Corb7 International March 3, 2021 Newsletter

International Business

Editor's Note

You Will Get Sued!

Reaching epidemic proportions, statistics now show that US citizens have a one in four chance of being sued during their lifetime. This trend extends far beyond the United States, and successful individuals are being targeted in any number of jurisdictions worldwide.

The advances of modern society have caused our lives to move at a faster pace than ever before, mostly due to the computer age and instinct access to information via the Internet. For many, this may not only be disheartening but precarious. Wealth, fame and business success are just a few factors that can make an individual a target for unwarranted probes by those who are less than scrupulous.

- “Suing for damages has become both a huge industry and a tremendous drag on American industry’s ability to compete.” 
----- Forbes Magazine

- “Plastic surgeons are being named in numerous lawsuits. One Texas malpractice insurer states that current premiums are running between US $20,000 - 80,000 and will likely jump 20% again.” ----- The Economist

- “Every year in America, individuals and businesses spend more than $80 billion on direct litigation costs and higher insurance premiums. When indirect costs are included, the costs may add up to a figure in excess of $300 billion.” ----- President’s Council on Competitiveness

Business owners and professionals are the most likely to be sued; moreover, included in that grouping are physicians, plastic surgeons, stockbrokers, law enforcement officials and real estate developers. Governing rules of civil procedures have been liberalized; consequentially, legislators have made the process of taking legal action much easier than ever before. Results can be devastating, and products such as liability insurance are rarely enough to cover all eventualities. Traditional approaches to asset protection, such as utilizing a corporate veil to limit shareholder liability, is, likewise, seldom good enough. For instance, most liability insurance policies do not cover some of the most common reasons for civil litigation. Frequently excluded are: sexual harassment, wrongful termination, negligence or any type of punitive damages. In addition, policy limits are often severely under the multi million dollar judgments being handed down. As a result, the use of offshore vehicles has been brought into the forefront of asset protection and financial planning.

Not too long ago a fascinating piece of writing appeared in Forbes Magazine with the premise being that litigation is actually a much greater threat to American wealth than taxes. According to the article, this is due to American citizens being exposed to an infinite amount of liability through an overworked system of litigation. Thus, high-net worth individuals are putting “unlimited assets” at risk. This article goes on to state that “contrary to the popular vision of offshore banking, the true purpose of offshore accounts and corporate structures for many wealthy clients is to protect a lifetime of earnings and savings not from being taxed, but from being wiped out in a major lawsuit, say, a medical malpractice or a class-action securities litigation against an executive.”

Often, the measure of an attorney’s skill is their ability to construct a theory of liability, which will connect a remote and seemingly innocent deep pocket to a particular case. Consequently, an individual’s innocence has little to do with whether or not they will be targeted. Early on and during the normal course of business, an attorney will do a financial investigation directed at the potential target of the litigation. Information that you might rightfully consider confidential can easily be found during this discovery period. To that end, numerous investigative services are in the litigator’s toolkit. For a nominal investment, your future adversary will have obtained a profile of your financial well-being. This comprehensive sketch will likely include: your bank accounts, brokerage accounts, property ownership, collectibles, credit rating, business holdings, etc.

Working on behalf of their plaintiff, most attorneys file civil judgments on a contingency basis. For that reason, these lawyers will only get paid if they can get a settlement or win the suit. As such, they are not interested in pursuing “judgment proof” defendants. Regarding asset protection, therefore, the old saying still rings true … “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." The key is to lower your discoverable financial profile ahead of time or to place expensive and time consuming hurdles in the path of frivolous filings.

If you are a regular reader of this periodical then it is obvious that we like Switzerland as a potential solution to this problem. US civil litigation is not readily recognized in Switzerland, which makes moving your assets offshore a strong strategy. Accordingly, by transferring a portion of your assets to a privately held Swiss Trust Company, you have effectively made yourself a much smaller target. Once put into place these steps may place your assets well out of harm’s way.

In the rare event, a plaintiff should wish to follow you, they may find it a very expensive and distasteful experience. For example, the plaintiff would first need to know where the assets are being held. Then they would need to retain a local attorney within that specific country – in this case Switzerland. This would be at a considerable expense inasmuch pro-business jurisdictions like Switzerland tend to have an absence of barristers willing to work on a contingency fee. Furthermore, since frivolous lawsuits are not looked upon favorably, it would be incumbent upon that attorney to convince a local court to hear the case. Even if that can be accomplished, the case will likely be dismissed should it be proven that assets were transferred prior to the suit being filed. The wicked battle awaiting a plaintiff offshore often results in either a settlement on the defendant’s terms or the suit being dropped altogether. We call that a win!

