Someone asked me at 8 a.m. if a Seychelles company means “no taxes forever,” and I had to explain, between sips of coffee, that CFC rules and economic substance still crash the party. Offshore planning works best when it’s lawful and a little boring; if you’ve got a specific fact pattern, run it by a qualified attorney.
Had the same 8 a.m. question last week, @OP — . “economic substance still crash the party.” Totally; a tiny local payroll, real invoices, and monthly board minutes kept a review smooth for us, but we still had a qualified attorney sanity-check the facts.
My last Seychelles inquiry died at the bank stage: the KYC team wanted a local lease, director travel logs, and proof the revenue was really earned there — kind of ruins the “no taxes forever” fantasy… @w_mitch34 is right on substance, and if you’re shifting real profits or IP, have a qualified attorney sanity-check transfer pricing and CFC exposure for your facts.
I get it; it’s like planning a vacation that turns into a work conference instead. I once looked into a BVI setup, but the bank wanted so many docs it felt more like an IRS audit. Like you said, it’s all about keeping it legal and maybe a bit dull! @levine54, did you find any shortcuts that worked for you?