Finance Companies
Offshore finance companies are normally established for the purpose of inter-group treasury management. Interest payments from group companies may be subject to withholding tax, but these taxes differ from the standard corporation taxes. Many large companies establish their own offshore companies for the purpose of mixing dividends of subsidiaries and deriving maximum advantage from tax credits. The interest paid can be a deductible charge for taxation purposes, thus consolidating interest payments in an offshore finance company provides a tax saving.
In certain countries, foreign exchange losses are not deductible for tax purposes. For example, if an offshore finance subsidiary that has been set up suffers a foreign exchange loss and that subsidiary company is then liquidated, the investment should be a tax-deductible item for the parent company. Offshore finance companies are also used for leasing, particularly where an offshore structure is rich in funds which, if they are not invested, may be repatriated or subject to high levels of corporate taxation.
