Hoogewerf & Co was set up by Francis Hoogewerf, a UK chartered accountant, in 1970. Hoogewerf & Co practices as a "Réviseur d'Entreprises", "Expert comptable", domiciliary agent and international tax advisor. The EU and the OECD, since 1996, have clearly made " tax harmonisation" one of their priority objectives. This means that " tax fraud" is going to be treated much more like "money laundering". There will be exchange of information between tax havens and high tax countries. Bank secrecy in relation to "tax fraud" will slowly disappear. In any event professional advisors, banks and insurance companies must know clearly who their clients are and the business they do. The way forward is to use tax treaties. " It is better to pay a little tax rather than no tax" and transparency. Hoogewerf &Co have always been cross border tax specialists, working with colleagues, tax lawyers and accountants all around the world. Not only do Hoogewerf & Co. advise on tax structures they will also coordinate the constitution and administration of appropriate tax advantageous entities and companies, virtually anywhere in the world. Luxembourg being a crossroads between France, Germany and Belgium and having a very strong international reputation in banking and investment, is an ideal location in Europe to centralise cross border tax consultancy. Luxembourg's strength is also its language ability. Not only do most people speak French, German, Luxemburgish and English there are also strong local communities who speak Portuguese and Italian. Hoogewerf & Co has all these languages plus Spanish and Russian. Luxembourg is well known as a centre for Holding companies. Conforming to the EU’s Parent/subsidiary Directive Luxembourg’s “Soparfi” financial holding company also benefits from Luxembourg’s impressive array of double tax treaties. The main advantage of a luxembourg “Soparfi” is where a participation is made (subject to certain rules) representing more than 10% in another company for more than one year; the effect can be no tax on dividends received or on capital gains. In addition, for as long as it lasts, Luxembourg has its “1929 Holding company”, which is not subject to tax and does not normally benefit from Luxembourg tax treaties. This company has the advantage that it can very easily be transformed into a “Soparfi”. Luxembourg is not the only country with tax advantageous holding companies. Belgium, Germany, Spain, Hungary, Malta, Cyprus, Mauritius and the UK are all countries, amongst others, that offer tax advantages. Offshore companies are generally tax free companies based in offshore financial centers. From a tax point of view these companies may often be “black listed” by certain OECD countries. On the other hand, being tax-free they are also “ tax neutral” and can be very useful for purely commercial reasons. They offer commercial secrecy although offshore companies must be considered more and more transparent when it comes to “ tax evasion”. Hoogewerf & Co have a joint venture with “ OCRA Worldwide” who are well known specialists in providing offshore companies.