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Business
without taxes in Switzerland and the Liechtenstein
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The Principality of
Liechtenstein is 160 sqm (62 sq miles), with a population of
3232,000 making it one of the smallest countries in the world.
It is situated between Austria and Switzerland in the very heart
of Europe. Since its foundation in 1719, Liechtenstein has
always been ruled by princes. The Constitution of 1921, which is
still valid, determines that the principality of Liechtenstein
is a Constitutional Hereditary Monarchy based upon a Democratic
parliamentary basis. In the 1923, the Swiss Franc became the
official curency, but it was not until 1980, that a currency
agreement with Switzerland was signed. The member countries of
the EC have granted Liechtenstein in the contract of 1995
concession of sovereignty among other independence in
fiscal matters, total banking secrecy and exemption from
double taxation agreements. Mempership of the European Community
is currently not viable, although Liechtenstein is a member of
other international organizations such as ONU, EFTA, EEA,
EEC and WTO. |
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Unlike Switzerland,
Liechtenstein is a member of the EEA (European Econimic Area).
Elements which remain intact and guaranteed are fiscal
severeignity and banking and insurance secrecy. |
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In many high-tax
countries, double taxation agreements have been introduced to
control taxes. The fact that Liechtenstein does not have such
double taxation agreements (except for one with Austria
controlling the relation to employees living in Austria but
working in Liechtenstein) and that it does not impose
withhold tax or tax on interest, makes it an interesting place
for investments not only in Swiss Francs but also in other
currencies. |
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Liechtenstein has an
excellent reputation for banking. Solidity in terms of customers
services, final results, and banking secrecy is internationally
unquestioned. |
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From 1 st January 1999,
it is possible to convert existing bank account balances of any
currency into EURO and to invest assest in EURO.
Unlike
numerous other tax havens, your assets can be invested directly
in Liechtenstein, without taxation on interest. |
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In many countries, tax
offences lead to extradition. Not so in Liechtenstein, where
there are no agreements regarding fiscal infringements. |
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In Liechtenstein, the
post offices are closely linked with the Swiss service, mail
within Europe is usually delivered within 2 to 3 days,
tele-communication systems and equipment are of high quality. |
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Liechtenstein is also
easy to reach: 250 kms from Milan (Italy), and Munich (Germany),
and 100 kms from Zurich (Switzerland). |
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All in all,
Liechtenstein offers an excellent business setting,because of
political and social stability, liberal tax laws, the customs
treaty with Switzerland and Austria and the currency agreement
with Switzerland. It offers a most attractive, wide range of
services not only to business persons, companies and negotiators,
but also to private investors. |
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The bank secrecy of the Liechtenstein |
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The discretion of the
bank supply and the privacy by the finance deals, previewed from
the laws of the Liechtenstein, in combination with the presence
in the country of the Offshore-government reform, offer of the
optimal opportunities for the money investor who needs a maximum
discretion. |
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A curious case: the
famous multibillionair Aristotile Onassis
more held in one foundation of the Lichtenstein of the half of
his own patrimony. |
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Constitution of the Offshore
company in the Liechtenstein |
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The current directives
which regulate the entrepreneur's work in the Liechtenstein (the
law about right persons and natural persons and about the
companies), are since years'20 in force. Even if it does not
come cited "the offshore" term, comes however
fixed an equal share to zero of the yield achieved from the
company beyond the territorial borders. |
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The following types of
company are previewed: "institution", the corporation (Ltd.) and
the foundations.
The fewest company capital for a corporation is 50'000.-- CHF,
for the companies of all the other types 30'000.-- CHF. |
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All the types of
company only pay in pratical an overall year tax of 1'000.-- CHF. |
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Bankes,
Insurances and Investment Funds |
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New: SINGLE LICENCE
for Banks, Insurances and Investment Funds.
Liechtenstein's membership of the European Econimic Area means
that its laws are in line with the European Union. The
Principality's banks, insurances and investments companies
therefore have easier access to the EC, and vice versa. The
gateway to the single European market.
Liechtenstein: political and economic stability, easy to
reach, access to all international financial centres, optimum
infrastructure, flexible company law, low taxes, efficient
public administration, financial centre, confidentiality and
business, bussiness secrecy guaranteed.
