British Virgin Islands (BVI) Asset Holding

The BVI is a popular choice for asset holding vehicles since it has no tax.  For more information on the use of offshore and its associated stigma see our main article on offshore services. 

Subsidiaries
Income from foreign or local subsidiaries received by BVI company, trusts and funds is not subject to tax under any circumstances. 

Gold, Silver and Platinum
The BVI is not a traditional choice for the holding of precious metals directly but it is used for clients wishing to buy into shared vaults or precious metal funds.

Shared Vault
Clients wishing to buy into shared vaults such as bullionvault.com may wish to do so via a BVI company for reasons of anonymity and tax benefit.

Funds Linked to Metals
BVI vehicles can be used to hold funds generally including funds related to precious metals.

Trading Accounts
The BVI can be used to hold trading funds and even where local directors are appointed the client can often retain trading rights over the account. The benefits of this includes 0% tax, anonymity, the deferral of tax by retaining it in a holding vehicle rather than in the beneficial owners’ name directly. Trading accounts may be held by online or traditional stock brokers by BVI vehicles.

Managed Portfolios
Any portfolio (whether managed by the client or a fund manager) can be owned by a corporate vehicle in the BVI and clients often prefer to hold their funds in this way. Such funds are almost always held by a foreign broker. This may be especially beneficial for Hedge Funds and Venture Capital funds where the client may anticipate the possibility of a substantial gain on which they may otherwise be taxed.

Fixtures (Banking)
The BVI does not have a developed banking sector and it is generally a condition of their tax exemption that BVI companies do not bank locally. BVI companies are however widely used for banking elsewhere.