Our valued sponsor

Premium Advertising Partner 0% Tax PANAMA Offshore Company & 0% Tax Dubai Residence with NON-CRS Bank Account & Crypto Off-Ramp - DLS Offshore

Dubai based Holding Companies are Corporate Tax exempt

Yes, if they fulfill the substance criteria. Which, as far as I understood, means having qualified staff who actually work from the free zone. You can no longer register your company in a free zone, but work from downtown Dubai etc.
Of course it's not clear how much this is checked, but those are the rules now.

and at the same time you still have 0% Personal Income Tax - if you live off from your Capital Gains or play it smart with the 0% Tax Panama Offshore Company and the USDT to WPS Salary with a Employee Dubai Residence Visa you can still achieve 0% Tax.

But how do you get the money into the Panama company if invoices from Panama are not deductible for your clients?

In regards to the Nominee Directors mentioned, Panama Offshore Company requires at least 3 Directors - most of our clients are Business with 1 or 2 owners so we provide local Panama Directors to satisfy the local Panama requirements.

Ok.

Some Clients require a full Nominee Director Setup with all Directors and Shareholders being provided by DLS Offshore and we work then with a Nominee Director / Shareholder Agreement. In this case we use one time EU Citizen Nominee Shareholder at a custom price depending on clients requirements and Nominee availability.

So then the UBO won't be reported?

Another important aspect is if the Client is based in a Country with CFC Rules or other Regulations - we avoid this by using a Full Nominee Director Setup as well.

So not even the bank will know who owns the company?

By the way, are you not worried that this could lend yourself in hot waters? Complicit in tax evasion, money laundering etc.? I understand your intentions are good, but what if someone turns out to be a drug dealer or sanctioned person? How are you protecting yourself against this?

There are lot's of use cases for Nominee Directors (IMPORTANT: DLS Offshore is not providing s called Nominee Bank Accounts with 100% Privacy which basically is nothing else then picking homeless from the street and let them open a Bank Account an selling in here in the Forum) but our standard Nominee Director Setup is to full fill the local Panama Director requirements of having 3 Directors in Place.

So the bank will know who the UBO is? So we're back to relying on the account not being reported under CRS (pooled account + Dubai residency)?

I recommend everyone to use at least the One Time Free Consultation Call with me to get a better understanding from our offering - there is no longer the One fits All Solution in place in 2025.

Are you still based in Dubai yourself?
 
Do you have a ruling that this is sufficient?
I'm asking because I have heard that the FTA does not issue advance rulings. You can only set something up and hope that it works - and only after the tax year is over, you can ask for a confirmation that it was actually fine.
Also, if you don't do anything and just hope it will be fine - they allegedly like to audit companies just before the statute of limitations expires, and the fines are crazy (3x the tax you owe or something).

What if you don't need the Swiss bank account? Would it lower the cost?
As mentioned before I did it myself and using it successful since almost 3 Years now - Holding Company registered for Corporate Tax and Confirmation of being exempt from 9% Corporate Tax already received otherwise I wouldn't mention it here.

A local UAE Bank Account for the Holding Company would rather make it more expensive as you don't have a proper and streamlined Compliance with the local UAE Banks - if there is no Bank Account required at all you just go with any random Corporate Service Provider who is selling you a license - honestly speaking if it's only about setting up a Holding Company the service DLS Offshore provides would be an overkill.
 
Yes, if they fulfill the substance criteria. Which, as far as I understood, means having qualified staff who actually work from the free zone. You can no longer register your company in a free zone, but work from downtown Dubai etc.
Of course it's not clear how much this is checked, but those are the rules now.
In reality not checked at all however if you can avoid a Freezone Company and rather choose a Panama Offshore Company which we provide for example - things are clear and understandable - I can only speak about Dubai Holding Company any longer - only using Dubai for Wealth Management and Tax Free Residence in 2025 - no longer having a Dubai Company for Active Trading Business.

But how do you get the money into the Panama company if invoices from Panama are not deductible for your clients?
The 0% Tax Panama Offshore Company has a proper Retail Bank Account and can receive Fiat Wire Transfers in all kind of currencies like EUR/USD/GBP etc. in this way you can conduct your business and invoice your clients - additional we open an Crypto Exchange Account in the name of Company so that you can Off-Ramp USDT for example - the same way you can On-Ramp to USDT to utilize the USDT however you want or use it for our USDT to WPS Salary Scheme with Employee Residence Visa in Dubai.

You might have mixed up something or haven't understood it correctly.


So then the UBO won't be reported?
Correct - for Full Nominee Package which we offer at a customized Price depending on Nominee availability and client requirements.


