Taxation of Liechtenstein-based legal entities with particular reference to the Liechtenstein foundation

The revised Liechtenstein Tax Act (StG) came into force on 1st January 2011 and will simplify the tax system.

The Swiss Trust – Switzerland

Switzerland is known as the worldwide leading center for Private Banking and as the location for Family Offices of wealthy families from around the world. The reason for this worldwide leading position is the Swiss neutrality with its political stability in a democratic tradition which has been developed over past centuries.

Solid Foundations on Common Ground: Nevis’ Multiform Foundations Ordinance

Foundations. The legal entity known as a “foundation” has been a well-established vehicle in the civil law countries of Europe since the Middle Ages.  The church, one of the most powerful institutions of the era, was frequently given assets by members of its congregation in an effort to further its beneficial mission.  It was the goal of these ecclesiastical foundations to promote charitable, scientific and humanitarian objectives in accordance with the religious aims of the church.  The societal conventions at the time believed that the church should be concerned solely with matters of faith and not that of asset management.  As a result, legal theorists felt that any asset given to the church should have the ability to manage itself and should be classified as a legal person, separate and apart from the church.

A Foundation for Privacy: The ownership and management of a private trust company by a multiform foundation

Introduction. The trust has been and continues to be, the primary tool utilized by high net-worth families for their estate planning needs and asset management options.  A trust is administered by a trustee who has title to all of the assets and usually owns the shares of a privately-held underlying company.  The company owns a variety of assets from bank accounts to real property to chattels, or may have the right to receive income from a third party.  In order to ensure proper management of the assets, the trustee usually acts as the director of the underlying company.  The families or beneficial owners of the trust structure sometimes seek to involve themselves in the administration of the trust, and depending on their level of involvement, such action can prove destructive to the structure and all interested parties.  In recent years, jurisdictions have amended their laws to encourage the development of private trust companies.  These laws allow clients to legally take an active role in the day-to-day operations of their trust structures and ensure more efficient and cost-effective administration of the entity.

Drafting the Charter of a Foundation

Of course the establishment of a foundation is a very new concept in the common law world, not to mention The Bahamas.  The question of how one goes about drafting the foundation charter (“the Charter”) and or the articles (“the Articles”) can seem as daunting as wading through the eighty some pages of The Foundations Act, 2004 (“the Act”).

Liechtenstein approves reform of private foundation law

The Liechtenstein Parliament has approved a reform of the jurisdiction’s Foundations Law which will enter into force on 1st April 2009. This reform is part of the government’s policy of modernization of Liechtenstein structures which, so far, have included revision of the law governing associations and cooperative societies and has introduced the European Company and the European Cooperative Society.

Maltese Foundations: A Versatile New Alternative

Background
In the past few years the Maltese legislature has been active in the sector of fiduciary obligations, particularly those resulting from the creation of trusts and foundations. Trusts were initially introduced into Maltese legislation in 1989 in a ‘ring-fenced’ manner, essentially allowing for such structures in the context of non-resident persons only.  However, with the passing of the Trusts and Trustees Act in 2005,(1) the trust concept has been fully integrated into domestic law. On the other hand, foundations have always been regulated by customary law, as no legislation on foundations existed until April 1 2008. The Second Schedule to the Civil Code now dedicates an entire sub-title to foundations.(2)