Elise Donovan Speaks at STEP Seminar on Debunking Five Myths About the BVI

22 January, 2018, Hong Kong – Elise Donovan, Director of BVI House Asia, was invited to speak at a seminar organised by STEP Hong Kong on “Debunking Five Myths About the BVI” on 18 January at Withers’s office in Hong Kong. 

Ms. Donovan gave an update on the general recovery of the BVI and outlined the five myths about the BVI debunked by the “Creating Value: BVI’s Global Contribution” Capital Economics Report.

“This report represents the turning point for the BVI as for the first time it highlights the BVI’s global contribution to the global economy,” said Ms. Donovan.

The “Creating Value: BVI’s Global Contribution” report was undertaken by Capital Economics of London, analysing the contribution of the BVI to the global economy. The report finds that the BVI mediates more than US$1.5 trillion of cross-border investment flows and generates over US$15 billion of tax revenues annually for governments around the world.

“Predominantly there are five myths that are often propagated about offshore jurisdictions like the BVI, which this report debunked,” she added.

Five myths about the BVI including “The BVI isn’t a real economy”, “The BVI is a dodgy offshore centre”, “BVI Companies are substance-less shell companies”, “The BVI is a tax haven”, and “The BVI is a detriment to governments worldwide”, were debunked by the findings from the Capital Economics research. 

According to the report, the BVI’s economy is real, mixed and sustainable with a unique model. BVI Business Companies are widely used and are dependable vehicles for cross-border business. Moreover, the scale of BVI’s global contribution to investment and jobs sheds a new light on the debate around its impact on the tax receipts of other nations. The BVI is a substantial net benefit to governments worldwide.

During the presentation, Ms. Donovan also  briefed Hong Kong practitioners on the latest post-hurricane recovery of the BVI.