Asset Protection

A substantial number of our clients call upon us to help protect their assets - from daily operational risks in the course of their trade, and from frivolous lawsuits in our present-day claim culture. All too often, by the time they see us it is too late to avoid a personal bankruptcy. Thousands of entrepreneurs each year lose their home, their savings, and their spouse or partner's assets to boot. Such malfortune is as avoidable as it is traumatic, as a limited liability company need not cost more than EUR 195 and often makes good fiscal sense as well. Although a sole-proprietor enjoys special tax incentives, in particular the tax break for start-ups and small businesses (starters- en zelfstandigenaftrek), many entrepreneurs stick to this legal form long after their profits have outgrown it.

Shielding personal assets from business risks does not always suffice. In order to protect the company from the risks and liabilities of a former sole-proprietorship or general partnership, one can turn to a Trust. Investments and savings in a holding company under a Trust are, as a rule, immune against personal creditors.

UK LLP: ZERO TAX

An English LLP with foreign members, which does not carry on a business in the UK and derives no income on UK territory, is not liable to tax in the UK. Under UK tax law, the LLP is not a taxable entity in its own right (accordingly, an LLP is not required to obtain a tax registration number in the UK); rather it is the LLP's members who are liable to tax in their own countries of residence on the profits of the LLP, in the proportion of their interests in it. In this way, an English LLP with the legally appropriate corporate structure is a vehicle with a zero rate of taxation.

To be sure, a Trust structure can serve abusive purposes too: harming legitimate creditors and tax evasion. Anyone harbouring such unlawful intent can save himself the journey to our offices: we will not accept him as a client. Our structures are designed to protect against the bad faith of third parties and serve to guide entrepreneurs on the long and winding road of tax planning reliably within the confines of the law.

Home