Offshore companies are simply called differently in different countries. The most popular name is IBC – International Business Company. Other names You may come across are non-resident companies, exempt companies, special license companies, etc. In British Virgin Islands, after the introduction of a level zero-tax for all business in 2004, the official name for all new companies is simply a Business Company. Regardless of the name, all of those entities are independent corporate bodies or what is called “juridical persons”, with their tax benefits prescribed by the actual laws of their registration country. Quite often, the name known and used in popular sources will not exactly be the name You would find in the law. For instance, regardless of the official new name “BVI Business Company”, most people would still call it the old fashioned way – as International Business Company.
