June 2017, TORTOLA—New data released June 21, 2017 show that the British Virgin Islands financial services industry supports roughly two million jobs in global investment and trade, worldwide. The independent study by Capital Economics found that the BVI mediates over US $1.5 trillion of cross-border investment flows—equivalent to two percent of global GDP. The report comes at an opportune time to discredit the perception that all offshore business and finance jurisdictions provide a “tax haven.”
“The report validates what has been known for a long time, and vindicates the BVI in all respects,” says Christopher Simpson, a BVI-based corporate and finance attorney and partner at O’Neal Webster. “It is a first class and well-regulated business and finance jurisdiction focused on facilitating international cross border transactions which are vital to the global economy.”
BVI Finance Interim Executive Director Lorna Smith, OBE, says the report is unequivocal. In a public statement, she says it shows that the BVI is a “[s]ound and reliable centre that has worked harder than many bigger nations to meet international standards, and is not a tax haven.” She adds that the independent and authoritative report “[h]elps clarify once and for all some of the inaccuracies and misunderstanding about what the BVI is and the valuable role it plays in the global economy.”
Coupled with jobs, the report also shows that tax generated from BVI Companies nets a substantial benefit to governments worldwide. The report states that over US $15 billion in tax revenues are generated annually for governments around the world through investment mediated by the BVI and resulting economic activity. The largest beneficiaries of the tax revenues are the UK (US $3.9 billion), the EU excluding UK (US $4.2 billion), and China and Hong Kong (US $2.1 billion).
BVI legal structures allow companies, institutions, and individuals to safely and efficiently carry out their business and make investments across international borders. There are currently 417,000 active BVI Business Companies.
Download the full Capital Economics report at BVI Finance or www.bviglobalimpact.com.
If you require further information, or would like to establish a BVI company, please contact O’Neal Webster Managing Partner Kerry Anderson directly at kanderson@onealwebster.com or Corporate and Finance Partner Christopher Simpson at csimpson@onealwebster.com.
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