Caution: You need a strategy to protect your Income and Assets – Is there really a secret to successful International Banking? Yes, there is and it is very simple. “Knowledge” is the secret key.

“Offshore banking is not illegal – hiding it from the taxman is” Jonathan Chevreau – Financial Post 05-May-2002  Evidently part of the fantasy of the offshore bank account is the mistaken belief you can conveniently “forget” to report any interest or capital gains generated by the offshore account, and that the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency will be none the wiser. If you believe the offshore havens will veil your activities under the cloak of secrecy they once were reputed to have, you’re likely to be nabbed for tax evasion.

International Banking does not make tax evasion or money laundering legal. Don’t get caught in the wrong International Bank, tax haven or clearing house that exposes itself to being accused of major illegal money flows.

One common misperception is that International Banking can legally prevent assets from being subject to personal income tax on interest. Except for certain persons who meet fairly complex requirements, this is incorrect as the personal income tax of most countries makes no distinction between interest earned in local banks and those earned abroad. Persons subject to US income tax, for example, are required to declare on penalty of perjury, any international bank accounts they may have. Although international banks sometimes do not report income to other tax authorities this does not make the non-declaration of the income or the evasion of the tax on that income legal in most jurisdictions.

There is no one size fits all packaged solution. Every business/individual is unique. Everyone who wants to establish an International Banking presence must take into consideration the countries that they will be doing business with to obtain the maximum benefit of going International.

An International Bank has many advantages including strong privacy, less restrictive legal regulation, low or no taxation, easy access to deposits (in terms of regulation) and protection against local political or financial instability. International Banking does not prevent assets from being subject to personal income tax on interest.