BVI companies are not as confidential from prying US or EU eyes as it used to be ever since they signed information disclosure treaties with both the US and EU.
The British Virgin Islands are located in the Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico. Its Capital is Road Town and the country will have an estimated population of 24,000 people in July 2008.
The islands were inhabited by Arawak and Carib Indians before the Dutch took over in 1648. The island was annexed by the British in 1672 and remained part of British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960. In 1967 British Virgin Island attained autonomy.
The British Virgin Islands economy is greatly dependent on the tourism industry which contributes 45% to the national income of the country. British Virgin Islands economy is one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean region.
The strength of BVI's tourism sector can be estimated from the fact that in 2005 almost 820,000 tourists visited the country. The islands use the US Dollar as its official currency since 1959.
It was the mid-80s when the government of British Virgin Islands realized the importance of the offshore incorporation sector and the government began offering offshore registration to the companies willing to form BVI business companies in the islands. The incorporation fees generated as a result of Incorporate IBC BVI generate substantial revenues these days and is very helpful in increasing the strength of countrys economy.
The introduction of a comprehensive insurance law in 1994 made the BVI more secure than ever for forming BVI offshore company and thus has increased the attractiveness of this offshore jurisdiction. As a result many businessmen from all over the world are now willing to Incorporate IBC BVI. This jurisdiction's popularity can be guaged through the fact that roughly 400,000 BVI business companies were on the offshore registry by year end 2000.
The BVI offshore company has a leading status in the offshore services industry since the adoption of the British Virgin Islands International Business Companies Ordinance in 1984 as it was a landmark achievement in attracting new investments towards the country. Now BVI is the most popular tax haven and BVI Ltd the most popular choice for businessmen wanting to establish public limited companies.
The trend of businessmen going to incorporate IBC BVI is increasing due to the British Virgin Islands being the best offshore destination. Now more than 600,000 incorporated companies are registered making BVI offshore company the most popular choice of businessmen.
It should also be noted that more than 5000 new companies are registered monthly. The British Virgin Islands have become synonymous with offshore corporate domiciles and in some regions International Business Companies are called simply BVIs or BVI Ltd.
On January 1, 2005, a new version of the BVI Business Companies Act was adopted making it easier for you to incorporate IBC BVI. The BVI Business Companies Act implements further improvements in the BVI offshore corporate legislation which is already considered to be excellent.
The new law is designed to adequately face pressure brought to bear on the offshore financial industry in the last years, especially that concerning illegal discrimination between domestic and offshore companies. This new corporate structure preserves all the benefits provided by the previous legislation, including exemption from taxes.
However, after 9/11, both the US and the EU signed information disclosure agreements with the BVI governement bringing confidentiality down a notch as compared to Seychelles or Mauritius.
