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Panama vs. Switzerland: Offshore Banking Faceoff

By: Crystal Chellenberger

Panama is the choice when looking into where to place your assets offshore. There are no unreasonable minimum deposit requirements, as there are in Switzerland, so anyone who needs their assets protected offshore can do so safely.

It has the strongest secrecy laws and does not participate in any tax treaties.Panama has the best offshore asset protection vehicles in its Foundation/Corporation structure due to its layered effect. With these comparisons the choice is easy. Let's look further into these aspects.

There are a few options of where to place your offshore assets. The most notable are Panama and Switzerland. So lets put them in the ring and compare their strategies.

Due to the fact that Swiss banking has been around for so long, they have made their industry very exclusive. Some of their banks require a minimum of $250,000 deposit!

Panama's government has not signed any tax treaties with any other countries. In Panama tax evasion is not considered a crime so they will often not break their secrecy laws even for MLAT.

There are still bank executives that know the asset holders name though.In Panama there is the iron clad foundation/corporation vehicle. This is when a foundation is started with the depositors assets. That foundation also owns a corporation, from which all the business gets conducted.

If someone wanted to know where the corporation came from all they would find is that it is owned by a nameless foundation. This has created a layered effect which, along with Panamas strict secrecy laws, makes up the iron clad effectiveness of Panama offshore banking.

If someone wanted to know where the corporation came from all they would find is that it is owned by a nameless foundation. This has created a layered effect which, along with Panamas strict secrecy laws, makes up the iron clad effectiveness of Panama offshore banking. Switzerland uses their old "numbered bank accounts".

This is where an account is not identified by the depositors name, but rather by the number the account has been given. There are still bank executives that know the asset holders name though. The different asset protection vehicles that each country uses distinguishes them and clearly indicates that Panama has the better option.

Perhaps, after looking at the important aspects of offshore asset protection your decision of where to place your assets offshore should be a lot easier.

Do not forget to consider the levels of secrecy laws and their effectiveness, different asset protection vehicles in place in that country and the minimum amount required to hold assets offshore.

There are a few options of where to place your offshore assets. The most notable are Panama and Switzerland. In all aspects Panama would be the stronger choice.

Article Source: http://www.articlebankonline.com

To learn more about panama asset protection or panama bank accounts go to Offshorelegal.org.

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