Tax man cometh

One of the attractions of the shipping business is the prospect of tax-free earnings. Shipowners have been giving the taxman the slip for centuries. Liability is one of the industry’s pitfalls. Devising corporate structures to shield against liability is a lawyer’s bread and butter.

Stakeholders in foreign corporations earning money operating ships that call on a US port will be forced to deep-six the corporate veil, the inquisition has begun. The anonymity the maritime industry is known for, and cherishes, is about to end.

Tools of the trade: Bearer bonds; blind trusts; holding companies; a far-flung domicile; closely held stock; silent, domestic and tiered partnerships; not-for-profit organizations; foreign pension plans; estates; controlled foreign corporations; constructive ownership, are about to be scrutinized by the US Internal Revenue Service.

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