General information

The Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI) are located approximately 575 miles south-east of Miami, Florida at the southern end of the Bahama chain. The TCI are a British Overseas Territory, with a legal and judicial system based on English common law. The population of the Islands is estimated to be 30,000 of whom about 25,000 live on Providenciales, the TCI's commercial and tourist centre.

The Islands have no direct personal or corporate taxation and the local currency is the US dollar. There are no exchange control regulations. Airlift (primarily to Providenciales) is excellent with regular flights to Miami, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, New York and Charlotte and (seasonally) to Boston, London and Toronto.

The economy of the Islands has grown dramatically in recent years. Tourism and finance are the main industries. Priority has been given by TCI Government to the development of the financial sector. As a consequence, the Islands now have modern legislation covering a broad spectrum of business and financial products and entities including companies, limited partnerships, limited life companies, trusts, captive insurance, banking and mutual funds. There is a strong commitment to compliance by the financial industry with international regulatory standards, and the Islands' proceeds of crime and anti-money laundering legislation has recently been reviewed with approval by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force and the IMF.

Tourism development is encouraged by the Government and the Islands are now home to some of the best hotel and condominium resorts in the Caribbean. Development has primarily been on Providenciales and its outlying Cays, but in the recent past has been spreading to North Caicos, West Caicos, Ambergris Cay and Grand Turk, and interest on the part of developers (both local and international) in other islands in the archipelago is growing apace.