So not even the bank will know who owns the company?

By the way, are you not worried that this could lend yourself in hot waters? Complicit in tax evasion, money laundering etc.? I understand your intentions are good, but what if someone turns out to be a drug dealer or sanctioned person? How are you protecting yourself against this?

So the bank will know who the UBO is? So we're back to relying on the account not being reported under CRS (pooled account + Dubai residency)?
For the Full Nominee Director Package YES - the Company Registry in Panama and the Bank Account in HK only can see the Nominee we provide the client however we request the Clients Passport Copy and Setup a Nominee Service Agreement. You don't have to rely on NON-CRS - this was already 5 Years ago when we launched DLS Dubai our approach.

Are you still based in Dubai yourself?
Yes I'm still based in Dubai at least till UAE is introducing Personal Income Tax - for me Dubai is still the most convenient Tax Haven with all Services 24/7 available as well as good Flight Connections.

So far UAE and all GCC Countries are highlighting that they have no plans to introduce Personal Income Tax which makes sense as it would kill the whole Workers Expat Community from Western Countries but the past learned us that you never know.

So should Personal Income Tax be introduced in the UAE I move my Tax Residency to Panama and live around South America and South East Asia - that's another reason why Panama is interesting and after the Summer we will launch a Panama Residence Solution as well.


Can bank account for Panama company receive wire transfers from USA both from private people and businesses ?

Thank you
Yes, you can receive USD by SWIFT Wire Transfer from Private People and Businesses to your HK Bank Account.

EMI's allowing you to receive USD by Domestic ACH Transfer as well.
 
As mentioned before I did it myself and using it successful since almost 3 Years now - Holding Company registered for Corporate Tax and Confirmation of being exempt from 9% Corporate Tax already received otherwise I wouldn't mention it here.

Nice.

A local UAE Bank Account for the Holding Company would rather make it more expensive as you don't have a proper and streamlined Compliance with the local UAE Banks -

What about an EMI account, or one of the UAE-based neo banks (Mashreq Neo or whatever they are called... with less strict compliance than their brick and mortar parent banks?

if there is no Bank Account required at all you just go with any random Corporate Service Provider who is selling you a license - honestly speaking if it's only about setting up a Holding Company the service DLS Offshore provides would be an overkill.

Anyone can sell you a license for a holding company, but the big question is if the FTA really will grant you the tax-free status in the end. So if you can guarantee the status, it would be a huge plus.
You said it's about 10k - is that per year or just for the setup, and then a lower fee to keep it running?
 
In reality not checked at all however if you can avoid a Freezone Company and rather choose a Panama Offshore Company which we provide for example - things are clear and understandable - I can only speak about Dubai Holding Company any longer - only using Dubai for Wealth Management and Tax Free Residence in 2025 - no longer having a Dubai Company for Active Trading Business.

I meant just that - maybe using a UAE holding company (if you need a holding company anyway), and then using it to get residency as well.

You might have mixed up something or haven't understood it correctly.

https://kpmg.com/xx/en/our-insights...es-against-non-cooperative-jurisdictions.html

"Non-deductibility of costs: Member States that opt for this measure should deny deduction of costs and payments that otherwise would be deductible for the taxpayer when these costs and payments are treated as directed to entities or persons in listed jurisdictions. The measure should include, for example, interest, royalties and other concessions on intellectual property, assets and service fees."

Scroll down and you will see a table with all the countries that have implemented this.
15 (!) EU countries have implemented the non-deductibility.

For example, here is Germany (aren't you German?):

https://www.grantthornton.de/en/ins...list--what-businesses-need-to-know-from-2025/

"operating expenses and income-related expenses from business transactions with tax havens may no longer be deducted for tax purposes"

So you can send an invoice to your EU-based client and they may pay it, but then when they get audited, it probably won't be accepted as a business expense.
That won't be fun.
If they are smart, they will know about this and won't do business with you at all.

Yes I'm still based in Dubai at least till UAE is introducing Personal Income Tax - for me Dubai is still the most convenient Tax Haven with all Services 24/7 available as well as good Flight Connections.

Good to know.

So far UAE and all GCC Countries are highlighting that they have no plans to introduce Personal Income Tax which makes sense as it would kill the whole Workers Expat Community from Western Countries but the past learned us that you never know.

As I have explained elsewhere, I am convinced the UAE will introduce this in a few years, they always used a wording like ("we currently don't have any plans to introduce PIT").
But I'm also sure they will only tax higher salaries and not delivery drivers...

Anyway, appreciate that you answer all these questions so patiently and in detail!