Private Wealth 2022 – US Virgin Islands | Global Practice Guides | Chambers and Partners
By Marjorie Roberts August 16, 2022 Posted in Articles Share
Overview
The United States Virgin Islands (USVI) offers unique opportunities for private wealth planning for US citizens and tax residents through its economic development programmes that focus in large part on providing tax incentives to family offices, investment managers and advisers, and businesses engaged in venture capital management and investments as well as investment banking and financial services. The USVI also provides significant benefits for non-US citizens who have substantial assets outside the USA but seek to obtain US citizenship. By becoming naturalised in the USVI, new US citizens can structure their holdings to avoid US estate and gift tax on any non-US situs assets, including the assets they held at the time of naturalisation. Finally, the USVI is the only US jurisdiction where foreign shareholders can set up exempt companies to hold their assets worldwide and obtain tax exemptions on all the income earned from investments (other than income from US sources) while obtaining the benefits of the US flag, US investment treaty network, and US banking system. This article will discuss each of the benefits in turn after providing a brief background on the USVI.