[LINK] "Heavenly havens"

[rfmcdonald]

Catherine Moye's article in Saturday's Financial Times, "Heavenly Havens, provided an interesting quick survey of various tax shelter destinations for the rich.

The phrase "tax haven" conjures a twin image of swimming pools and tedious form filling; of meeting to discuss your financial affairs with a Hawaiian-shirted adviser under a coconut palm. But never before has the package of fiscal inducements that exotic islands offer looked so alluring to wealthy people battered by the current financial markets and looking to shore up their assets in idyllic settings.

Whether it be retirees consolidating their pensions, entrepreneurs looking to establish off-shore companies or individuals on the hunt for centres of low taxation, the market is as international as the destinations. The mobile nature of modern-day business has further liberated high-flyers from key commercial capitals.

"Many people who have made money assume that the only thing to do is to move abroad," says Duncan MacIntyre, head of Coutts Private Office, which manages the needs of the ultra-wealthy. "But often their wants are different to their needs. I had one client who called me from his wardrobe in a hurricane saying 'get me the hell out of here'." And MacIntyre, the majority of whose clients are British, also points out that entrepreneurs are getting younger and the practicalities of living overseas, such as educating children, can be a challenge.

Nevertheless, the lure of fat financial carrots combined with blue seas and pristine beaches is fuelling a market that, for example, allows islands such as Anguilla in the Caribbean to offer luxury houses priced at $36m.

Mauritius, Cyprus, Dubai, and Madeira were among the destinations cited. In fact, most of the destinations Moye refers to are islands, in the Indian Ocean or in European waters. Are there any tax havens located on one mainland or another? Taking a look at Wikipedia, New Zealand, Panama, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and the Italian enclave of Campione d'Italia seem to be the only ones fitting that fit that description. I suppose that inslarity makes autonomy that much more easier and that much more necessary.