The importance of tax havens

Tax optimization of a business is one of the biggest issues of today's economic world. This bachelor thesis deals with tax havens and with the study of both the theory of tax havens, the reasons for their usage and the existing common position on their existence, as well as their practical advantages and disadvantages. The thesis is divided into three chapters. The first chapter presents the history and development of tax havens in the world, the criticism and support of such jurisdictions, usually used by medium-sized entrepreneurs, and three legal commonly used forms of business in tax havens. The second chapter approaches three specific jurisdictions, in particular, the British Virgin Islands, Cyprus and the Netherlands. The third chapter shows practical examples of how to use tax havens and addresses whether the cost of international tax planning can influence a decision-making process of the entity and whether tax optimization can only be used after exceeding a certain annual turnover threshold. This paper also shows that international tax planning is not a financial benefit for small businesses and that not any type of tax optimization can be used regardless of the type of business activity provided