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Monday, 6 February 2012SITE MAP
CANADA - EXTRA PROVINCIAL CORPORATION
  • Canada is a country with a comparatively strict system of taxation. Ordinary Canadian companies are liable to tax on all their income, wherever it may be derived. For this reason, they have no features attributable to tax-exempt or offshore structures.
  • Taking these facts into account, Canada has a firmly entrenched image in the eyes of entrepreneurs and official institutions as a country with a standard system of taxation. As a consequence, any structure established on Canadian territory is a highly prestigious vehicle and in no way carries the "taint" of a tax-exempt entity.
  • Be that as it may, Canadian legislation in fact offers the opportunity of establishing a tax-exempt entity in Canada. The local legislation of some provinces allows for the domestication of companies resident in other countries, including tax-exempt countries, i.e. for the transfer of their residence to Canada. Structures of this type that have acquired Canadian residence have the description "Extra-Provincial Corporation", or its abbreviation, EPC.
  • If an EPC has no source of income in Canada, and if the control and management of the EPC is located outside Canada, the EPC operates in a tax-exempt regime. Accordingly, the incorporation of an EPC in Canada in fact entails the immediate incorporation of two structures: a principal company (usually from a classic tax-exempt jurisdiction) and simultaneously an EPC in Canada.

GENERAL INFORMATIONTotal area - 9,922,385 sq km
Population - 28,900,000
Location - click here to see the map of offshore jurisdictions
Political status - Federation
Capital - Ottawa
Official language - English, French
Official currency - Canadian Dollar (CAD)
Time zone - GMT - 4 - GMT - 8
Company typeExtra Provincial Corporation (EPC)
Directors/OfficersCanada EPC requires a minimum of 1 Director, who may be a natural person from any legal jurisdiction.
Each Canada EPC company must file a Register of its Directors with the Register of Enterprises of according province of Canada.
ShareholdersCanada EPC companies require a minimum of 1 shareholder, who may be a natural person or a corporate body from any legal jurisdiction.
Each Canada EPC company must file a Register of its Shareholder/s with the Register of Enterprises of according province of Canada.
Authorised share capitalAuthorised capital of Canada EPC is identical to authorised capital of its parent company.
There is no statutory requirement for capital to be fully or partly paid on incorporation.
Company Names The name of a Canada EPC company must end with the words "Incorporated", "Corporation", "Limited" or suffixes such as "Inc.", "Corp.", "Ltd.", etc.
Company names containing restricted words such as "Bank", "Insurance", "Trust" 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 Canada and is held by the agent on a confidential basis.
Filing of Annual ReturnAnnual Return must be submitted every 12 months after the date of registration.
Filing of Financial Statement There is no requirement to file Financial Statements in Canada for an EPC.
Corporate TaxationCanada EPC companies are not subject to corporation tax in Canada.
Tax TreatiesCanada EPC companies are not regarded as resident for tax purposes in Canada, and therefore are not entitled to take advantage of international Double Taxation agreements concluded by Canada and other countries.
Timeframe for incorporation 15/20 working days. A complete set of company documents can be delivered in 6/7 weeks.
Takeover of management & secretarial services for an existing Canada EPC companyPossible, following verification of Beneficial Ownership and agreement with and discharge of liabilities to previous corporate service provider in Canada.
Description of incorporation documentsClick here for itemised description of company documents.
"Ready-made"("Shelf") companiesToday we have 1 "Ready-made" companies available in this jurisdiction
Price of Canada EPC companyUSD 2,960, including incorporation costs, full domiciliary (Registered Agent/Office) costs, Nominee services and legal support services for one year.
Cost of annual support servicesUSD 1,980 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: -
  • To incorporate a company in Canada is a respectable and prestigious choice. No supervisory institution or business partner will venture to label a Canadian company, even on a subjective level, as being "offshore".
    In establishing an EPC, the most preferable choice of the principal (foreign) company lies in using a structure from the standard tax-free jurisdictions - the Bahamas, Gibraltar etc; in this instance the use of a US company is not to be recommended.
  • In theory, when establishing an EPC, it is possible to use an already existing tax-exempt company that the client may have. However, in that case, one should bear in mind that the company documents may need to be reworked in order to conform with the requirements of Canadian legislation.
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