A country rating from Moody's and Standard Poor's. |
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The same applies also
to the Liechtenstein insurance companies (see "single license"
as like the banks) thereby one can operate in each European
country with a simple message in the respective state. For
example: Le Generali have already formed an insurance company. |
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Investment funds of Liechtenstein and the relative legislation
were established around the amendment in other right to
compensate, as for example in Luxembourg, so to guarantee the
European customer the diskretion, the economic benefits
with the absolute bank and professional secrecy. For other
information we are glad to help you. |
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Social
shapes/Corporate namesorme
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Limited Company
(S.p.A.) |
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The
Foundation (reg. o dep.) |
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The Establishment |
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Trust reg. |
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Trustship |
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Limited
Company (S.p.A.) |
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Limited Companies are
internationally recognised and accepted. however, the formation
of a Limited Company in Liechtenstein is very strict and offers
only limited business opportunities for modification of Articles
of Association. Mostly, they conduct business in the sale and
purchase of goods, services, movable proprieties, and real
estate. Limited Companies can also be used in connection with
asset investments and management or to hold rights of any kind. |
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The minimum capital to
start up a campany of this kind is CHF
50'000.--. it must be fully paid in at the start. The start-up
capital can be disposed of shortly after the registration in the
Public Trade Register. |
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The Board of Directors
must consist of at least one member who is a permanently
resident in liechtenstein and hold an official licence to
conduct business. The company owner does not necessarily have to
be a Liechtenstein citizen or a permanent resident. |
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The maintenance of
business accounts is compulsory, as is the official annual
inspection of the business accounts by a qualified auditing
company. |
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A proper Balance Sheet
and Profit and Loss Accounts are compulsory and must be
submitted to the Liechtenstein Tax Authorieties. |
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Shares can either be in
the bearer's name (Bearer Share) or be a Registered Share. If
shares are issued, bearer shares should be given preference to
ensure full anonymity. Bearer Shares can be used as colateral.
Should that be the case, the possession of shares must be
transferred to the lender. There are no formalities when selling
shares. |
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There are no
regulations as to the number of shareholder. However, if there
is a large number of shareholders, the setting up of an
Establishment is not recommended. |
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The names of the
founder/s and those of the shareholders are not shown in the
Public Trade Register, which again guarantees full anonymity. |
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In case of closure, the
Limited company has limited liability, i.e. it is only
responsible for liabilities to the value of the company's assets. |
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The
Foundation (reg. o dep.) |
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Foundation are usually
set up to forever donate property or cash assets. |
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Foundation are also
formed for the purpose of administration and preservation of (family)
assets on account of legal security. (Endowments are often used
to finance children's education or to support the founder and/or
his relatives or to keep real estate assets for future
generations). The founder can reserve the right to administer
the Foundation's assets, not only in their time but also after
their death. Foundations are not limited by time and can exist
after the death of the founder. |
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The purpose of a
Foundation is usually written down in the Foundation's Deed. The
contents of the Deed of Foundation are not know to third parties
unless specified. Any specific regulations are written down in
the so-called Foundation's By-Laws. The succession and possible
beneficiaries are determined by the founder and/or members of
the Board of Foundation taken down in the Foundation'sBY-Laws.
By-Laws do not have to be submitted to authorities and can be
changed or cancelled by the founder. |
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Foundations are
unsuitable for trade or business purposes. If the Foundation
pursues an interest in business trading, it needs to be
registered in the Public Trade Register. Full anonymity is still
guaranteed as only the existence of the Foundation must be
confirmed. |
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Usually, a trustee or
trust company in Liechtenstein represents the founder, which
ensures total anonymity. Anonymity can still be granted
in the event of litigation. |
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Management and
representation of Foundations toward third parties lie with the
Board of Foundation. Rights and duties are put down in a
contract. There must be at least one person on the Board who is
permanently resident and officially permitted to conduct
business in Liechtenstein. |
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There is a lot of
freedom in the structure of the Foundation. |
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The minimum start-up
capital for a Foundation is 30'000.--CHF. It is possible to pay
the start-up capital in the form of real estates and houses,
however, cash settlements should be given preference. |
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Further asset
contributions are tax-free. |
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It is possible to
retract contributed assets. If requested, contributions can be
returned to the founder. it is possible to protect the
Foundation in the event of creditors' charges. The Foundation's
assets are also safeguarded even if the Foundation has filed for
bankruptcy, on the condition that this benefit is not misused.
