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US has new name for offshore companies

There is a new phrase from America which should make the Manx government smile.

Russell Investment Group, which produces stock indexes, says companies listed or headquartered in the United States but legally based offshore are 'benefits-driven incorporations'.

The term refers to the practice of being legally based in jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man for tax reasons.

As of this month, they can join Russell's American indexes for the first time.

The designation applies to companies in 13 locations: the Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Channel Islands, the Cook Islands, Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, Liberia, the Marshall Islands, the Netherlands Antilles and Panama.

It’s come at a time when authorities across the Atlantic have taken dim views of BDIs, labelling them 'corporate tax evaders'.

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