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Bowman Offshore Bank Transfers on everything you need to know about offshore savings accounts

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Bowman Offshore Bank Transfers on everything you need to know about offshore savings accounts

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Offshore savings accounts allow you to save in different currencies. And, contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be hugely wealthy to take advantage of them.

Offshore savings accounts may have a high profile thanks to scandals involving famous names using them to avoid paying tax – but the reality is that account holders do still need to pay tax. In truth, there’s little point opening an offshore account in the hope of dodging tax because you are generally liable for tax on the interest you earn in the same way you would be in the UK.

However, there are a number of other benefits to holding an offshore savings account. Read on to find out if this could be the right savings account for you.

What is an offshore savings account?

Offshore accounts are savings accounts located outside the holder’s country of residence, in this case the UK.

They can be used to stash euros and dollars (as well as other currencies), which can be handy if your salary is not paid in sterling. Most accounts can be opened by anyone over the age of 18, although some are only available to those living outside the UK.

While it is often necessary to invest at least £5,000 or £10,000 to open an offshore savings account, others require a minimum deposit of just £1.

Offered by many high street banks and building societies as well as private banks, most of the offshore accounts available to UK savers are based in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man (which have separate tax jurisdictions) and, as such, can be operated by post, phone or online.

Is an offshore account for me?

Offshore accounts are not for everyone, but they are useful if you work or live abroad, regularly travel overseas or hope to retire to another country.

The ability to save in the currency in which you are paid or expect to fund your retirement, for example, removes the risk of losing out on exchange rate fluctuations.

Some people actually use offshore accounts to ‘play’ exchange rates in a bid to boost their returns by converting the cash back into pounds when sterling is weak (as well as deferring the tax bill on their returns – see below for more details).

However, you could lose out if you have to change your savings back to sterling when the exchange rate is poor.

Even though some offshore accounts can be opened with £1, the high operating charges – withdrawal fees can be up to £25 – make them less attractive to smaller savers or those needing regular access to their money.

What types of offshore account are there?

Offshore accounts are available with both variable and fixed interest rates. Variable rate accounts often come with introductory bonuses and offer relatively easy access to your money, while those paying fixed rates generally require you to lock away your savings for between one and five years – just the same as standard savings accounts.

How do I open an offshore account?

Opening an offshore account is much easier than it might seem, providing you meet the minimum requirements set by the bank.

Once you’ve applied online or in-branch, you’ll need to supply ID to prove your identity just like you’d need to with any other account. Depending on the account, you may need to take extra steps to verify your identity.

There are a number of strict checks in place to prevent offshore accounts falling foul of criminals who want to launder money, evade tax or engage in other illegal acts. You could be asked about the nature of the transactions in your account – or your UK bank could be asked for financial reference documents.

If your application is successful, you’ll be able to make your initial deposit and begin using the account.

What are the tax implications?

It used to be the case that standard savings accounts would pay interest only after tax had been deducted at the basic rate of 20%, while offshore savings accounts paid interest without deducting tax. Since April 2016, both standard and offshore savings accounts pay interest without any tax deducted.

This is due to the introduction of the new Personal Savings Allowance. Basic-rate taxpayers have no tax to pay on the first £1,000 of interest, and higher-rate taxpayers will have no tax to pay on the first £500. But it’s important to know that interest earned above these thresholds will still be taxable, so you can’t use offshore accounts to avoid paying tax.

You are obliged to declare any savings interest earned to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on a self-assessment tax form and to pay tax on it in due course. If you don’t, you could face a big fine – plus interest on whatever you owe.

However, sophisticated savers can take advantage of the delay between earning interest and paying tax because they can keep the extra cash in their accounts for longer, thus boosting their returns by earning more interest.

Is my money safe in an offshore account?

Savers with money in a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorized bank or building society in the UK are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which covers the first £85,000 (as of January 2017) held with each banking institution.