The best and safest time to create an asset protection strategy is before there are any potential creditors. If you wait until a lawsuit is pending there is a substantial risk that a court will find any transfer of assets an attempt to defraud. At that point, there are serious consequences. A perceived attempt to defraud a creditor would likely result in the setting aside of any transfer. Important side note: please keep in mind that you will probably still have tax obligations from your country of citizenship. For the most part, offshore planning has become a “tax neutral” event for individuals. This is especially true as we have seen an increase in jurisdictions moving toward the world income tax model.

The occurrence of frivolous lawsuits is at an all-time high and most likely will only continue to grow. Now more than ever, it is essential to protect your assets from the risk of being wiped out in a potential lawsuit. As litigation is at this time considered a greater threat to wealth than taxes, it is your responsibility to protect yourself. No one else will. For nearly two decades, the use of the Swiss Trust Company vehicle has become a significant aspect of modern asset protection planning tactics for wealthy individuals and their families. Done legally and ethically, transferring your assets to an offshore entity has the ability to dramatically “tip the scales” in your favor.

Please consult with your professional advisors before undertaking any asset protection strategy.

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International Business

Business Tools

The Swiss Light Banking License

To boost innovative financial companies, the Swiss parliament has simplified the regulatory requirements for Fintech companies which accepts public deposits. This regulatory simplification, which was implemented on January 1, 2019, allows for a “Swiss Light Banking License”. The regulatory change will greatly reduce the financial requirements for FinTech companies that accept public deposits.

Under previous regulation, the operations of many FinTech companies often fell within the scope of the Swiss Banking Act and therefore required a full Swiss banking license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). This Class One Swiss Banking License carries a substantial financial and organizational obligation, and has an onerous licensing process, which has kept many companies out of the Swiss market. For that specific reason, the Swiss Federal Council and Swiss Parliament created a legal framework for FinTech companies.

The new regulations include a “sandbox exemption”, that allows FinTech companies to engage in certain activities which under the previous rules would have triggered the need for a banking license. In general. these companies may accept deposits up to a maximum of CHF 100 million without a full banking license, so long as such assets are not invested or interest bearing.

Two years after this new legislation was put in place it continues to gain popularity with start-ups.

Related Article

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International Business

Offshore Perspective

Antigua & Barbuda a Hidden Treasure!

Antigua and Barbuda is an independent Commonwealth country comprising its 2 namesake islands and several smaller ones. Positioned where the Atlantic and Caribbean meet, it's known for reef-lined beaches, rain-forests and resorts. Its English Harbor is a yachting hub and the site of historic Nelson's Dockyard. In the capital, St. John's, the national museum displays indigenous and colonial artifacts .Whether a small or large enterprise, business owners seeking to conduct business in Antigua and Barbuda must register their business. Antigua & Barbuda have welcomed offshore banking since 1982. One noteworthy statutory requirement is that Offshore Banks must maintain a minimum capital of US$5 million. Of this amount, US$1.5 million must be deposited and kept in a bank licensed to do business in Antigua and Barbuda.

Major events: In January of 2016, Antigua and Barbuda agreed to abolish personal income tax.

Antigua and Barbuda
Location: Eastern Caribbean Sea, 250 miles SE of Puerto Rico
Capital City: St. Johns
Population: 82,000 (2008)
Language Spoken: English
International Time: EST + 1 hour
Airline Service:  Continental, Delta, American, US Airways, Windward Islands AIR
Currency: Eastern Caribbean Dollar EC$2.70 = US$1
Type of Government: Independent Parliamentary Representative Democracy
Main industries: Tourism, manufacturing and international banking
OECD: Approved
FATF: Member CFATF

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International Business

Executive Psychology

5 Ways to Create Positive Change

February is Gone!

If you didn’t get 100% out of February, grab March and go get it! Have a great week and thank you for all you do!!!!!

1) Control What You Can Control - It's simple but it's true. You can't control what people are saying and thinking about you. You can't control the competition that is coming after your business. You can't control most things in life but you can control your attitude, your effort and your actions.