In case of closure, the Foundation's assets stand surety for all
kinds of liabilities. Donations made to appointed beneficiaries
can be conditional. Beneficiaries can be private as well as
judicial persons, charities, and religious or cultural
institutions and organisations. Also, founders can appoint
themselves as the first and/r the only beneficiary. Further
appointments of beneficiaries are entered in the By-Laws. To
ensure the designated use of the assets, special regulations can
be set up. |
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The Foundation's and
the founder's private assets are handled separately. |
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The company register
differentiates between registered and deposited deeds of
foundation. The latter is merely deposited with the company
register office without its contents being accessible to third
parties. Mandatory registration depends on the objects of the
foundation and how it intends to achieve these. The foundation
has legal personality whether or not it is registered. |
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Registered Foundations
are not subject to maintaining business accounts. It is, however,
recommended to maintain such, as they are best referred to when
checking on the Foundation's financial situation. Also,
Registered Foundations do not have to have their business
accounts checked by an independant auditor. |
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As stated above, there
is no obligation to submit any kind of documents statind the
Foundation's finacial situation. Nevertheless, it is compulsory
to forward a declaration confirming the esistence of any kind of
assets. |
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Briefly, the main
advantage of a Foundation are:
- International recognition
- Un-impeachment of the Foundation
- Very low taxes in respect of the value of the assets.
- Maintenance of assets over a long period of time |
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The
Establishment |
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Establishments are
often preferred for their business flexibility: asseet
management, real estate acquisitions and business trading. |
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There are hardly any
binding regulations in law. If it is used for commercial
business, it is a legal obligation to produce a Balance Sheet,
and law requires an official auditor. If the Establishment is
used to administer assets and/or hold shares or rights of any
kind, no audits is necessary. An Establishment, with its parent
company in Liechtenstein, conducting business abroad, may
maintain their business accounts including their Balance Sheets
in a foreign currency. |
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Generally: Establishment
can be set up with only one person on the Board. Nevertheless,
it is essential to appoint at least one representative who is
permanently resident in Liechtenstein and holds an official
license to conduct business in the Principality. |
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The founder holds the
permanent Founder's Preference Rights, which are not pawnable
can not be incriminated. The rights can be vested without
restrictions, and therefore be transferred to a trustee or trust
company. |
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The Articles of
Association of the Establishment are available to third parties
as they have to be registered in the Public Trade Register.
However, anonymity can be granted by listing possible
beneficiaries in the company's By-Laws which do not have to be
submitted. Obviously, By.Laws are as binding as the Articles of
Association. |
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The minimum start-up
capital is 30'000.-- CHF. |
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In the event of closure,
any liabilities are solely covered by the Establishment's assets.
Establishments do not pay tax on profits. |
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In comparison with
Limited Companies, Establishments have a more flexible structure. |
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Furthermore, the
minimum start-up capital is lower, and tax is payable on
dividends unlike shares in a Limited Company. |
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Trust reg. |
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This kind of company
form is usually established when assets of any kind in the
Anglo-Saxon area are to be managed. |
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The minimum start-up
capital is 30'000.-- CHF. Any liabilities in the event of the
company closing down are only covered by the Trust's assets. |
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For reasons of taxation,
it is strongly recommended to have the Trust's Head Office where
the main business transactions are conducted for reasons of
taxation. |
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In Europe, the
Anglo-Saxon Trust Scheme is only recognised by Liechtenstein. |
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If required, Trusts can
be founded with a stipulation declaring that the Trust is to be
founded,subject to another country's law. |
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There are hardly any
limitations in terms of the organisational structure. However,
Trusts must provide a Liechtenstein representative and at least
one member of the Board must be a permanent resident of
Liechtenstein and hold a license to conduct business in the
Principality. |
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Trusts are subject to
maintaining business accounts. Donations can be limited in time
and/or by special conditions. |
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Trusts have to be
registered in the Public Trade Register, which is accessible to
third parties. However, beneficiaries and settlers are anonymous
as they are listed in the Trust's Deed, which does not have to
be submitted to the Public Trade Register. The kind of donation,
time and extent of the donations are usually taken down in the
Trust Deed, and therefore, full anonymity is guaranteed. |
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The main reason to set
up a Trust is that they can be set up as Trust reg.
(Treuunternehmen reg.), which are most suitable within
Common-Law-Countries. |
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Trustship |
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A trusteeship is at
issue when a third party (settler) leaves assets of any kond (movable
or imovable assets or rights of any kind) to a Trustee in his
own name and as an independent legal body, for the benefit of
one or several beneficiaries. |
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Trustees in the
principality have to comply to very high standards. But unlike
their Swiss collegues, they are allowed to carry out settlements
and transactions for their custumers in their own name. Thus,
the custumer stays totally anonymous. |
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The
attitude by us is, to propose a foundation,
in place of a trust, for simple reason,
that the capacity of a foundation is
showable, at the trust however is necessary an unlimited
confidence to the trustee. It is also
true, that the trustee must indicate the property, like it in
the reality is, a trustee property administers. |
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Trusteeships have
always played an important part in common-law countries. It
makes movments of quantities of high value assets possible while
avoiding inheritance tax, and they still meet all the conditions
to fully ensure the integrity of the assets to the benefit of
future generations.
