Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands, is one of the leading offshore financial centres.  It imposes no income, capital gains or estate taxes and has a well-regulated financial services industry.  It provides a full range of offshore banking facilities. Many large banks maintain offices on the Island and there are many offshore fund management companies based there.  There is a sound legal framework for the registration of companies and for the administration of trusts.

The island of Jersey has unique status; along with the other Channel Islands it is a British Crown Dependency but it does not form part of the United Kingdom.  In practical terms this means that its internal affairs including taxation and fiscal control are governed by a locally appointed Assembly, and its external affairs are controlled by the Home Office in London.

An offshore company in Jersey is actually referred to as a Jersey Exempt Company and such a company is not subject to any local taxes whatsoever as long as it fulfils the strict guidelines and criteria as defined in the ‘Income Tax Jersey, Guide To The Exempt Company (1996 1-9)’ document.  As Jersey has such a stable political and economic environment and attractive taxation structure it is highly regarded as an offshore jurisdiction.

Jersey offshore company formation takes the form of establishing a Jersey Exempt Company and such a company must fulfil all of the following criteria: -

The company must be incorporated in Jersey and have a registered office in Jersey yet be owned by non-residents of the island.  Furthermore a Jersey offshore company must do no business locally with either companies or individual citizens who are resident on Jersey.

Annually a Jersey Exempt Company must pay six hundred pounds to the Government for corporate fees and also present them with a report of the company’s shareholders; in the event that either action is late the offshore company will face heavy fines.

An Exempt Company has to have at least two shareholders but it is possible to use nominee shareholders because their details have to appear in public records, this is just one way of reducing the profile of the company’s key personnel – another way is to use third party directors.  Third party directors are particularly useful when it comes to Jersey offshore company formation because corporate directors are not allowed in Jersey and yet there has to be a minimum of one director whose details have to appear on a public file.

Anyone who requires an offshore company structure whether that be in Jersey or elsewhere should seek the advice of a specialist offshore service provider to ensure that their proposed actions are both legal and beneficial.

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