Jersey, Guernsey and Mauritius all have something in common. Yes, they are all beautiful islands, but they are also considered ‘tax havens’ and have been for many years. They are often used by wealthy individuals to evade tax.
A study by the Tax Justice Network in 2012 stated that there was as much as $32 trillion of hidden financial assets in off-shore tax havens, representing up to $280 billion in lost income tax revenues.
Tax evasion has become a huge concern for countries worldwide, and governments are clamping down on large amounts of undisclosed wealth held in off-shore jurisdictions by implementing a system called C.R.S.
Common Reporting Standards (C.R.S.) is a system that is being set up for the global exchange of information between countries to combat tax evasion. By countries sharing this information, governments can find out if tax residents in their country have any undeclared assets outside of their country of residence.
Information concerning off-shore bank accounts, share portfolios and other financial investments will be automatically shared among the countries registered with the C.R.S. in a bid to improve transparency, as well as to prevent tax evasion.
With the zeal of the South African government, and other governments around the world, to generate revenue from their residents, Common Reporting Standards have become a critical game changer that all investors should be aware of.
Visit http://northerncrosswealth.com.www77.cpt1.host-h.net if you are concerned about how C.R.S. may potentially affect you, and how to implement measures to ensure you and your off-shore holdings are all above board.
