is that true? It may not apply if your income is international. Best to ask.

Dubai
The built-up city of Dubai and the Emirate of Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates. It's hot and dry and a place of great prosperity. An attractive place for expats as it is much more tolerant and Westernised than most Arabic places, although still too strict for some.

Gibraltar *
The Rock of Gibraltar, one of the Pillars of Hercules, a the gateway to the Mediterranean. Tax advice given by travel agents suggests this is good, but we're going to ask accountants to make sure.

Grenada *
Caribbean island.

Guernsey *
Channel Islands Guernsey / Sark / Alderney. The tax rate in Guernsey is 20%, which is quite high, but not as bad as the mainland UK.

Ireland
Depending on your line of business, Ireland could be a tax haven. Money made by being an artist is somehow tax exempt! Also a comment received here is "Ireland is pretty low tax provided you funnel everything through a corporation. I think they are down to 12% tax or lower now. (2006) Like England, Ireland is a tax haven if you are not Irish, live there but have domicile elsewhere". But remember: It's not tropical!

Isle of Man *
In the Irish sea between mainland Britain and Ireland, so not exactly tropical! However many tax haven companies are established there, although they don't all live there. If you like the British seaside (in winter as well as in summer), and you don't mind paying 10% tax, the Isle of Man could be a place to move to. Incidentally, most of the hotels on the promenade are now banks!

Isle of Wight
Although the Isle of Man has special tax haven status, and it might be imagined that the Isle of Wight is a tax haven for similar reasons, the sad fact is that the Isle of Wight is not a tax haven. Perhaps it should be. It would improve the local economy.

Jersey *
One of the Channel Islands, gaining splendid publicity by the television series Bergerac. To buy a house in Jersey requires you to have either: 1. been born there, or 2. lived there for 5 years, or 3. Have five million pounds in the bank. Some people have seriously questioned the merit of Jersey because of archaic laws.

Liberia *
African country, well-known for being a Flag of Convenience.

Liechtenstein *
The Principality of Liechtenstein - A small country in the middle of Europe. I've heard it's expensive to live there, but I'm sure someone will write to me and tell me more about it.

Luxembourg
A small country in the middle of Europe. Famous for Radio Luxembourg 208.

Maldives *
The Republic of Maldives. Many coral atolls in the Indian Ocean. Pretty, but there are worrying questions about the sea level.

Malta
Islands in the Mediterranean. Does this count as as tax haven? The tax rate is 15%, but there are special discounts for electronic manufacturing companies because they're the latest fashionable thing! That doesn't include Internet companies, so I have heard, which seems a bit odd.

Marshall Islands *
The Republic of Marshall Islands

Mauritius
Indian Ocean Island off East Africa - "The Cyber Island" - Permanent residents who invest at least $500,000 welcome.

Monaco *
Monte Carlo, gambling casinos, grand prix racing. The country with the world's highest population density. Current opinion suggests you need to be very rich to afford to live there.

Montserrat *
Volcanic island in the Caribbean. Misfortune has struck the place, and the tax haven migration possibilities were diminished when the volcano erupted and destroyed the capital city and the airport.

Nauru *
Still recovering from the frittering-away of the Pacific island's natural resource (phosphates), Nauru is looking for someone with a brilliant idea to put it back on the world economic map. If you travel to Nauru, local people there may ask you "why ever have you come here?"

Netherland Antilles *
The Dutch Antilles. These include St Eustatius, Saba, and Sint Maarten, and in a separate group Curacao and Bonaire. Previously Aruba was also included.

New Zealand
Although New Zealand is not primarily a tax haven, there are some tax situations in which you can migrate to New Zealand and have a tax-efficient arrangement. Ask a professional adviser! Also, there is a Migration to New Zealand Guide available.

