The legality of offshore enterprises

It seems that offshoring is becoming a more and more significant reality today. Offshoring is at the center of a huge public policy debate, which has emerged among business people, politicians, public servants, blue-collar workers and others. Proponents of offshoring see it as bringing prosperity to third-world countries, as well as saving costs and boosting innovation and productivity in corporate high-tax countries. They believe that saving money on cheaper labor benefits consumers due to lower costs and also benefits shareholders because of increased value. Opponents see it as an ―assault on good paying jobs‖ in developed countries. According to them, the negative effect of offshoring is that many individuals lose their jobs, and this consequently hurts the economy of developed countries. This article analyzes offshoring through the legality of offshore enterprises and raises the question whether the business performed in the form of offshore enterprise and associated with the opportunity to maximize profits on the basis of tax reduction is legitimate, and, if so, what determines the legality of offshore enterprise. The paper also presents the understanding of offshore enterprises in the Lithuanian legal system, and examines whether offshore enterprises are legal within the Lithuanian legal system