Cyprus Resident Companies

CYPRUS RESIDENT COMPANIES

With a population of less than 900,000, Cyprus is a beautiful island in the Mediterranean Sea. The official languages are Greek, Turkish and English. English is widely used in commerce, industry and government.

Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, but it still enjoys the unique advantage of being able to structure a low tax company and reduce other taxes through the use of its numerous Double Taxation Agreements.

Cyprus has a long history as an International Financial Center. For many years, Cyprus incorporated offshore IBC’s similar to those provided by other traditional centers, such as BVI.

On accession to the European Union in 2004, the Cyprus business model changed but it still enjoys some very important advantages, which we believe, will be of great interest to Maritime International Ltd’s clients. In fact, one might say that the new version of the Cyprus company model is, in many ways, better than the old one.

OVERVIEW OF KEY FEATURES

2012 TAX AMENDMENTS - REDUCED TAXES ON PROFITS FROM ROYALTIES

The Amendment provides for an 80% deduction from profits arising from royalty rights of from capital gains, on their disposal, making the maximum effective tax rate 2%.

This is a major change which establishes Cyprus as a very attractive jurisdiction for holding Intellectual Property.

Cyprus is a member of the EU and provides the unique advantage of offering a low tax (10%) jurisdiction with a Registered Office/Address in the EU. If desired, a Cyprus Virtual Office can also be arranged with phone, fax and mail forwarding.

As a Resident Cyprus Company it can take advantage of the over 40 Cyprus Double Taxation Agreements, with consequential tax savings.

For example, the Double Taxation Agreement with the US can be used to significantly reduce the witholding tax on dividends for foreigners trading on US stock exchanges.

To be resident, the company must be managed and controlled from Cyprus. This means that the Director and Corporate Sectretary MUST be resident in Cyprus (provided by Maritime International Ltd.).

Incorporation documents are in Greek, with a Certified English translation. Financial accounts must be kept, audited and provided to the Government. The accounts are not in the Public record.

An Annual General Meeting is required. This can be held anywhere in the world and can be by telephone or other electronic means.

Bearer shares are not permitted.

Share capital may be specified in Cyprus Pounds, Euros, US dollars or British Pounds.

Unlike other jurisdictions, Cyprus companies may not enter into pre-incorporation agreements.

Details on Directors and Shareholders must be provided to the Registrar of companies and this information is open to the Public. Privacy can be obtained by appointing nominee Shareholders, available from Maritime International Ltd. If nominees are used, the name of the Beneficial Owner is not required to be provided to the Government, except in the case of an authorized criminal investigation.

QUICK REVIEW OF CYPRUS RESIDENT COMPANIES

CYPRUS RESIDENT COMPANY FEES

• Click Here for Typical Cyprus Incorporation Fees
• Compare Cyprus Company Fees to Other Jurisdictions
• Request a No-Obligation Quotation or Place an Order
• View Shelf Companies (ready-made companies) Available

OFFSHORE COMPANY MANAGEMENT SERVICES AVAILABLE

Nominee Directors & Shareholders, Accounting and Audit Services, Virtual and Physical Offices, Corporate Identity Package, Mailing Address, Basic Account Maintenance, Invoicing Services, Beneficiary Bequest, Employee Contracts, Document Safekeeping and general Corporate services. More details are available on our Management Services page.

PRIVACY

The names of the Directors, Secretary and Shareholders are required to be filed with the Government Registrar of Companies and they are also available in the public record.

Privacy can be provided through the use of nominee Shareholders. Nominee Resident Director and Secretary are required anyway. The names of the nominees will appear in the Government and public records. The names of the Beneficial Owners are not disclosed to the Government or to other parties, unless it is in respect to an authorized criminal investigation

NAME RESTRICTIONS

The Registrar reserves the right to reject any name that is deemed undesirable. Generally, names that imply that the company is engaged in handling banking, insurance, investment or trust business will be rejected, as well as names that are similar or the same as existing companies.

SUFFIXES TO DENOTE LIMITED LIABILITY

Limited, Ltd only.

General Information

Professional Services

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