Recent Posts
When I tell my friends that I am now living and working in the Cayman Islands, many of them inevitably ask how easy it is to form a company in this tax-free haven. I got tired of explaining the whole company formation thing so I decided to blog about it and then refer them to this blog. In fact, this is now true of any subject I am asked about on the Cayman Islands. Anyway here goes…
There are over 40,000 companies registered in the Cayman Islands, anybody but anybody can register a company in the Cayman Islands as long as that company does not do business in the Cayman Islands. (If you want to do business in the Cayman Islands, then you have to go through a whole vetting process with the investment authorities in Cayman Islands).
In addition to the speed of processing, other advantages of registering a company in the Cayman Islands include the following:
* There is a complete absence of direct taxation i.e corporation, capital gains, payroll, property or withholding taxes.
* There is protection of the legitimate interests of clients. Except where assistance to law enforcement agencies is mandated or authorized, disclosure of information by government officials, professional agents, attorneys and accountants and their staffs is forbidden by law under severe penalties.
* There are very minimal reporting requirements.
* You can form a company with only one shareholder, with no minimum capitalization requirements.
Remember if your intended business will be conducted mostly outside of the Cayman Islands, then within 10 days maximum you can form a Cayman Islands Exempt Company.
In order to form an Exempt company, you need to submit a Memorandum and Articles of Association and registration fee to the Registrar of Companies, together with a sworn statement declaring that the business activities of the proposed company will be undertaken mainly outside the Cayman Islands. The names and addresses of the proposed first directors must be disclosed to the Registrar.
The Exempt Company cannot trade within the Cayman Islands, own real estate in the Cayman Islands and cannot undertake the business of banking, insurance business or mutual fund business unless licensed. It also cannot solicit funds from the public.
As expatriates on an island, several of us have developed a sense of adventure and are prepared to try any activity that the island has to offer. Although, I must confess that amongst us you will not find that many of us trying out turtle stew or having an iguana sit on our shoulders, but deep sea fishing – well we just had to give it a go. So the usual suspects were rounded up on a Saturday morning and the 8 of us headed off to Safe Haven where we were to board our chartered deep sea fishing boat. You can charter a boat for fishing purposes in Grand Cayman for about US$600 for a total of 4 to 6 hours on the water. You will need to bring your own drinks and eats though, but some charters have all inclusive rates.
Cayman Islands are well-known for excellent deep sea fishing, reef fishing and drift fishing, no surprise there given the location of the Islands in the Caribbean seas. Each charter has a captain and at least one crew member to guide you through the intricacies of deep sea fishing and they set up the fishing equipment for you. All you have to do is to wait for the Wahoo, Mahi-Mahis or Tuna to bite and then with the help of the crew, try to reel it in. To tell the honest truth, most of the time you and your friends will simply be enjoying good conversation, drinks and food in the middle of the ocean unless of course you take your fishing seriously.
On that particular Saturday we spent about 4 hours on the water going to god knows where, no that knowing where we were going really mattered and after 2 hours we had a bite. One of the guys managed to reel it in, with the help of Andy (a crew member) but after that we caught nothing else – zero, nada ! The Wahoo that we caught was not really that big either, but as the crew will tell you, it was just a bad day and it happens sometimes (I wouldn’t know as I am hardly an avid follower of this sport. Nonetheless, we all really had a good time and our crew was very entertaining with their “tall” fishing stories. The trip left me wondering whether I would do it again, after all we had paid $600 to catch one fish. My mates and I decided that we would definitely give it another go sometime in the near future.
I think I have spoken about this before, but the pace of development here on Grand Cayman is absolutely staggering, especially for such a small little rock of an island. But I guess that fast track development is just a part of what the world is today. It actually got me thinking that every facet of our lives is affected by fast track development, whether it is the internet, cell phones, broadcasting (CNN recently had a "beam me up Scottie" type of news presentation during the Presidential elections and I had to say "wow"), sports, cars... the list goes on and on.
