Company registration in Belize

Belize is one of the most popular offshore solutions. This is a small country located in Central America, but at the same time, company registration in Belize as a service is in great demand. The jurisdiction guarantees a high degree of confidentiality and a very favorable tax regime. However, to open a legal entity, you need to know about the procedure's features. The Zigma law firm will help you register a company in Belize quickly and without any problems.

Why register a company in Belize?

Belize is a small state in Central America. It is part of the British Commonwealth and is a constitutional monarchy. It is ruled by the British king, but local power is exercised by Parliament. The parliament members are elected every five years. The country is not rich; it has two main sources of income – tourism and investment, including through business registration in Belize.

Opening a company in this jurisdiction has several important advantages. The main ones are as follows:

•  The high degree of confidentiality. The Belize companies and corporate affairs registry is closed, and information about the ultimate beneficiaries can only be obtained on the basis of a court decision.
• High registration speed. You can open an offshore company in Belize in just 24 hours.
• Low cost. Belize offers very favorable conditions for the registration of legal entities and their maintenance.
• The high degree of asset protection. Company formation in Belize allows you to protect assets, thanks to special trust legislation.

Another very important advantage of jurisdiction is political stability. This country is one of the most stable in terms of power; there are stable traditions of democracy, and protest situations happen very rarely. Together, these factors have made the country one of the most attractive offshore zones. Therefore, the demand to register or buy a ready-made company in Belize is consistently high.

What you need to know about company registration in Belize.

You can register a legal entity in one of two organizational and legal forms – IBC and LTD. The best solution is to register a company in Belize of the IBC type. Although the Belize corporate registry is closed, it is necessary to go through the KYC procedure. However, the data is not available to the general public.

Companies must have at least one shareholder and one director. A secretary is not required. The director and the shareholder can be either individual or legal entities. It is possible to use a nominal service. In this case, data on nominee managers are entered into the Belize business registry, which allows the owner to remain anonymous.

As for the authorized capital, it is declared, but there are no requirements for its payment. The declared size of the authorized capital of $50,000 will be optimal. It is possible to issue bearer shares. The shares may or may not have voting rights.

Features of doing business in Belize.

Non-residents do not have to register an office in the country. Moreover, an organization is considered offshore if it does not have a representative office in the country and does not conduct business in the jurisdiction. The company simply enters the business registry of Belize and pays the required fees. If you decide to register a resident company, then it is mandatory to open a representative office in the jurisdiction.

Before you set up a legal entity or buy a ready-made company in Belize, you need to know what rights IBC companies have. In particular, they can buy real estate in the country or carry out equity participation. Organizations can act as shareholders of other companies in Belize. Non-residents can open bank accounts with local banks, so Belize company formation with bank accounts is a popular service.

Non-residents in Belize can own land and real estate, as well as make transactions with tax residents of the jurisdiction. However, a non-resident is not entitled to benefit from real estate. An exception is renting for business purposes.

What do you need to know about taxes in Belize?

Before company formation in Belize, it is important to know about the specifics of taxation in the jurisdiction. Non-residents of the country do not pay VAT. They are required to pay only an annual fee at fixed rates. The rate depends on the amount of taxable income. The fees are as follows.

• If the amount of income does not exceed $1,500,000, taxation is carried out at a rate of 1.75%.
• If the amount of income exceeds $1,500,000, taxation is carried out at a rate of 3%.

Also, non-resident companies must pay corporate tax. Rates range from 1.75% to 19%, depending on the activities the company is engaged in. Most companies pay tax at the minimum rate.

It is important for anyone who wishes to open an offshore company in Belize to know that all taxes must be paid by January 31 of the year following the billing period. If taxes are not paid, the organization will be blacklisted.

Companies registered on the IBC form are not required to file financial statements. Accounting is kept only for those documents that are needed for transactions. Records may not be kept in Belize, but you still need to keep accounting records elsewhere. 

The «Zigma» law firm offers clients company formation in Belize. The specialists of our company have extensive experience in this jurisdiction. We offer a full range of services, from consultation to final paperwork and company transfer to the owner. In addition, we offer ready-made offshore companies in Belize for sale. You can purchase organizations with or without a history of activity. Re-registration will take no more than 24 hours.

Do you want to buy a ready-made offshore company in Belize?