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Belize IBC

Belize is situated on the eastern coast of Central America and has the second-highest per capita income in Central America. The economy of the country depends on tourism, agriculture and services sector. The offshore sector in Belize contributes a major portion to its GDP.

 

Belize is highly appreciated for its efforts in changing its acts and continuing to develop its business-friendly environment for foreign investments. On a good note, Belize has been removed from the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions thanks to many of its important reforms regarding the tax regime for International Business Companies. The banking system in Belize follows a two-tiered regime that offers a diversity of services for various types of depositors and different levels of demand.

 

Belize is a well-known offshore jurisdiction for its privacy policies, tax advantages for non-residents and its full tax exemption for its domiciled International Companies.

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Taxation

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Belize International Business Companies (IBCs) doing business within Belize are subject to Belizean income tax and stamp duty and are required to file income tax return. Belize IBCs whose income is derived outside of Belize shall not be liable for payment of income tax in Belize. Capital gains, dividends, and interests received may be exempt from taxation. Payments to non-residents may be exempt from withholding taxes.

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IBC Name Restrictions

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  • BVI IBC must end with one of the following words, or abbreviations thereof – Limited, Corporation, Incorporated, Societe Anonyme or Sociedad Anonima.

  • It is prohibited for a BVI IBC name to contain words such as “Assurance”, “Bank”, “Building Society”, “Chamber of Commerce”, “Chartered”, “Co-operative”, “Fund”, “Imperial”, “Insurance”, “Municipal”, “Mutual Fund”, “Royal” and “Trust”.

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Types of Companies:
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  1. Company limited by shares

  2. Company limited by guarantee

  3. Unlimited Company

  4. Restricted Purposes Company

  5. Segregated Portfolio Company

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Economic substance requirements

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The Economic Substance Requirement (ESR) has been introduced in the BVI in January 2019. Companies and partnership (except for partnerships that do not have the status of a legal entity) in BVI carrying out Relevant Activities will fall under the scope of ESR. If a company or partnership is a tax resident in a jurisdiction outside the BVI, it does not fall within the scope of the new rules.


The list of Relevant Activities are as follows:

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  1. Banking business

  2. Insurance business

  3. Fund management business

  4. Finance and leasing business

  5. Headquarters business

  6. Shipping business

  7. Holding business (pure equity holding entities)

  8. Intellectual property (IP) business

  9. Distribution and service centre business

 

Legal entity will be treated as carrying out a relevant activity in the BVI during any financial period in which it receives income from that activity. If no income is received, the legal entity will not be considered as carrying
out a relevant activity.


A legal entity that carries out the above relevant activities in the BVI while being non-resident in a  jurisdiction outside the BVI must be directed and managed in the BVI, have an adequate number of suitably qualified employees who are physically present in the BVI, incur adequate expenditures and have appropriate premises. Additional requirements are imposed on companies engaged in the business of intellectual property. 


Having direction and management in the BVI means having an adequate number of board meetings held in the BVI, a quorum of directors physically present in the BVI, an adequate level of expertise among board members and the keeping of board meeting minutes in the BVI.


An entity must present a tax residence certificate from the competent authority of the jurisdiction (or other document confirming payment of income tax on the activity abroad) to the BVI tax authorities for the relevant financial period. It is possible that an entity may be exempt from fulfilling the BVI legislative requirements if the company carrying out the relevant activity in the BVI is non-resident in another country and pays income tax on all its activities in that country (e.g. through a branch in that country).

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Common uses of BVI IBCs

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  • Holding of assets and properties and sometimes intellectual property rights

  • International trading

  • Holding of shares in companies in other jurisdictions

  • E-commerce and online platform

  • To own ships vessels allowing ship registration under the BVI flag

  • Holding of bank accounts, investment portfolios and other financial instruments

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Tailored solutions & structures

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At Premier, we carefully consider each client’s objectives before proposing a structure in BVI. Structure proposed can be layered or multi-jurisdictional. Our solutions are tailormade to each specific case and is based on client’s need and vision. Premier offers a high-quality level of personalized service to help each client grow and succeed through our presence worldwide.

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Premier Services

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Premier specialises in providing professional services whether your need is to minimize cost, grow your business or protect your wealth. We help you setting up the right structure through our associates in BVI or other jurisdictions. The solutions we provide are adapted to your needs and are smartly structured.
Our expert services include:

  • Incorporation and registration

  • Directorship services

  • Provision of registered office address

  • Professional advisory and structuring services

  • Secretarial and Administrative services

  • Bookkeeping and accountancy services

  • Tax Consultancy

  • Re-domiciliation and migration

  • Liquidation and winding Up

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