I reckon that if one had to go to jail a couple of centuries for about 50 years, one could come out and easily find their way around. But nowadays if you were to be absent from the world for just one year, by the time you resurface, you would be so lost that you would have to spend the rest of your natural life in some sort of therapy.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Everywhere you go on island, you will come across large construction sites, tipper trucks and a large contingent of expat construction workers. Typically most of the development has been happening around the George Town, Seven Mile Beach, West Bay and South Sound areas but I hear from my friend in the real estate industry that the beautiful, untouched East End is next.
It’s a Saturday afternoon in Grand Cayman, the temperature is in the mid 90’s and everyone on the island is seeking some sort of relief from the blazing sun. What do you do? Some people prefer to stay in their air-conditioned rooms, some plunge into a pool and others like me prefer to go to the beach where you can play beach volleyball and at any given point in time dive into the cool waters of the Caribbean sea.
On this particular Saturday, the volleyball at the beach had been organized by one of the big four accounting firms on the island. These affairs are always very well organized, with plenty of food (barbeque Caribbean style) and drinks to suit all tastes. Most of my friends work in all the big accounting and banking firms on the island, so it is never to difficult to get an invitation to one of these functions. The beach volleyball itself is played in a very relaxed manner and there are no fixed teams, you simply jus join the team that you most like (if they will accept you) and you are good to go. Do not worry about your volleyball skills because everyone is in it purely for fun and it shows. There are about 5 or 6 volleyball nets at the public beach on West Bay road, right next to Calico Jacks beach bar, the sand is absolutely wonderful and they have public “cabanas” if you feel you need to hide sun
[ Click here to read more ]
Cayman Islands, the land of sunshine, beautiful sunsets, sandy beachs and hurricanes… The hurricane season this year, officially started on 1 June 2008 and ends on 30 November 2008. When I first arrived in the Cayman Islands in November last year, I was fortunate enough to have just missed Hurricane Dean, so I have yet to experience a hurricane in the Cayman Islands (not that I am waiting for it in eager anticipation). With Hurricane Fay approaching (although it may miss Grand Cayman), I now know what all the fuss is about when it comes to hurricanes in the caribbean. Today, at the office, I received my Hurricane information “be-prepared” booklet (we have a group of people in the office that monitor hurricane activity and advise the staff accordingly). The booklet details everything you need to know about the dangers of hurricanes, the supllies that you need to stock, protecting your property and choosing a safe shelter. It is a must-read, if you are on the island during the hurricane season.
The last major hurricane to hit the Cayman Islands was Hurricane Ivan in 2004, this had a devastating effect on Cayman Islands and other Caribbean countries such as Grenada. In fact, those that were on island during that Hurricane still talk about “Ivan” with a certain hint of fear in their eyes. In fact, when selling a car most people will state the fact that the car was imported post-Hurricane Ivan as a value add. This means that any car that was on island during the hurricane would be less desirable as a purchase than a car that was brought onto the island after hurricane Ivan
[ Click here to read more ]
Coming from the African continent, I must admit, I had never seen an iguana live as such. You usually learn about all sorts of weird and wonderful animals as a kid at school and after school you kind of toss this “useless” information into your mind dump. In the Cayman Islands, iguana’s have a special place in the hearts of Caymanians and tourists alike especially the Blue Iguana. So much so that even on the roads of Little Cayman the iguana always has the right of way. Iguana is a type of lizard that is native to tropical areas of Central and South America and the Caribbean. The word “Iguana” is derived from a Spanish form of the original Taino name for the species “Iwana”. The Blue Iguana is Grand Cayman’s largest native land animal, I do believe that it is indigenous to the Cayman Islands.
