Cone Marshall is an international New Zealand Trust, Estate, and Tax Law Firm. The principals in this firm are Karen Marshall and Geoffrey Cone. Established in 1999, this firm is located in Auckland, at the Parnell House, Level 3, Auckland 1151, New Zealand. They may be contacted at +64 9 307 3950 or on the web at http://www.conemarshall.com. Karen Marshall worked in London for a total of ten years in the Commercial Litigation department of a law firm. In 2006, she became an advisor to statutory trustee companies at Cone Marshall. She has a wide range of experience in managing trusts.
Geoffrey Cone has provided tax planning and international trust management services since 1980. The company assists in the establishing of trusts, partnerships, companies, global wealth and tax planning advice. An article in May of 2016 referred to this firm as “the best of New Zealand’s tax lawyers.” The increase in the number of foreign trusts in New Zealand was addressed by Mr. Cone with the statement: ”The reason that there has been such strong recent growth in the number of foreign trusts administered [here] is that New Zealand is internationally recognized as a safe, stable and high quality jurisdiction with good laws, a well-regarded judiciary and substantial legal and professional infrastructure. Our reputation as a safe place to base one’s assets is positive for New Zealand’s global reputation.” Mr. Cone adheres to high principles regarding tax and trust transparency and provides their clients with only trusted advice.
According to a list maintained by OECD, New Zealand is not a tax haven. What New Zealand has done, is show leadership in how it handles foreign trusts and trustee requirements. In 2006, Michael Cullen passed a law stating New Zealand resident trustees of foreign trusts must submit a Foreign Trust Disclosure form and keep financial records for tax purposes. These records must be kept in New Zealand and recorded in English or penalties apply. This was further enhanced by the 2011 enactment of world standard money laundering legislation.
New Zealand has 39 double tax agreements to reduce tax impediments and assist in preventing tax evasion or avoidance. They also have more than 20 tax information agreements with other countries. They have signed up to a multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. None of these actions in any way represent a tax haven.
Visit Cone Marshall’s official website to learn more about the firm: http://www.conemarshall.com