9 Ways to Avoid the Common Reporting Standard (CRS)
CRS is the Common Reporting Standard. A pathetic attempt by the OECD to end bank privacy for all of us.
There are a set of agreements for banks to exchange information about your accounts with the tax authorities in your home country. However like many government policies it is just as likely to cause chaos and confusion and end up with people taking action to defeat it. Here are 10 ways that you can defeat CRS:
1. Bank in a Country that is Not Signed up to CRS
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There are still over 100 countries that do not share information under CRS. In Europe, for example Georgia and Armenia will not share information.
Perhaps the most surprising country not part of CRS is the United States. Provided you’re not a US citizen or resident you can have a Company in Wyoming or Delaware and operate it privately without information being automatically exchanged.
2. Move Your Tax Residency to a Tax Haven
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If you move your residency to a tax haven your overseas bank will send the information there.
If you are a UK citizen with residency in Monaco and therefore a zero tax rate you will not be too concerned about your bank in Bermuda sending your details to Monaco.
Some jurisdictions, like Hong Kong, will send information to foreign countries but opt not to receive any information on their citizens or residents.
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3. Keep Your Money in a Trust
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If your money is held in a trust you can avoid exchange of information with a structure where the true beneficiaries remain anonymous.
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4. Business Accounts in Existence Before CRS are Excluded
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If it is a Company account and it was in existence before 2016 and the balance is less than $250,000 nothing will be exchanged under CRS.
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5. The Account Balance is Reported on One Date Every Year
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The account balance is only reported at 31st December every year. You could transfer cash out of your account before that date and send it back afterwards. In that case only a zero balance would be reported.
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6. Only Shareholders Holding More than 25% of a Company are Disclosed
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A structure could be put in place where there are 5 shareholders with 20% each. In that case nothing would be reportable as CRS only applies to those shareholders having more than 25% shareholding.
7. Companies with Operations are Not Disclosed
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If your company has an operating business then it is not reported. CRS is only for financial investments. If the Company is operating a real business nothing can be disclosed. It is fairly easy to convince the bank that you have an operating business.
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8. Companies Listed on a Stock Exchange are Excluded
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If the Company is listed on a recognised stock exchange it is excluded.
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9. Get a Taxpayer ID from another Jurisdiction
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It is normally easy to get a taxpayer ID from most jurisdictions. After all they all want new customers. You can get a taxpayer ID from either a non CRS country or a country where you don’t mind if they have information from your overseas bank.
As you can see there are many potential ways around CRS. It has to be planned and structured properly though. I am constantly surprised by how few people are even aware of CRS. If you have existing overseas accounts that you’d rather keep private you should take action without delay.
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