Trustees in Liechtenstein are bound to Trade Secrecy, and
Liechtenstein is the only country on the European continent to
recognise the Anglo-Saxon trusteeship (ex Common Law. |
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It is relatively easy
to start a company in Liechtenstein (mainly foreign based
companies). The company founder, owner and/or shareholders (only
for trustee) have to be known, and they do not have to be
permanently resident in Liechtenstein. However, a member of the
Board must be permanently resident and hold a license to conduct
business in Liechtenstein. |
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Also, the company needs
to be represented in Liechtenstein, and, irrespective of
turnover and profit, pay an annual fee of 1'000.-- CHF for tax. |
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Shareholders' Meetings
can be held and decisions be made outside Liechtenstein. |
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Prices of the recording and the management of the OFFSHORE
COMPANIES |
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Following you see the
prices of the establishment offshore company in Liechtenstein
which is able the MIRALUX FIDUCIARIA to move in the act and can
recommend their customer. In the prices included is following:
the constitution of the documents, as prescribed certified, the
certificate of recording, the honorarium of the administrator of
the company for the company for the duration of the first year
and many other useful services. |
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Jurisdiction |
Recording with the complete
company documents |
First year are
comprised mangement and the honorarium of the
administrator |
Total cost |
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Liechtenstein
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6'500 |
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CHF |
5'500 |
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12'000 |
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CHF |
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3'900 |
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USD |
2'700 |
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USD |
6'600 |
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Prices for Offshore - Panama/ Delaware/
Florida/ New Jersey/ New York |
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Case Studies |
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Example 1 |
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A company with a
production plant based in Austria, produces computers and
delivers them exclusively to the holding-company in
Liechtenstein. The FL-company, which has taken over all the
distribution, purchases the computers and delivers them to
customers worldwide. As there is no tax on profits in
Liechtenstein, the total profit is kept by the holding-company.
The affiliate now grants a loan to the parent indipendent
company for expansion purposes. The interest on the loan
reduces the taxable profit of the parent company. |
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Illustration: |
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Example 2 |
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A company in the UK,
previously set up by a holding company in liechtenstein (low tax
country), is the sole distributor of goods produced by the
company's production plant in Austria. |
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The company in the UK
transfers all profits to the Holding company in Liechtenstein,
except for a 5% commission. |
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The holding company,
which possibly also holds shares in the production plant in
Austria, can grant loans to the company in Austria. As seen in
the above example, the company in Austria can now reduce their
profits by paying interest on these loans and therefore also
reduce their tax burden. |
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Additionally, as the
holding company and the Board of Directors is located in
Liechtenstein which is a non-EC member, the exchange of
information which is usually given within European Community
member countries will not be automathically. Therefore,
shareholders will keep their anonymity. |
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Holding Company located
in Liechtenstein. |
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Holding Shares of
companies in the UK and Austria. |
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Other examples of application |
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Shareholder, Founder, Beneficiary
Holding of every nation |
Holding of the Liechtenstein, not
Mother-daughter of shareholders or producers |
Operating company UK, A, Cyprus,
NL, E, or other ONSHORE |
Producer of assets or services
that give exclusive right of sale to onshore company UE |
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Obviously the
companies from us constituted (Liechtenstein's or
other jurisdictions) can be used, between the other, for the
folowing scopes: |
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Commerce.
Import/Export and invoicing of wares and services of every
kind: |
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Transactions of
Meditation, and activity of varied Advising |
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Advising and
Execution of "Merger & Acquisition" |
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Heading and
valorisation of immaterial rights, like patents,
licenes, copyrights, designs and/or rights for software |
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Structures for the Franchising |
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Heading,
administration and investments with patrimonial
managements |
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Investments to
other companies or company |
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All the Real
estate transactions |
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Patrimonial bestowals and
managements |
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We offer moreover the
possibility to constitute and to train for you reinsuring and
Insurance agency with centre in the Liechtenstein, but with licence
die to operate in all Europe, with favourable conditions of saving
on the prizes. To everyone the possibility is given to deliver up
the own assurance, reassure the risks. Moreover, to participate all
so-called "Captives" that assures whichever type of risk in all
Europe. For Companies of reduced dimensions it is possible to
participate to the "Captives" for the wished amount. |
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Particularly interesting,
and already in vigour, it is the law of the Liechtenstein on the
Common Funds that they can operate in all Europe, with one series of
incomparable advantages. |
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Recording of boats, yacht or charter with or without administration |
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