Tax planning is crucial when it comes to the finances both of individuals and businesses.
One firm that acted with this principle in mind recently was Building and heating materials group Wolseley, which announced its intentions to establish a new holding company in Switzerland.
This move is intended to reduce the size of the enterprise's corporate tax bill.
A statement released by the organisation noted the decision was part of a scheme to "achieve a competitive corporate tax rate".
Talking about the conditions in which his firm is operating in, chief executive of the group Ian Meakins added: "Demand across our markets remains mixed and the economic outlook continues to be unclear.
"Whilst we remain cautious about the outlook for our markets, we are confident that Wolseley will make good progress in the year ahead."
According to finance chief John Martin, the tax planning initiative could reduce the organisation's corporate tax rate from 34 per cent to 28 per cent.
He went on to claim that Wolseley currently feels as though it is subject to two levies under UK Controlled Foreign Company (CFC), which make it pay tax on its overseas earnings.
Responding to these suggestions, a spokesman for the Treasury said: "The government is committed to reform of the CFC rules and will introduce new rules in 2012."
He went on to state that any alterations will deliver a more "territorial approach" which is more focussed on artificially diverted UK profits and which exempts genuine commercial activities.
Given the tough economic conditions currently affecting firms around the UK and abroad, more business people may be considering offshore company formation to reduce their tax burden.