Jurisdiction comparison Chart

Key Offshore Jurisdictions

Jurisdiction/Type of Company	Taxation	Local directors required	Publicly accessible record of directors	Publicly accessible record of members	Audit requirements	Requirement to file accounts
Anguilla IBC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Bahamas IBC	Nil	No	Yes	No	No	No
Belize IBC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
British Virgin Islands BC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Cayman Islands Exempt	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Cook Islands IC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Dominica IBC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Marshall Islands IBC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Nevis BusinessCorporation	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Nevis LLC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Panama Non Resident	Nil	No	Yes	Optional	No	No
Samoa IC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Seychelles IBC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
St Vincent IBC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Turks and Caicos Islands IBC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
UAE (RAK Offshore)	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
UAE (RAK Free Zone)	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Vanuatu Exempt	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Vanuatu IC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No

Popular Offshore Jurisdictions

urisdiction/Type of Company	Taxation	Local directors required	Publicly accessible record of directors	Publicly accessible record of members	Audit requirements	Requirement to file accounts
Cyprus IBC	12.5%	Advisable	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Gibraltar Non Resident	Nil	No	Yes	Yes	Yes, but small company exceptions	Yes
Isle of Man Resident LLC	Fiscally transparent	No	Yes	No	No	No, but must be available for inspection
Isle of Man Limited Partnership	Nil	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No, but must be available for inspection
Isle of Man Private Limited	0% – 10%	No	Yes	Yes	Yes but small company exceptions	Yes
Isle of Man Hybrid	0% – 10%	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Isle of Man New Manx Vehicle	0% – 10%	No	Yes	Optional	No	No
Hong Kong Private Limited	Nil on Foreign Profits	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Liechtenstein AG	12,5%	No	No	No	No	Yes
Luxembourg S.A.R.L.	Normal rates	Advisable	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Luxembourg 1990 SOPARFI Holding	Normal rates	Advisable	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Mauritius GBC I	0% – 3%	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes
Mauritius Offshore GBC II	Nil	No	No	No	No	Yes
New Zealand Ltd	0% – 30%	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Scotland LP	Fiscally transparent	Not apllicable	Not apllicable	No	No	No
Singapore Private Limited	Nil on Foreign Profits	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes but small exemptions	Yes but small exemptions
United Kingdom LLP	Fiscally transparent	Not apllicable	Not apllicable	Yes	Yes but small company exceptions	Yes
United Kingdom Private Limited	20% – 26%	No	Yes	Yes	Yes but small company exemptions	Yes

Caribbean Offshore Jurisdictions

Jurisdiction/Type of Company	Taxation	Local directors required	Publicly accessible record of directors	Publicly accessible record of members	Audit requirements	Requirement to file accounts
Anguilla IBC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Bahamas IBC	Nil	No	Yes	No	No	No
Barbados IBC	1% – 2.5%	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Belize IBC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Bermuda Exempt	Nil	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes
BVI BC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Cayman Islands Exempt	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Dominica IBC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Nevis Business Corporation	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Nevis LLC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
St Vincent IBC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Turks and Caicos Islands IBC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No

European Offshore Jurisdictions

Jurisdiction/Type of Company	Taxation	Local directors required	Publicly accessible record of directors	Publicly accessible record of members	Audit requirements	Requirement to file accounts
Cyprus IBC	10%	Advisable	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Denmark ApS	0% – 25%	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Denmark A/S	0% – 25%	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Gibraltar Non Resident	Nil	No	Yes	Yes	Yes, but small company exceptions	Yes
Ireland Resident Private Ltd	12.5%	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Ye
Isle of Man Resident LLC	Fiscally transparent	No	Yes	No	No	No, but must be available for inspection
Isle of Man Limited Partnership	Nil	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No, but must be available for inspection
Isle of Man Private Limited	0% – 10%	No	Yes	Yes	Yes but small company exceptions	Yes
Isle of Man Hybrid	0% – 10%	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Isle of Man New Manx Vehicle	0% – 10%	No	Yes	Optional	No	No
Jersey Resident Private Ltd	0% – 10%	No	No	Yes	No	No
Liechtenstein AG	12,5%	No	No	No	No	Yes
Luxembourg S.A.R.L.	Normal rates	Advisable	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Luxembourg 1990 SOPARFI Holding	Normal rates	Advisable	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Malta Private Limited Liability Company	5% – 35%	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Netherlands BV	20% for taxable income up to EUR 40,000, 23% on taxable income above EUR 40,000 and not exceeding EUR 200,000 and 25.5% above EUR 200,000	No	Yes	Where single member yes, otherwise no	Yes	Yes
Scotland – LP	Fiscally transparent	Not apllicable	Not apllicable	No	No	No
Switzerland AG/SA/LTD	Yes/ Varies	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Switzerland GmbH/SARL	Yes/ Varies	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
United Kingdom LLP	Fiscally transparent	Not apllicable	Not apllicable	Yes	Yes but small company exceptions	Yes
United Kingdom Private Limited	20% – 26%	No	Yes	Yes	Yes but small company exemptions	Yes

