I'm looking to incorporate a anonymous company with full privacy and anonymity, nominee director and stock holder is required. For now I'm looking into the below offshore jurisdictions:
Andorra where I found this information:
Andorra where I found this information:
Maltabut in practical terms Andorra became independent in 1278. Its co-princes are the French president and the Spanish Bishop of Urguel, but they don't interfere! Andorra is a parliamentary democracy. Squeezed between France and Spain in the Pyrenees, with 467 sq km and a population of almost 83,900, Andorra has an amazing 11.6 million visitors annually. The skiing is excellent, but the valleys are warm enough in summer to grow tobacco, the dominant agricultural activity. There's no airport but the roads to France and Spain are good. The language is Catalan.
Economy Based on Tourism
Tourism accounts for 80% of the economy one way or another. There is some local manufacturing (including tobacco processing) but Andorra is structurally import-dependent. There is no unemployment and growth is around 5%; inflation tends to mirror that in France and Spain. Andorra has no currency - most important currencies are acceptable; but the Government works in Euros. There is a budget surplus; national debt is very low. GDP per head at USD42,500 is among the highest in the world. Until recently, Andorra protected its domestic business sector with ownership restrictions, but now allows 100% foreign ownership of companies in 200 economic sectors in a bid to help diversify the economy.
Andorra's Lowtax Specialisations
There are no taxes in Andorra for companies or individuals other than modest annual registration fees, municipal rates, property transaction taxes, some minor sales taxes and a sliding scale capital gains tax introduced in 2007. There are no special regimes for 'offshore' entities and no trusts (Andorra is a civil law jurisdiction).
Andorra's Bank Accounts Are Very Secret
As a home for money, Andorra is hard to beat. Banks are solid, and there are no capital or exchange controls. Numbered accounts are said to be known about only to you, your banker and God. Strict anti-money laundering legislation stops criminal activity, but excludes tax avoidance which is no crime in Andorra. In June, 2004, however, Andorra was obliged to accept the EU's Savings Tax Directive, and as from July, 2008, is imposing a withholding tax of 20% on returns on savings paid to citizens of Member States of the EU, of which 75% is remitted onwards to the States concerned. In March 2009, Andorra’s government announced that it would cooperate with OECD principles by reaching tax information exchange agreements, and in February, 2010, was placed on the OECD's 'white list'.
Immigration Controlled by Residence and Work Permits
To encourage immigration by high-net-worth individuals (often retired) the Government offers Passive Residence Permits, which are not cheap, and are subject to a quota which is determined periodically according to the “economic and social needs of the Principality of Andorra”. Otherwise, long term residence is only possible to those with work permits, which are controlled by quotas. It is possible to get around this system by owning a nominee company, which is relatively expensive, but the Government watches closely, and any kind of doubtful activity (or competition against locals) will bring rapid expulsion.
LichtensteinMalta Wanted To Be In The EU . . . most of the time, anyway
Malta is an independent nation, having split from the UK in 1964. The Maltese Islands are 100 km south of Sicily, with a population of 405,000; the climate is warm. Malta has a Westminster-style democracy, but has been politically fractious since independence. 15 years of post-colonial adolescent flirtation with Communism and the third world has however been succeeded by a more mature attitude.
Malta joined the EU in 2004, although as late as the spring of 2002, with EU accession negotiations almost completed, the opposition labour party was still hankering after a life as the 'Switzerland of the Mediterranean'. Eventually, Malta was invited to join the EU in December, 2002, along with Cyprus and 8 Eastern European ex-Soviet states. A referendum in March, 2003, approved EU entry, and after the government was returned to power in April, it signed the EU accession treaty in Athens. Finally, the Maltese Parliament ratified the accession treaty in July, 2003.
The official languages are English and Maltese. The British military and naval base once dominated Malta but since 1979, when the British left, the excellent port facilities have not yet been fully re-utilised. Tourism has become a major contributor to the economy, particularly visits by cruise ships. The airport has good connections with a wide range of European countries. Figures for 2009 show GDP per head of $23,900 which is low on the European scale and increases only slowly; for the same year inflation was at 1.8%; and unemployment at 7%.
As a politically-stable, English-speaking retirement destination, Malta has experienced a real estate boom, especially since joining the EU, followed by the adoption of the euro as from 1st January 2008.
. . . but its long-term economic future is dependent on financial services.
Almost entirely lacking energy or other natural resources, and with a severe shortage of arable land, Malta is inevitably an import-hungry country. In the last 15 years, the Government has tried hard, and with some success, to create a high-technology manufacturing sector and to establish processing and distribution facilities around its rapidly growing Freeport. There are extensive investment incentives.
