| 单词 | Tax haven |
| 释义 | 避稅樂園／避稅天堂 A country offering low tax rates, or zero tax, and other incentives to foreign companies and investors. Tax havens can be used by companies to shift income from high to low taxing countries, usually with the assistance of a subsidiary as an intermediary. It has become common for wealthy individuals in many parts of the world (including countries which have no indigenous law of trusts) to place funds at their disposition into trusts (often with a network of underlying companies) regulated by the law of, and managed by trustees resident in, tax havens with which the settlor (who may be also a beneficiary) has no substantial connection: Schmidt v Rosewood Trust Ltd [2003] UKPC 26, [2003] 3 All ER 76 (PC). Tax havens are chosen not for their geographical convenience (indeed face to face meetings between the settlor and his trustees are often very inconvenient) but because they are supposed to offer special advantages in terms of confidentiality and protection from fiscal demands (and sometimes from problems under the insolvency laws, or laws restricting freedom of testamentary disposition, in the country of the settlor’s domicile): Schmidt v Rosewood Trust Ltd, supra. The trusts and powers contained in a settlement established in such circumstances may give no reliable indication of who will in the event benefit from the settlement. Typically it will contain very wide discretions exercisable by the trustees (sometimes only with the consent of a so-called protector) in favour of a widely-defined class of beneficiaries. The exercise of those discretions may depend on the settlor’s wishes as confidentially imparted to the trustees and the protector. As a further cloak against transparency, the identity of the true settlor or settlors may be concealed behind some corporate figurehead: Schmidt v Rosewood Trust Ltd, supra. See also Tax rate. 向外國公司及投資者提供低稅率、或零稅及其他優惠的公司。公司可籍避稅樂園／避稅天堂將收入由高稅率的國家轉移至低稅率的國家，通常以附屬公司作為中間人予以協助。在世界各地很多不同的地方（包括沒有固有信託法的國家），富裕的個別人士越來越普遍以法律規管的信託方式處置資金（通常連同相關連公司的網絡組織），並由居於有關地方的受託人管理，財產授予人（亦可以是受益人）與避稅樂園／避稅天堂沒有實質的關連：Schmidt v Rosewood Trust Ltd [2003] 2 AC 709 (樞密院)。不會以地理上是否方便選擇避稅樂園／避稅天堂 (事實上財產授予人及其受託人的面對面會議通常非常不方便)，但會因為避稅樂園／避稅天堂在保密及保障財政需要上(有時來自財產授予人居籍國家的破產清盤法或限制遺囑性質產權處置自由的法律問題)，假定能提供特別的利益而選擇：Schmidt v Rosewood Trust Ltd, 見上文。在於此等情況下確立的授產安排中載有的信託及權力，可能不會給予可靠的顯示誰會在有關事宜從有關的安排獲利。概括而言，有關的安排會載有受託人可行使的非常廣泛的酌情權(有時只需所謂保護人的同意)，而該酌情權會對廣泛地被界定的受益人類別有利。行使該等酌情權可取決於以機密方式給與受託人及保障人有關財產授予人的意欲。真正財產授予人的身份可能隱藏於若干公司有名無實的首腦之後，以進一步作為針對身份透明的工具：Schmidt v Rosewood Trust Ltd, 見上文。另見 Tax rate。 |
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