Personally, when I arrived on the island I was pretty much afraid of these animals more out of ignorance than anything else because I generally believe that any undomesticated animal on four legs has the capacity to do damage to your being. But over time, I have grown to like these animals, especially because where I live several of the smaller iguanas roam around my garden quite freely. The road I live in is pretty much unspoilt and there are only two houses so one comes across iguanas quite a lot. There actually is a a Blue Iguana Recovery Program on island that is aimed at increasing the depleted Blue Iguana population. As a result of the program there is a captive breeding facility in the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park in Grand Cayman. So if you are ever in Grand Cayman take a hour or so to visit the facility, it actually is quite fascinating…
George Town Shoreline
Well it’s about that time of the year again when the Cayman Islands Jazz Fest hits town. I cannot believe that the year has passed so quickly! The Jazz Fest is an annual event and attracts some well known artists - last year we had the legendary Chaka Khan and Brian Mcnight topping what was an awesome occasion. This year “the lady of soul” - Anita Baker will be gracing our shores, other artists such as Michael Bolton and Angie Stone will also be performing on stage (not forgetting the local artists and many other international artists) over a 3 day period from Thursday 4 December ending Saturday 6 December.
The Jazz Fest is held at Pageant beach every year and this is a very convenient location as it is a stone’s throw away from George Town harbour and many of the hotels and apartments located on the famous Seven Mile Beach road aka West Bay road. The Pageant beach is also right next door to the Wharf, a great Cayman Islands restaurant and for those of you who love fast foods, KFC is just across the road. Grand Cayman is a very safe and clean place to have a good night out on the town, and going by what I experienced last year, this year’s jazz fest should be very well organised and well attended by both local residents and tourists. There is plenty of good food and drink and people bring they fold-up chairs (or you can hire them at the gate) which are a blessing for the older folk. I have been to many live concerts in the world, but the Jazz Fest in Grand Cayman is one of a kind, especially if you are into laid-back, soulful music. We are all looking forward to next week because the jazz fest always reminds us that hurricane season is over and it’s Christmas time
[ Click here to read more ]
There are several location options for those that are interested in purchasing a property in Cayman Islands. Most people tend to buy property in Grand Cayman, although those that are more interested in a quieter holiday spot, the Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are the perfect choices for your dream property in the Caribbean. Grand Cayman is growing quite rapidly at the moment, this is evidenced by the many construction sites one passes when driving from home to work and although Grand Cayman is very tiny in terms of land mass, (a tiny dot on most maps) there seems to be plenty of land parcels for sale.
Grand Cayman, the largest of the three Cayman Islands, has emerged as one of the top five financial centers in the world. The Cayman Islands are one of the safest places in the world and they have some of the cleanest, purest beaches. The Cayman Islands have come a long way from the time that they were nearly obliterated by Hurricane Ivan in 2004
[ Click here to read more ]
What fascinates me about the Cayman Islands, especially Grand Cayman is the fact that there are about 101 different nationalities living on the island with an estimated population of about 55,000. Now, there is no way that I can verify that figure of 101, except that I have heard it mentioned many times by different people, but what I do know is that personally I have met and spoken to people from America, Britain, Canada, England, Italy, Jamaica, Honduras, Belize, Cuba, Nicaragua, Trinidad, Columbia, Venezuela, Ireland, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Philipines, Malawi, Brazil, Uganda and the list goes on. The sum total of this for me is that there is little tolerance for racism as we are all in the same boat as expatriates and no one grouping has power over the other.
Obviously, there will always be innuendos here and there, but I must say of all the places I have travelled I have encountered little or no racism here. So it is possible to live with other people and get along in a such a small place. Each time, I go out I am guaranteed to meet someone from an interesting country or location, what a place to be
[ Click here to read more ]
Shopping ? What is that ? For those of you who love to shop, Cayman Islands are not exactly the epitome of the ultimate shopping experience. The population here is about 60,000, give or take a couple of thousand, and about half of that population is on roll over (that is they are about to leave the island within a maximum of seven years) so you are not going to get many stores stocking up here. Shopping can also be an expensive hobby here in Grand Cayman, because everything sold in shops here is imported and after the freight, duties and other charges to get the products here, you may think twice before you buy anything in Cayman Islands.
Many of my Caymanian friends actually boast about going to Panama or Miami simply to shop, so if you are coming to Cayman Islands take shopping of your list of things to do because you will be disappointed. However, having said that, you may want to check out the duty free shops for designer perfumes, jewelery and watches, as these tend to be much cheaper than most countries I have visited
[ Click here to read more ]
|
|
Recent Comments
I've not commented on anything yet :(
|
Add Comments
Read More
Comments (1)