Expanding Horizons

Our world is becoming smaller, thanks to improved international mobility and today's possibilities to contact anybody by (IP) phone, email or even video conference at almost no cost. And as our world becomes smaller, and few businesses are local or even strictly national, there is an increasing need for internationalization. We think, plan and work with an eye toward expanding our horizons both at home and abroad. The use of a corporate vehicle as a means of this expansion is nothing new. Corporate structuring and planning have achieved higher levels of complexity than ever before while the need for anonymity remains strong.

Jurisdiction Shopping

Making use of other jurisdictions to optimize profits or spread risks is not reserved to international corporate structuring only.

Have you ever wondered why the person in the call center answering your service call for whatever product has an accent? The answer is that the call center is probably located in another country, where employment law is more flexible and wages and wage taxes are lower. South Africa is a popular country for call centers for the Netherlands market; Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and Puerto Rico are very popular for the US market.

Many IT companies have their software development or network management outsourced to India. It's much cheaper. Software developers in India are very well educated, but the wages in India are much lower than in the US or European market.

Another popular form of jurisdiction shopping is litigation. Any big case with an international flavor is likely to be tried for a judge in the US, because of the punitive damages system. It allows for very substantial damages to be paid by accused parties (Pharmaceutical industry, Tobacco industry).