Central & South America Offshore Jurisdictions

Jurisdiction/Type of Company	Taxation	Local directors required	Publicly accessible record of directors	Publicly accessible record of members	Audit requirements	Requirement to file accounts
Costa Rica Stock Corporation	Nil	No	Yes	No	No	No
Panama Non Resident	Nil	No	Yes	Optional	No	No

Asian Offshore Jurisdictions

Jurisdiction/Type of Company	Taxation	Local directors required	Publicly accessible record of directors	Publicly accessible record of members	Audit requirements	Requirement to file accounts
Hong Kong Private Limited	Nil on Foreign Profits	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Singapore Private Limited	Nil on Foreign Profits	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes but small exemptions	Yes but small exemptions

UAE Free Zones

Jurisdiction/Type of Company	Taxation	Local directors required	Publicly accessible record of directors	Publicly accessible record of members	Audit requirements	Requirement to file accounts
RAK Offshore	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Dubai Offshore (JAFZA)	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Jebel Ali Free Zone	Nil	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Dubai Airport Free Zone	Nil	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Dubai South Free Zone	Nil	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
DMCC Free Zone	Nil	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
DWC Free Zone	Nil	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Ajman Free Zone	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Fujairah Free Zone	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Hamriyah Free Zone	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
RAK Free Zone	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
RAK Free Trade Zone	Nil	No	No	No	No	No

African Offshore Jurisdictions

Jurisdiction/Type of Company	Taxation	Local directors required	Publicly accessible record of directors	Publicly accessible record of members	Audit requirements	Requirement to file accounts
Mauritius GBC I	0% – 3%	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes
Mauritius GBC II	Nil	No	No	No	No	Yes
Seychelles IBC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No

Australian, New Zealand & Oceania Offshore Jurisdictions

Jurisdiction/Type of Company	Taxation	Local directors required	Publicly accessible record of directors	Publicly accessible record of members	Audit requirements	Requirement to file accounts
Australia Proprietary	30%	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes but small company exemptions	Yes if audit required
Australia Public	30%	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cook Islands IC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Marshall Islands IBC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
New Zealand Ltd	0% – 30%	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Samoa IC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Vanuatu Exempt	Nil	No	No	No	No	No
Vanuatu IC	Nil	No	No	No	No	No

USA & Canada Offshore Jurisdictions

Jurisdiction/Type of Company	Taxation	Local directors required	Publicly accessible record of directors	Publicly accessible record of members	Audit requirements	Requirement to file accounts
Canada – Federal Corporation	Corporate Income Tax 11%-16,5%. Provincial or territorial corporate tax rate varies from province to province.	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Canada – Ontario Corporation	Corporate Income Tax 11%-16,5%. Ontario Corporate Income Tax 11%.	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Canada – New Brunswick Corporation	Corporate Income Tax 11%-16,5%. New Brunswick Corporate Income Tax 5%-10%.	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Delaware LLC*	Fiscally transparent	No	On formation	No	No	No

* Delaware LLC structured for partnership tax treatment are not subject to US Federal Income Tax and not required to file a US Income Tax Return if they meet all below criteria’s: 1) Members of LLC’s are non-resident of the US, 2) LLC’s conduct no business in the US, 3) LLC’s have no US-source income

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Tips on how to effectively choose a suitable offshore jurisdiction

Before choosing an offshore jurisdiction, there are four main factors to take into consideration to ensure the location chosen serves your company’s best interests. These factors are:

Incorporation expenses

A good offshore jurisdiction should charge affordable fees for the actual registration and the maintenance costs incurred in running an offshore company. The aim of any business is to optimize its profits by reducing operation costs. Therefore, before setting up an offshore company it is crucial to ascertain the operating costs as compared to onshore registration.

The Popularity and reputation of an offshore jurisdiction

When choosing an offshore country, it is necessary to examine which other corporations favor the location. An offshore jurisdiction that is preferred by many other credible and renowned companies is most likely suitable and fits a profitable and legal business criterion. Apart from the popular jurisdictions, there are relatively newer countries such as Anguilla that are feasible offshore destinations. Analyze the reputation of an offshore jurisdiction by examining how other corporations rank a particular jurisdiction.

The average processing duration

Before settling on a particular offshore jurisdiction, it is imperative to find out how much time the registration process takes. It is advisable to settle on an offshore jurisdiction that promptly registers foreign companies. Quick processing time speaks to the effectiveness of the relevant business authority.

Availability of offshore banking facilities

Before settling on a viable offshore destination, it is crucial to familiarize yourself with a country’s banking system. It is recommended that a company chooses an offshore jurisdiction that has a well-developed and highly functioning banking system that offers much-needed facilities such as; online banking, brokerage facilities, offshore credit cards, offshore debit cards and merchant accounts.