A BVI Company is a company chartered by the British Virgin Islands, a popular offshore jurisdiction for tax planning among some high net worth U.S. residents.
In 2004, the BVI modified its laws, replacing the older International Business Companies Act with the newer BVI Business Companies Act. This reform was designed in part to to deflect international criticism--critics such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) had complained that the BVI was treating international companies more favorably than its own domestic companies, so that the international businesses were receiving state aid.
International Criticism
The BVI addressed this complaint by abolishing taxation of its domestic businesses, too, eliminating the distinction between domestic and offshore companies.