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Offshore The term Offshore may refer to: * Offshoring, active movement of companies to offshore centres
* Offshore (hydrocarbons)
* Offshore financial centre, jurisdictions which transact financial business with non-residents
* Offshore bank, relates to the banking industry in offshore centres
* Offshore sailing, sailing in yachts
* Offshore company
* Offshore construction, relates to construction out to sea
* Offshore investment, relates to the wider financial services industry in offshore centres
* Offshore fund, collective investment in offshore centres
* Offshore trust, trust arranged in offshore jurisdiction
* Offshore (novel), a 1979 British novel by Penelope Fitzgerald
* Offshore (album), an album by Indiana-based post-rock band Early Day Miners Offshoring Offshoring describes the relocation by a company of a business process from one country to another -- typically an operational process, such as manufacturing, or supporting processes, such as accounting. Even state governments employ offshoring.[1] The term is in use in several distinct but closely related ways. It is sometimes used broadly to include substitution of a service from any foreign source for a service formerly produced internally to the firm. In other cases, only imported services from subsidiaries or other closely related suppliers are included. A further complication is that intermediate goods, such as partially completed computers, are not consistently included in the scope of the term.[2] Offshoring can be seen in the context of either production offshoring or services offshoring. After its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, the People's Republic of China emerged as a prominent destination for production offshoring. After technical progress in telecommunications improved the possibilities of trade in services, India became a country leading in this domain though many parts of the world are now emerging as offshore destinations. The economic logic is to reduce costs. If some people can use some of their skills more cheaply than others, those people have the comparative advantage. The idea is that countries should freely trade the items that cost the least for them to produce. Offshore (hydrocarbons) "Offshore", when used relative to hydrocarbons, refers to an oil, natural gas or condensate field that is under the sea or to activities or operations carried out in relation to such a field. There are various types of platform used in the deevelopment of offshore oil and gas fields, and subsea facilities.[citation needed] Offshore financial centre An offshore financial centre (or OFC), although not precisely defined, is usually a low-tax, lightly regulated jurisdiction which specializes in providing the corporate and commercial infrastructure to facilitate the use of that jurisdiction for the formation of offshore companies and for the investment of offshore funds. The term offshore financial centre is a relatively modern neologism, first coined in the 1980s.[1] Although the terms are not synonymous, many leading offshore finance centres are regarded as "tax havens", and the lack of precise definitions often leads to confusion between the concepts. In Tolley's International Initiatives Affecting Financial Havens[2] the author in the Glossary of Terms defines an "offshore financial centre" in forthright terms as "a politically correct term for what used to be called a tax haven." However, he then qualifies this by adding "The use of this term makes the important point that a jurisdiction may provide specific facilities for offshore financial centres without being in any general sense a tax haven." Offshore bank An offshore bank is a bank located outside the country of residence of the depositor, typically in a low tax jurisdiction (or tax haven) that provides financial and legal advantages. These advantages typically include: * greater privacy (see also bank secrecy, a principle born with the 1934 Swiss Banking Act)
* low or no taxation (i.e. tax havens)
* easy access to deposits (at least in terms of regulation)
* protection against local political or financial instability While the term originates from the Channel Islands being "offshore" from the United Kingdom, and most offshore banks are located in island nations to this day, the term is used figuratively to refer to such banks regardless of location, including Swiss banks and those of other landlocked nations such as Luxembourg and Andorra. Offshore banking has often been associated with the underground economy and organized crime, via tax evasion and money laundering; however, legally, offshore banking does not prevent assets from being subject to personal income tax on interest. Except for certain persons who meet fairly complex requirements[1], the personal income tax of many countries[2] makes no distinction between interest earned in local banks and those earned abroad. Persons subject to US income tax, for example, are required to declare on penalty of perjury, any offshore bank accounts-which may or may not be numbered bank accounts-they may have. Although offshore banks may decide not to report income to other tax authorities, and have no legal