If you are reading this, then you are someone from a country other than Belize, who is interested in making an investment in Belize, maybe a Belize real estate investment or some sort of Belize business.
You are, or want to be, in essence, a Foreign Investor in Belize.
This article provides information in a very simplistic way that will be of interest to you.
If you are, or want to be, a Foreign Investor in Belize, there are TWO things you want to learn about; One being ‘Asset Protection’ and the other being ‘Tax Optimization’.
Asset Protection - Basics
To protect an asset, means to protect its value and to protect its ownership. It also means to let its value grow in a way that is, well, protected. The key here is ‘Protection’ against anything that will erode or lessen its value or its potential to grow in value.
Hypothetical example: If Harry invests in real estate in Belize, and someone sues Harry, and gets a judgement in the courts against Harry, then, what could happen is that Harry’s real estate investment, whatever its value, can be eroded or lessened by the amount of the judgement. If the real estate investment is worth $1,000,000.00 before a court judgement, and the court judgement is for $400,000.00 against Harry, and Harry is the owner of the real estate investment, the court judgement could potentially lessen the value of Harry’s real estate investment to $600,000.00.
What can Harry do? The answer is revealed later in this article.
Tax Optimization - Basics
Every country, every jurisdiction, has some form of tax rules, and thus, some form of taxation on income or earnings. Some countries taxation rates on income or earnings is higher than others. What if you could move some of your income or earnings to places where the tax rates are lower than your home tax rate?
Hypothetical example: Harry earns $500,000.00 in total income from his Belize investments, and pays $175,000.00 in taxes (or 35% tax rate). This leaves Harry with $325,000.00 of money after tax.
Similar hypothetical example: Harry earns $500,000.00 in total income from his Belize investments, but is able to recognize $300,000.00 of this total income at a 12% tax rate (not 35%). The other $200,000.00 is taxed at 35%. So, Harry pays $36,000.00 in taxes (or 12% tax) on the $300,000.00 part of the total income AND Harry pays $70,000.00 in taxes (or 35% tax) on the remaining $200,000.00 part of the total income. So the same $500,000.00 in total income, yet total taxes paid in the second example is only $106,000.00 INSTEAD of total taxes paid in the first example of $175,000.00. Harry just saved $69,000.00.
Conclusion
Is Harry able to BOTH (i) protect his Belize real estate investment and Belize business AND (ii) pay less in taxes at the same time?
The answer is YES – even if Harry lives in a place that has something called ‘worldwide taxation’, if Harry gets the right management advice, and sets up his business and real estate investment properly in Belize, Harry can achieve BOTH tax optimization and asset protection from his business and real estate investment activities in Belize.
WHO IS JONATHANE RICCI? A lawyer by background, Jonathane Ricci has worked with KPMG, an international accounting and tax management firm, and has worked as a lawyer in his own firms and businesses, and is currently licensed and in good standing in New York and Michigan.
Jonathane Michael Ricci has spent his professional life understanding the basics and fundamentals of Taxation and Asset Protection, and is now sharing that knowledge and experience with his clients by way of offering professional management services worldwide, specifically in the areas of starting businesses, and buying/selling real estate and like assets.
For more information, please visit www.JonathaneRicci.com
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