| sec.sys. |
shell corporation (a company which serves as a vehicle for business transactions without itself having any significant assets or operations. Shell corporations are not in themselves illegal, and they do have legitimate business purposes. However, they are a main component of the underground economy, especially those based in tax havens. They may also be known as international business companies, personal investment companies, front companies, or "mailbox" companies. Shell companies can also be used for tax avoidance. A classic tax avoidance operation is based on the buying and selling through tax haven shell companies to disguise true profits. In some developing economies, shell companies allow private entrepreneurship to survive in an environment where an inadequate legal system leads to arbitrariness and corruption. In these challenging environments, entrepreneurs operating a relatively small private business with limited resources sometimes set up shell enterprises to lower or avoid taxes, because tax avoidance or evasion may be a necessity for business survival in situations where the level of taxation is penal, government officials (including tax officials) systematically demand bribes, working capital is in short supply, and tax legislation is hostile to private entrepreneurial businesses, e.g. when tax laws are extremely complicated and change arbitrarily and rapidly) |
| zool. |
shell corporation (a company which serves as a vehicle for business transactions without itself having any significant assets or operations. Shell corporations are not in themselves illegal, and they do have legitimate business purposes. However, they are a main component of the underground economy, especially those based in tax havens. They may also be known as international business companies, personal investment companies, front companies, or "mailbox" companies Alex_Odeychuk) |
