Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands. It is located in the English Channel in the Bay of St. Malo at 49 deg. N 2 deg. W. The Island covers about 116 sq. km. and the population is approximately 91,000. About 30% live in the capital and financial centre, St.Helier. The Island has a history dating back many centuries and there is evidence of human activity as much as 250,000 years ago. Jersey was linked to Brittany until 933 A.D. and in the tenth century it became a possession of the Duchy of Normandy. In 1204 when the English Crown lost the French possessions, Jersey remained loyal and it has ever since been a dependency of the British Crown.

Jersey is known as a Bailiwick. The Bailiff is appointed by the Crown and presides over the legislative body, known as the States. He is also the president of the Royal Court. The Lieutenant Governor represents the British monarch. The States consists of 54 members elected for a six-year term, Lieutenant Governor and the Dean of Jersey. The latter two officers do not have a vote. Jersey is internally self-governing. The British Government is responsible for foreign affairs and defence. The Island is associated with the European Union by virtue of the treaty of accession entered into by the United Kingdom. The main industries are financial services, agriculture and tourism.

Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands, is one of the leading offshore financial centres.  It imposes no income, capital gains or estate taxes and has a well-regulated financial services industry.  It provides a full range of offshore banking facilities. Many large banks maintain offices on the Island and there are many offshore fund management companies based there.  There is a sound legal framework for the registration of companies and for the administration of trusts.

The island of Jersey has unique status; along with the other Channel Islands it is a British Crown Dependency but it does not form part of the United Kingdom.  In practical terms this means that its internal affairs including taxation and fiscal control are governed by a locally appointed Assembly, and its external affairs are controlled by the Home Office in London.

An offshore company in Jersey is actually referred to as a Jersey Exempt Company and such a company is not subject to any local taxes whatsoever as long as it fulfils the strict guidelines and criteria as defined in the ‘Income Tax Jersey, Guide To The Exempt Company (1996 1-9)’ document.  As Jersey has such a stable political and economic environment and attractive taxation structure it is highly regarded as an offshore jurisdiction.

Jersey offshore company formation takes the form of establishing a Jersey Exempt Company and such a company must fulfil all of the following criteria: -

The company must be incorporated in Jersey and have a registered office in Jersey yet be owned by non-residents of the island.  Furthermore a Jersey offshore company must do no business locally with either companies or individual citizens who are resident on Jersey.

Annually a Jersey Exempt Company must pay six hundred pounds to the Government for corporate fees and also present them with a report of the company’s shareholders; in the event that either action is late the offshore company will face heavy fines.

An Exempt Company has to have at least two shareholders but it is possible to use nominee shareholders because their details have to appear in public records, this is just one way of reducing the profile of the company’s key personnel – another way is to use third party directors.  Third party directors are particularly useful when it comes to Jersey offshore company formation because corporate directors are not allowed in Jersey and yet there has to be a minimum of one director whose details have to appear on a public file.

Anyone who requires an offshore company structure whether that be in Jersey or elsewhere should seek the advice of a specialist offshore service provider to ensure that their proposed actions are both legal and beneficial.