2) Create Inside-Out - The world can be like a pot of boiling hot water. You can be like a carrot that gets weakened when placed in the pot or you can be like an egg that gets hardened (bitter, angry, uncaring) in a tough environment. Or you can be like the coffee bean that transforms the water into coffee. Instead of being impacted by the heat and difficult conditions, it instead transforms the environment it's in. The noise, media, negativity, and criticism only have power over you if you let it. If you know the truth that you create from the inside-out, not outside in, then you won't your circumstances define you. Instead you will be like the coffee bean and work to define your circumstances. When you know the power is on the inside and you create the world with your beliefs, passion, positivity, purpose, work ethic, soul and spirit you become a powerful force in the world.

3) Focus on Solutions instead of Complaints - When things are not going well and you are being bombarded with negativity it's easy to complain. But great leaders don't complain. They focus on solutions. If you are complaining, you are not leading. If you are leading you aren't complaining. Instead of focusing on where you are, think about where you want to go and what you want to create. Instead of complaining about what’s holding you back, think about solutions that will propel you forward.

4) Embrace Change - There's a myth that people don't like change. We actually like what change produces. We just don't like the messy transition required to create the change. Individuals and organizations that thrive embrace the entire process of transition and change knowing it leads to improvement and growth. Throughout history we see that individuals and organizations that embrace the waves of change ride it to a successful future. Those who resist the wave get crushed by it.

5) Stay Positive and Do the Work - It may sound cliché but it’s a huge key to success. Through challenges, adversity and negativity you must simply stay positive and continue to do the work. You control what you control. Tune out the noise. Focus on solutions. Work hard every day. Embrace change, work together as a team, and create positive change from the inside out. Over time performance improves, the numbers rise, confidence grows, people feel and see the change and then everyone starts talking about why you are succeeding instead of failing.

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Lifestyle

Executive Fitness

Vitamin D vs COVID-19

Many fortunate individuals are getting the COVID-19 vaccine each day but many more of us must wait for either supplies to catch-up to demand or to qualify. So, for all of us prevention is as important as ever.

To that end, last May we highlighted the above video after seeing it on the Joe Rogan podcast. Joe Rogan, who (as you probably know) has a huge following, had just made national news when he suggested that he would leave California for Texas if they did not lessen restrictions. Mr. Rogan did leave and that same week, he also interviewed Dr. Rhonda Patrick FoundmyFitness.com who submitted that vitamin D might hold the answer to COVID-19 prevention.

We found it intriguing at the time and just as timely now. Please take a look at the video clip provided above. It's at 28 minute clip but at the 1:50 mark she starts her analysis of vitamin D.

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Lifestyle

Spirits & Cuisine

Reinventing a Family Business During a Pandemic!

We all know that many restaurants and food providers will not make it though the pandemic shutdowns to see the other side. Here is an uplifting story of a business that has reinvented itself to avoid that outcome. The story is touching and worth highlighting.

Small family owned and operated, one Colorado man has keep his business alive and found a way to serve his neighbors and country during the pandemic. He turned to Facebook and the public brought his business back from the brink of ruin.

Rock River Ranches
Commerce City, Co. 80022
Phone: 1-303-294-0167

Their Story

Click Here to Order

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Lifestyle

Leisure & Style

Masterclass & Business is Booming!

Learn More!

Whether or not the global economy opens back up soon, we will still be spending a lot of time at home. Many are taking the opportunity to acquire or sharpen skills and Masterclass is a learning platform that is filling that void.

MasterClass.com

Personally, I have taken the cooking class taught by Gordon Ramsay but there are numerous classes on an array of subjects. You have the option of a one-time charge or an unlimited access fee. If you are looking to be product this summer while spending most of it at home it might be an option for your consideration.

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Lifestyle

Travel

Qantas Air Announces Reopening Plans

Maybe it is really all coming to an end! In case you missed it, Qantas announced last week it will restart 22 of its 25 overseas routes in October 2021. Cities like Los Angeles, London and Johannesburg are a few back on the schedule for that time frame. Hopefully, this is a sign of good things to come!

Related Article

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Business Services

Business Acquisitions & Funding

Vintage Swiss Trust Companies Immediately Available:

* 19-Year-Old Swiss Trust Company
Established 2002 
Place of Incorporation Zug, Switzerland
Price: $78,800 

* 90-Year-Old Swiss Trust Company
Established 1931 
Place of Incorporation Zug, Switzerland
Price: $148,000

For Details on these listings or to Explore Additional Opportunities:

Call: +1-310-601-3115 (Beverly Hills Office)
 or
Email: contact@corb7.com