However, money held in an offshore savings account is not protected in the same way – even if a UK high street bank operates the offshore account you choose.

Before opening an account, you should therefore check with your provider to see whether your money will be protected by a different compensation scheme.

Banks licensed by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, for example, are covered by the Guernsey Banking Deposit Compensation Scheme, which protects the first £50,000 per person, per bank. The Isle of Man’s Depositors’ Compensation Scheme, meanwhile, also protects up to £50,000 per individual saver.

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Moss Adams Business Consultants: Ethical Behavior in the Midst
of Fraud

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Moss Adams Business Consultants: Ethical Behavior in the Midst
of Fraud

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Reprinted with permission from the Fall 2015, Volume 30, Number 4 issue of The Bottomline, the journal of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals. Learn more at www.hftp.org.

You may know the difference between right and wrong behavior and never would consider committing fraud. But how do you maintain the highest level of professional conduct as it relates to fraudulent behaviors in others or when fraud is suspected?

A great place to start is the HFTP ethics policy, which guides members on topics such as confidentiality, objectivity, and professional competence. It’s important for professionals in the hospitality industry to set the right tone related to the tolerance of fraudulent behavior, know when to act when fraud is suspected, understand your role in an investigation, and respond appropriately to known frauds.

SETTING THE TONE AT THE TOP

An effective way to begin protecting your organization is by setting the right tone at the top with an ethics policy tailored to your operations. The HFTP ethics policy addresses professional competence to include performing the duties of your position and supervising the work of subordinates with the highest degree of professionalism. Each property can improve its level of professionalism by creating an ethics policy specific to its organization. This helps send a message to employees that management considers strong ethics a high priority. When reviewing your current ethics policy, ensure the policy is:

•Tailored to your industry
•Written in clear, plain language
•Accessible to employees at all levels
•Reinforced frequently
•Filled with examples of real-life acceptable and unacceptable behavior
•A directive to appropriately respond to incidents using confidentiality and objectivity
•An outline for consistent enforcement and discipline for violations

The key to successful fraud prevention is making everyone in the company accountable for detecting and reporting illegal or suspicious behavior—and that’s only possible when the ethics policy is clearly communicated and employees understand what the organization considers to be acceptable and unacceptable behavior.

Including an antifraud element within your ethics policy will deter most employees who are inherently honest from committing fraud. We suggest including a definition of fraud such as “the intentional distortion of financial statements or other records by persons internal or external to the company which is carried out to conceal the misappropriation of assets or otherwise for personal gain.”

However, setting a policy, defining fraud, or providing examples of unacceptable behavior isn’t going to suffice unless internal controls are in place to back it up. Communication with your team on ethics is important. Don’t be afraid to talk about the risk of fraud or to conduct a fraud risk assessment with your team. Actively including team members in the conversation reinforces the tone at the top that fraudulent behavior is unacceptable and controls are in place to protect the organization from fraud risks.

From our experience, suspects in fraud investigations rarely have a history of unethical behavior that would show up in a background check. This is further supported by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners' Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse. Based on its 2014 study, only 18 percent of fraudsters were punished or terminated by an employer for a fraud-related offense. This doesn’t mean that a background check is obsolete because it rarely detects a red flag. A background check is a time-tested, simple control that’s easy to implement. However, we see time and again that simple controls are only partially used, unmonitored, or simply nonexistent, which allows the opportunity for fraud to flourish undetected. Other examples of good controls include safe cash counts, bank reconciliations, supporting schedules for general ledger balance sheet accounts, or verification that expected cash deposits make it to the bank.

READ: KNOWING WHEN TO ACT

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International Financial Securities Regulatory Commission: Rules and Guidance

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International Financial Securities Regulatory Commission: Rules and Guidance

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As part of its mandate to protect investors and promote market integrity, FINRA enacts rules and publishes guidance in its role as regulator of securities firms and brokers. FINRA involves the securities industry, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulators, as well as investors, in its rulemaking deliberations.

