Descriptive Notes And Contents List

E-commerce raises many new issues for governments, tax authorities, legislators and the courts, and of these by far the most challenging is the question of taxation. The growth of offshore e-commerce adds an extra layer of difficulty.

As a general proposition, almost any business involved in e-commerce can gain from moving partly or wholly offshore, not just on a fiscal level but also through increased flexibility. The tax benefits are primarily through reduced corporation tax, but some types of offshore e-commerce transaction also escape sales taxes.

This report analyses the offshore jurisdictions that have led the way in offering professional e-commerce regimes for international business, with a particular focus on e-gaming.

The On-Line Gaming survey reviews the current state of the offshore betting and gaming sector, covering the key offshore and onshore countries which have figured prominently in its development.

Internet gambling generated $10 billion in revenue worldwide in 2005. Roughly 1,400 sites are operated by 250 companies, situated in several dozen countries where Internet gambling is either not regulated or is explicitly licensed.

America is course far from being the only country to impose extensive controls on betting and gaming: they are tightly controlled if not banned outright in many countries, and where they are permitted they are often heavily taxed. Therefore the exodus of gambling firms to offshore continues apace. By now, large parts of the betting and gaming industry have moved offshore, and the sector's turnover has been expanding rapidly as previously unsatisfied demand has responded to new freedoms. However, repressive US legislation in 2006 has thrown a shadow across a previously booming sector.

Introduction			Gibraltar
Alderney			Isle of Man
Antigua			Malta
Costa Rica			Vanuatu

All Intelligence Reports are updated on a weekly basis with the latest relevant information, and constitute the most complete authoritative material available in their various subject areas.

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