Niue *
in the Pacific

Panama *
The land between North and South America. Famous for being a Flag of Convenience, and for having a canal by which ships can avoid a round-trip round Cape Horn. Upon my visit to Panama I was made welcome, and I get the impression that Panama is a truly International place where culture and business is connected with the rest of the world. I am hoping to get an affiliate program with the tour operators whom I can recommend as they organised the travel so well, and also here's some links to some helpful Panama Real Estate people!

Samoa *
Or Western Samoa. In the Pacific. Very traditional.

San Marino
Although an independent country, San Marino is entirely surrounded by Northern Italy. Although suggested at some time as a tax haven, I have been reliably informed: "Remove San Marino - at 50% personal income tax, who would bother moving there?"

Seychelles *
The Republic of Seychelles

Sri Lanka
There are probably some tax haven like things about the large island of Sri Lanka off India, if you get the tax planning right. Sri Lanka, also known as Ceylon and famous for tea, has an interesting combination of ancient Buddhist culture and old-style British Empire influence. There's an old-style charm about the place, and people are friendly and courteous. Good tea as well. If I was to criticise the place, it would have to be over inflexibility and stubbornness, a problem which has resulted in the troubles with the dispossessed peoples of Tamil Eelam, whose future independence would bring a much more amicable relationship.

St Lucia *
Caribbean island. Regimes take it in turns to rule the place.

St Kitts and Nevis *
Or "The Principality of St. Christopher and Nevis". Apparently more go-ahead than most Caribbean islands.

St Vincent and the Grenadines *
Or "The Republic of St. Vincent"

Switzerland
I have heard that in Switzerland you can have a business arrangement with the authorities to pay a flat rate and then earn as much as you like. The Double Tax treaty means that you are free to move the money to wherever you want after 12 months. It would be interesting to know what the level of the flat rate might be.

Tonga *
Or The Friendly Islands. About 150 islands in the South Pacific. In my opinion, Tonga looks less good since they invaded the independent country of Minerva

Turks and Caicos *
Many islands south of the Bahamas. Turks and Caicos is a British dependency. From what I've seen, it is very old-fashioned.

UK
I have been told that there is a perspective in which the mainland UK is a tax haven, provided you are not British. Exactly how this works, I do not know. I for one, am trying to escape from the UK!

US Virgin Islands *
Includes St Croix (famous for golf), St Thomas, and St John.

Vanuatu *
The Republic of Vanuatu. As far as I know, tax rate is 5%. Nice tropical location in the Pacific, but there is a law against foreigners owning land, but I'm not sure if it's possible to cease to be a foreigner by living there a while.
Also see the BBCs comments about Vanuatu

* = was on the 2004 OECD list of tax havens regarded for some reason or other as un-cooperative. We don't necessarily agree with the OECD and have asked them politely and diplomatically what they regard as the "harmful tax practices" which they are hoping to eliminate. They haven't replied yet.

Obviously this is a bit sparse on information to start with. But, if you know something about the international situation on tax havens, e-mail me and the page will be adjusted and improved. There's also the ultimate tax haven idea of buying an island, but that's a bit more adventurous!

Most tax havens are small countries, and further research shows a possibility that there may be tax havens within the list of micro nations at www.angelfire.com/nv/micronations/real.html , although that useful page is more to do with sovereignty rather than tax.

There's a useful information resource at the Index of Economic Freedom (Gone! Was http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/countries.html ) where countries are compared. Although useful and informative, there are strange quirks where some countries which clearly have appallingly high tax (such as the UK) are rated as more "free" than some of the places that charge no income tax and no inheritance tax (such as some of the Free Caribbean countries).

Note that tax havens aren't always tax havens for all people. Much of this depends on domicile and on each person's own individual circumstances.

Other kinds of havens: Haven Europe and Haven Holidays

This TAX HAVENS feature is going to be updated now I have actually visited some tax havens! It's important to know, when choosing where to live, it's not just the TAX that matters! You need to find somewhere that has a culture which you can get on well with. So, first do some research in advance, and then... TRAVEL!

Another useful contact: Magazines for Expats