FINRA Rules

A consolidated FINRA rulebook containing only FINRA rules is being established. Until this is completed the current rulebook is in effect.

Rulemaking Process

FINRA develops new rules, modifies existing rules, and provides guidance governing the conduct of firms and their associated persons.

Notices

FINRA publishes various Notices (e.g., Regulatory Notices, Trade Reporting Notices and Election Notices) on many issues affecting firms.

Rule Filings

See a list of FINRA rule filings and approval orders by year, including a comprehensive Rule Filing Status Report

Requests for Comments

For most significant rule proposals, FINRA solicits public comments through Regulatory Notices prior to submitting them to the SEC

Guidance

In addition to Notices, FINRA provides guidance to firms by regularly distributing letters, alerts, rule interpretations, reports and more.

The International Financial Securities Regulatory Commission was established to promote investor confidence in the securities and capital markets by providing more structure and government oversight.

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Very Large Group Practice Forum with Richard Isaacs MD

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Very Large Group Practice Forum with Richard Isaacs MD

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The Very Large Group Practice Forum represents the special concerns of physicians who practice in professional medical corporations or partnerships with over 1,000 shareholders, partners, or and/or physician employees.

Officers

Michelle Caughey, M.D.

Delegation Chair

Oakland

Kirk Hahn, M.D.

Delegation Vice Chair

Walnut Creek

Catherine Gutfreund, M.D.

Trustee

Santa Rosa

Representatives

Evan Bass, M.D.

Alternate

Harbor City

Maria Carrasco, M.D.

Delegate

Montebello

Dean Chang, M.D.

Delegate

Downey

Daniel Chyu, M.D.

Alternate

San Jose

Ameeta Ganju, M.D.

Alternate

Los Angeles

Reza Goharderakhshan, M.D.

Alternate

Harbor City

Zoey Goore, M.D.

Delegate

Roseville

Russ Granich, M.D.

Alternate

South San Francisco

Naren Gurbani, M.D.

Delegate

Downey

Bonnie Hamilton, M.D.

Delegate

Fairfield

Kenneth Hempstead, M.D.

Delegate

Roseville

Richard Isaacs, M.D.

Delegate

Sacramento

Roman Kownacki, M.D.

Alternate

Richmond

Eric Lipsitt, M.D.

Delegate

Oakland

Michael Luszczak, D.O.

Delegate

Roseville

Rajiv Misquitta, M.D.

Alternate

Sacramento

Jason Nau, M.D.

Alternate

San Rafael

David H. Ng, M.D.

Alternate

Sacramento

Elaine Ong, M.D.

Alternate

Hayward

Yvonne Otani, M.D.

Delegate

Davis

Rahul Parikh, M.D.

Alternate

Walnut Creek

Stephen Parodi, M.D.

Delegate

Vallejo

Pankaj Patel, M.D.

Alternate

Roseville

Scott Pinner, M.D.

Alternate

San Rafael

Vivian Reyes, M.D.

Alternate

San Francisco

Jake Rofman, M.D.

Delegate

Torrance

James Ruben, M.D.

Delegate

Roseville

Katrina Saba, M.D.

Alternate

Oakland

Kimberly Schrage, M.D.

Delegate

San Rafael

Humberto Temporini, M.D.

Delegate

Sacramento

Albert C. Umphrey, M.D.

Alternate

San Jose

Steven Woods, M.D.

Delegate

Los Angeles

About CMA

CMA is a professional organization representing the physicians of the state of California.

The association was founded in 1856 by a small group of physicians who knew it was their duty to fight for their patients and for their profession. Confronted with the challenges of rampant quackery, epidemics of contagious disease, and a desperate need to establish standards for the profession, physician leaders of the time called upon their colleagues to help them form the Medical Society of the State of California (as it was called back then) “to develop, in the highest possible degree, the scientific truths embodied in the profession.