The Cayman Islands, a British Crown Colony, have no taxes whatsoever on income, profits, wealth or capital gains. The revenues of the Islands are derived from indirect taxes such as import duties and stamp duty. There never have been any taxes, so the absence of income tax is not an artificial absence created by legislation, but a natural one. Companies and trusts in the Cayman Islands enjoy the same tax-free status as individuals regardless of nationality of ownership. This absence of taxes, together with political and racial stability, has attracted the attention of investors seeking tax-free base for their operations. The Government of the Cayman Islands is aware it attractiveness to outsiders and actively encourages investment through the passage of legislation and development of the financial sector. In late 2000 the Caymans government reports that the world's fifth largest financial center (after New York, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong), saw a 51% increase in company registrations in the past year, with a total of 57,900 on file. 17 new banks were also registered, for a total of 465.
This book contains the full text of the following laws:
The Companies Law
The Companies Management Law
The Partnership Law
Limited Partnership Law
Exempted Limited Partnership Law
Contracts Law
The Trust Law
The Trusts (Foreign Element) Law
The Special Trusts (Alternative Regime) Law
The Perpetuities Law
The Banks and Trust Companies Law
Professional advisors outside of the Cayman Islands find it especially useful to have access to the actual statutes, in order to research all of the structuring possibilities before retaining a Cayman firm to implement their instructions.
