Offshore companies have the following features which are beneficial:

Taxation - In most jurisdictions authorities will not seek to tax companies which they treat a non-resident. There is 100% tax exemption

Simplicity and Reporting - Some jurisdictions make it relatively simple to set up and maintain companies especially with reference to lesser reporting requirements than so-called onshore jurisdictions - the level of information required by the registrar of companies varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

Legal and asset protection - some jurisdictions have stricter provisions for allowing a court to pierce the corporate veil, and in many cases, corporate governance rules require the laws of the jurisdiction where the corporation is chartered, rather than where it is sued, to apply.

Anonymity - by carrying out transactions in the name of a private company, the name of the underlying principal may be kept out of documentation since the company is a separate legal entity.

Thin capitalization - Some offshore jurisdictions tend not to impose "thin capitalization" rules on companies, allowing them to be formed with a purely nominal equity investment.

Financial assistance - offshore companies are usually not prohibited from providing "financial assistance" for the acquisition of their own shares, which avoids the needs for "whitewash" procedure in certain financial transactions.

Cost of operation - In many cases, i.e. where a self employment consultant provides service to a number of jurisdictions and is frequently travelling it is a matter of choice where he chooses to incorporate. In this case the fact that companies in an offshore financial centre are considerably cheaper than buying or renting premises, arranging to engage accountants, receptionists, IT providers etc would be.