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In 1974 the UK’s top marginal tax rate of 83% applied to incomes over £20,000 (equivalent to £200,000 in 2018). In addition, passive investment income was hit with a 15% investment income surcharge which took the top rate to 98%. In 1974 750,000 people were in the 83% plus tax bracket. During this time senior…

Nugan Hand Bank was an infamous Australian merchant bank that was involved in drug smuggling, arranging weapons deals, providing a front for the United States CIA, money laundering and tax evasion schemes (including the Bottom of the Harbour). Nugan Hand Ltd was founded in Sydney in 1973 by Australian lawyer Francis John ‘Frank’ Nugan and…

Bottom of the harbour tax avoidance schemes involved stripping a company of its assets and leaving it with unpaid tax liabilities. The company was then sold to someone else (often the criminal elements of Melbourne dockworkers), who subsequently destroyed the company records and disappeared. The term ‘bottom of the harbour’ was coined by members of…

A captive insurance company is where a parent group creates its own licensed insurance company to provide coverage for itself. The benefits of this include reduced costs, ability to insure difficult risks, direct access to reinsurance markets, and increased cash flow. In addition, when a company creates a captive they are indirectly able to evaluate…

     A bachelor tax is a tax imposed on bachelors. The historical motives for imposing a bachelor tax have varied greatly from encouraging marriage, encouraging population growth, penalising delinquent and irresponsible bachelors, to simply raising government revenue. As Oscar Wilde (Irish Novelist and Poet, 1854-1900) said, ‘Rich bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is…

There is no universal or legal definition of foundation. A foundation can be a trust, company, or other entity; and be either not for profit, or for profit. A foundation can be established under a will, by an individual, family, company or the community. Liechtenstein is one of the few countries which allows a private…

Switzerland was the first ‘true’ tax haven and became a tax haven immediately following World War I. As Switzerland remained neutral during the Great War they could maintain a low level of taxes as they didn’t have the high infrastructure costs other countries had. In contrast, many European governments raised taxes sharply to help pay…

A self-managed super fund (SMSF) is an Australian trust structure that is used by members to personally manage their retirement savings. SMSFs are established for the sole purpose of providing financial benefits to its beneficiaries in retirement, with the benefits passing to the deceased’s beneficiaries on death. The first SMSFs were established in 1915 to…