Manufacturing, tourism and shipping go some way towards paying for imports, but the gap cannot be closed without the development of a financial services sector. Maltese legislation for banking, mutual funds, insurance and trust services was relatively late in arriving, and while these sectors are growing, they are not on the scale of some other OIFCs. Malta has moderately high internal taxes, but offers low-tax regimes to companies and individuals. Malta phased out its 'designer tax' Offshore Companies, which the EU would never have accepted, and in 2006 had to give in to the EU by legislating away their replacements, the International Trading Companies.
There is a reasonably sophisticated business and professional infrastructure. Business sectors with offshore activity include banking, investment fund management (there is a stock exchange with a growing array of mutual fund listings), trust management, shipping (a particularly strong sector) and investment holding.
The reasons are they all are in EU so I will be able to get IBAN and SWIFT for bank account! I have looked to Panama, New Zealand and Nevis to, but they don't have IBAN bank account.Liechtenstein is in the EEA but Not In the EU
Liechtenstein is a constitutional monarchy, has a land area of about 160 sq km (60 sq m), a population of just over 34,500 (July 2009 est), and is sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria. It has a customs union and a monetary union with Switzerland. Liechtenstein belongs to EFTA, and since 1995 to the EEA; it is member of the UN. The official language is German; English and French are also spoken, with a local dialect used in everyday life.
A referendum held in March, 2003, gave the ruling Prince Hans-Adam II sweeping new powers, including the right to veto parliamentary bills, sack the entire government and introduce emergency rule.
Economy Buoyant Based on Industry and Financial Services
Liechtenstein was primarily an agrarian country until its economic union with Switzerland (1922 and reinforced in 1980) propelled it into rapid industrial and financial development. The princely family is highly active in leading the country economically. GDP per capita is $121,000, inflation and unemployment are around 1.5%. The currency is the Swiss Franc, and there are no exchange controls. Membership of the EEA gives Liechtenstein access to the single market of the EU in most respects.
In October, 2003, in a dramatic development, Liechtenstein refused to sign an agreement to expand the EEA to incorporate the ten nations due to accede to the EU in 2004, apparently in order to get back at the Czech Republic and Slovakia for the 'Benes' decree in the 1940s which resulted in the expulsion of Liechtenstein nationals and the expropriation of their property. But at the end of November Liechtenstein gave in and signed up.
Liechtenstein's Lowtax Specialisations
Liechtenstein has moderate domestic taxes, but has specialised and very flexible types of 'holding' and 'domiciliary' company as well as 'establishments' and 'foundations' which are tax-exempt, but cannot usually trade inside the country. There are more than 30,000 of these 'offshore' entities, which provide around 30% of state revenues. There is also a trust regime based on common law, although Liechtenstein is a civil law jurisdiction. The headline Liechtenstein product is private banking, although holding companies must run it close in terms of asset value; trusts have also been successful.
After the EU reached final agreement on its Savings Tax Directive, under which an information-sharing regime was initiated by 12 out of 15 existing member states in 2005, Liechtenstein chose, like Switzerland, to impose a withholding tax on returns on savings paid to citizens of EU member states, rather than compromise banking secrecy.
FAFT Blacklist
In June 2000, Liechtenstein was identified by the FATF as a non-cooperative and harmful tax haven. The result of this is that Liechtenstein was one of fifteen tax jurisdictions placed on an FATF blacklist. Each 'harmful' tax haven had a year in which to correct its tax regulations and legislation, once it has done so the tax haven will be removed from the list. Liechtenstein was removed from the list in 2001 after tightening up its money laundering legislation.
By mid-2002, the FATF was able to say that Liechtenstein was 'off its radar screen'.
The OECD
In 2009, Liechtenstein was identified as a territory which had committed to, but not substantially implemented the internationally agreed standard on tax transparency. In the intervening months Liechtenstein has concluded 15 Tax Information Exchange Agreements, including with France, Germany, the UK and the US, and has subsequently been elevated to the OECD's 'white list of compliance jurisdictions.
Plenty of Lowish Taxes in Liechtenstein!
Profits tax on business and income tax on individuals, both at 18% on higher incomes, don't sound too bad, but the net worth tax at 2% for business and around 1% for indivduals can be expensive. There is no separate capital gains tax (they are taken into income) but there is a moderate tax on real estate gains. Estate and gift taxes vary but are low within the family; VAT is 6.5%. There is only one tax treaty, with Austria, but withholding tax on dividends and some other payments is only 4%.
In May 2010, Liechtenstein’s government has approved plans for creating a new tax act, designed to modernize the existing Liechtenstein Tax Act of 1961 and including a 12.5% flat rate of corporate tax.
Immigration Controlled by Residence and Work Permits
EEA nationals have some qualified freedom of movement in Liechtenstein, but in practice non-nationals need residence and work permits. There is a substantial commuting population from Austria and Switzerland.