obligation to do so as they are protected by bank secrecy, this does not make the non-declaration of the income by the tax-payer or the evasion of the tax on that income legal. Following September 11, 2001, there have been many calls for more regulation on international finance, in particular concerning offshore banks, tax havens, and clearing houses such as Clearstream, based in Luxembourg, being possible crossroads for major illegal money flows. Defenders of offshore banking have criticised these attempts at regulation. They claim the process is prompted, not by security and financial concerns, but by the desire of domestic banks and tax agencies to access the money held in offshore accounts. They cite the fact that offshore banking offers a competitive threat to the banking and taxation systems in developed countries, suggesting that Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries are trying to stamp out competition. Offshore powerboat racing Offshore powerboat racing is racing by large, real fast ocean-going powerboats, typically point-to-point racing. Probably the largest, most dangerous, and most powerful racing machines of all, the extreme expense of the boats and the fuel required to participate make it an expensive and elite sport.[citation needed] Many different classes of boats, can compete in individual races, on the same course, at the same time. This may include single or twin piston engine V-bottom boats, single or twin piston engine catamaran style boats, four piston engine boats, and turbine boats. In Europe, Middle East & Asia, offshore powerboat racing was led by the UIM regulated Class 1 but this category is no longer recognized by the sports governing body. It has re-organised itself and is instead regulated by the Dubai based WPPA, which now allows the sport to have a bigger variety in engines and props. In the USA, offshore powerboat racing is split between the OPA Races, SBI/APBA/UIM races and the OSS races. Although there are team sponsors, the sport is still an amateur sport financed by a mixture of private funding and commercial sponsors. One of the benefits of sponsoring an offshore powerboat team, as stated by team owner and driver Bjørn Rune Gjelsten, is that in Formula One motor racing, 1 million will only allow a small space, whereas in offshore powerboating, this covers the whole of the boat.[1] Depending on the class, speeds varies from 65 mph (105 km/h) to 190 mph (310 km/h). The sport is moving more to a circuit racing style also known as "run what you brung", which makes for a better TV & spectator experience, though there are still old fashioned endurance offshore racing classes. History of the Sport: Offshore powerboat racing was first 'recognized' as a sport when, in 1904, a race took place from the south-eastern coast England to Calais, France. In the United States, the APBA (American Power Boat Association) was formed during that period. The USA's first recorded race was in 1911, in California. The sport increased in popularity over the next few years in the United States, with 10 races being scheduled during the 1917 season. The sport's growth was disrupted in Europe during WW1 and then again in WW2, but it began to grow again rapidly on both sides of the Atlantic in the 50's and 60's. The sport entered the 'modern' era in the 60's, with notable names like Jim Wynn, Don Aronow, and Dick Bertram competing in mammoth events such as the Bahamas 500 mile race. During that time, the 'navigator' position in the raceboat was extremely important (unlike in today's small, track-like circuits), as finding small checkpoints over a hundred mile open ocean run was a difficult endeavor. The list of 'modern' world champions extended into the 1980s, when the sport entered the catameran, and then the 'superboat' era - the 1000 cubic inch total engine block restrictions were lifted for boats over 45' in length, and soon 3 and 4 engine boats sporting f16 fighter canopies replaced the venerable 35-40 foot deep vee hulls that had been the sport's top category for twenty years. [2] Modern races are short, 'track' style events with much improved viewing for the spectators, and the different categories of boats have multiplied far beyond the 4 classes that were common through much of the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Offshore company The term offshore company is ambiguous. It may refer to either: 1. A company which is incorporated outside the jurisdiction of its primary operations regardless of whether that jurisdiction is an offshore financial centre (sometimes known as a non-resident company) i.e. a Canadian company may be 'offshore' for the purposes of a USA citizen ; or,
2. Any company (resident or otherwise) incorporated in an offshore financial centre Typically the requirements for company registration under the relevant provision for non-resident status (as in the former of the two options above) will be pursuant to some or all of the following criteria: * Must be incorporated from outside the jurisdiction in question;
* Must not trade within the jurisdiction in question; and/or,
* Must meet nominal tax expenses levied by the jurisdiction in question.
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