IOS:: Gibraltar

Friday, 10 September 2010

     Gibraltar is a jurisdiction physically located on a small peninsula in the South of Spain, but is nevertheless a dependent territory of the United Kingdom. Gibraltar is a self-governing territory having its own constitution, but the defence and foreign policy of Gibraltar are handled by its mother country, the United Kingdom.
     Following the abolition in 1999 of the tax-exempt status of Irish non-resident companies, Gibraltar has in effect become the only jurisdiction within Europe where the classic tax-exempt company may be incorporated.
     Several types of business entity may be registered in Gibraltar - the Private Company, the Qualifying Company, the Limited Partnership, the Exempt Private Company, the Non-Resident Company etc - but it is the non-resident company that is the most often used as a vehicle in practice.

GENERAL INFORMATION	Total area - 6,5 sq km Population - 31,000 Location - click here to see the map of offshore jurisdictions Political status -Member of British Commonwealth. Official language - English Official currency - Pound sterling (GBP) Time zone - GMT +1
Company type	Non-Resident Company
Directors/Officers	Gibraltar Non-Resident Company requires a minimum of 1 Director, who may be a natural person or a corporate body from any legal jurisdiction, except Gibraltar. Each Gibraltar Non-Resident Company must file a Register of its Directors with the Register of Enterprises of the Gibraltar.
Shareholders	Gibraltar Non-Resident Company requires a minimum of 1 shareholder, who may be a natural person or a corporate body from any legal jurisdiction, except Gibraltar. Each Gibraltar Non-Resident Company must file a Register of its Shareholder/s with the Register of Enterprises of the Gibraltar.
Secretary	Gibraltar Non-Resident companies require a minimum of 1 Secretary, who may be a natural person or a corporate body from any legal jurisdiction. Each Gibraltar Non-Resident company must file an information on its Secretary with the Register of Enterprises of the Gibraltar.
Authorised share capital	Standard authorised capital = GBP 1,000. Minimum capital, which must be paid on incorporation = 2 GBP.
Company Names	The name of a Gibraltar Non-resident company must end with the word "Limited" or suffix "Ltd.". Company names containing restricted words such as "Bank", "Insurance", "Trust", "Royal", "Fund" etc. will not be permitted unless an appropriate national operating licence has been obtained by the company.
Beneficial Ownership information	Information with regard to ultimate beneficial ownership must be disclosed to the Registered Agent of the company in Gibraltar and is held by the agent on a confidential basis.
Filing of Annual Return	An Annual Return must be submitted every 12 months after the date of registration.
Filing of Financial Statement	A short Financial Statement (current balance sheet) must be submitted every year.
Corporate Taxation	Gibraltar Non-Resident companies are not subject to corporation tax in the Gibraltar.
Tax Treaties	Gibraltar does not have treaties with any other jurisdictions dealing with the avoidance of double taxation.
Timeframe for incorporation	6/7 working days. A complete set of company documents can be delivered in 4/5 weeks.
Takeover of management & secretarial services for an existing Gibraltar Non-Resident company	Possible, following verification of Beneficial Ownership and agreement with and discharge of liabilities to previous corporate service provider in Gibraltar.
Description of incorporation documents	Click here for itemised description of company documents.
"Ready-made"("Shelf") companies	Today we have 3 "Ready-made" companies available in this jurisdiction (click here for list of companies)
Price of Gibraltar Non-Resident company	USD 2,480, including incorporation costs, full domiciliary (Registered Agent/Office) costs, Nominee services and legal support services for one year.
Cost of annual support services	USD 1,680 per year, including full domiciliary (Registered Agent/Office) costs, annual Government Duty, Nominee services and legal support services for each year.

INTERNATIONAL OVERSEAS SERVICES has the following comments: -
For a long time, Gibraltar was one of the leading locations in Europe for the incorporation of tax-exempt companies. After the introduction in 2002 of a requirement for Gibraltar companies to file their balance sheets annually, the number of structures registered and incorporated there fell slightly. However, Gibraltar remains popular to this day, as it is the only bona fide tax-free zone on the continent of Europe. It is undeniably the case that Gibraltar offers the least expensive route for incorporating a company in Europe. By comparison with other tax-exempt countries, the advantage of Gibraltar is that this jurisdiction is neither a remote nor an exotic island state, but a European territory to which entrepreneurs are fully accustomed. Since the offshore and financial sectors, together with tourism, provide the major source of revenue for Gibraltar, the local authorities place a high value on their presence and make all possible efforts to maintain the tax privileges offered by this jurisdiction.

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