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New On The Lowtax Network Today
This feed is published daily with selected new or updated
content from across the Lowtax Network. For a list of Lowtax Network
sites, many of which feature daily news, see
below.
Providing essential tax news and information
for globally mobile artists, contractors, entrepreneurs, professionals,
small businesses, sportspersons and entertainers.
Lowtax Portal:
'Low-tax' business and investment in the top 50 jurisdictions covered in
exceptional detail.
Tax News: Global
tax news, continuously updated through the day.
Investors Offshore:
The independent offshore and alternative investment guide for expatriates
and the globally aware investor.
Law & Tax
News: Daily news and background data on tax and legal developments
for international business.
Offshore-e-com:
A topical guide to offshore e-commerce focused on tax and regulation.
Lowtax Library:
One of the web's largest and most authoritative business and investment
information sources.
US Tax Network:
The resource for free online US taxation information, covering: corporate
tax, individual tax, international tax, expatriates, sales and e-commerce
tax, investment tax.
NEW! Personal
Business Tax Guide: Providing essential tax news and information
on business for contractors, entrepreneurs, professionals, small businesses,
artists, sportspersons and entertainers.
E-shop
Basics gives an outline of the basic essential
requirements for establishing an e-commerce
sales and distribution site offshore. The sections
below outline the types of products and services
likely to be needed.
1. Professional
Services
NB See the Lowtax.net
Services Directory open now in all jurisdictions
on the site for listings of offshore professionals
in many of these categories.
Company Formation
establishing a tax-efficient corporate
structure and choosing the right type of offshore
company is crucial; assistance in selecting
and forming a company is available from law
firms and specialised company formation agencies.
Legal
besides tax law, various other types of legislation
can impinge on offshore e-commerce operations,
including data protection, distance selling,
intellectual property, product liability,
financial and marketing regulation. Local
offshore firms can help, but it is probably
necessary to pick one with an international
dimension if they are to give thorough advice
on international e-commerce business.
Accountancy
- offshore e-commerce is not different
from any other type, although a given jurisdiction
may have specialised auditing rules, and tax
computations (if there is any tax!) can vary
widely. It is never easy to choose between
a local firm with good local knowledge, and
an international firm which may be weak in
a particular jurisdiction. A Big Four firm
with a local office is perfect, but will charge
a perfect price.
2. Technical
Installation:
ISP/Hosting
- with some exceptions, most offshore
jurisdictions offer a somewhat limited choice
of internet service provider. The Lowtax.net
Jurisdictions section contains information
on the stage of development of e-commerce
in each case; and the Services Directory contains
the names of some ISPs. Except for a very
large operation, an in-house set-up offshore
will be expensive and technically risky -
therefore it will be wise to stick with the
best-developed jurisdictions where there are
established ISPs and hosts.
Telecommunications
- this is less of a problem, since most
offshore jurisdictions have well-developed
telecommunications systems and good international
connections. Prices are falling rapidly, and
in many cases privatisation is imminent or
has already taken place, bringing price and
service benefits.
Internal Technical
Staffing - although some straightforward
businesses will be able to use off-the-shelf
solutions for service delivery, or will be
able to rely on offshore technical support
agencies, most firms will need at any rate
some offshore technical staffing (and tax
considerations may dictate that these individuals
need to be offshore). Local skill levels are
inadequate in many cases, and it is absolutely
necessary to establish the availability and
cost of work and residence permits in advance.
See the Lowtax.net Jurisdictions section for
information on local rules in each case.
3. Commercial
Installation
Front-end Customer
Systems this includes marketing modules,
stock database, shopping basket or cart, associated
multi-currency and sales tax calculators,
and customer database or links to it.
Payment Systems
- either out-sourced or in-house systems
to provide secure credit card processing and
authorisation mechanisms.
Distribution
Systems - either storage and down-loading
of digital product, or the control of stock,
warehouse and delivery mechanisms.
Increasingly,
the major IT systems suppliers such as Oracle,
Sun and Microsoft are offering integrated packages
which handle major parts of these commercial
functions. The trend is increasing towards making
these available on an ASP basis (ie from the
Internet rather than locally), which will make
location irrelevant.
To the extent that
an offshore e-commerce operation is providing,
maintaining or running its own systems, please
see the remarks above concerning the supply
of skilled labour.
One particular
difficulty has traditionally been the expensive
and laborious process of arranging merchant
facilities through a bank. This is not directly
a result of offshore location and applies to
all e-commerce businesses, especially small
ones; but being offshore is likely to compound
the negotiating process. This is a problem to
address before and not after a move to offshore.
The Lowtax Library
hosts the web's best-known US and international tax news service
costing just $20 per month. Alongside topical, daily news, you can receive
weekly newswires on
a wide range of subjects.
Our 16 up-to-date intelligence
reports cover international tax-planning in depth, including
banking secrecy, offshore funds, e-commerce and offshore gaming.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
THE LOWTAX NETWORK has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting
the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility
for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use.
In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional
advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions,
offshore trusts or offshore investments. All materials on this site copyright
The Lowtax Network 1999 - 2009. Contact
us for further information.