Onshore pushback and offshore agility
It feels like the narrative around onshore tax transparency is reaching a fever pitch, with various governments really leaning into the 'offshore is for tax dodgers' angle. While I agree with the principle of not dodging taxes, it often conflates legitimate wealth planning and diversification with illicit activities. For many clients, offshore accounts are less about hiding money and more about mitigating geopolitical risk, currency instability, or simply having financial access in jurisdictions with stronger legal frameworks and less bureaucracy. The current push for increased onshore control feels like it's missing this nuance.
I'm curious if others in this room are seeing clients feeling more pressure, or if the landscape for legitimate offshore structures is actually adapting and finding new avenues for agility. Is the public perception truly shifting to make this more difficult, or is it just noise?
Definitely. It's a tricky balance between ensuring fairness and not penalizing legitimate financial strategies. The narrative often oversimplifies things, which can make it hard to have a nuanced discussion about wealth planning.