Malta is an ideal country to invest and set up a new business. Throughout the years, the Maltese islands have become the ideal country to invest and set up a business in.
When incorporating a company in Malta, one will be setting up a business in a country that offers a safe and regulated jurisdiction. In addition to this, Malta’s taxation system is also another favourable factor to consider as it encourages foreigners seeking to start up a business in an EU country to choose the Maltese islands to do so.
Why is tax considered as a favourable factor? Although tax is charged at 35%, it is important to note that the islands offer an advantegous tax refund system by eliminating the double taxation of company profits. This allows non-residents shareholder to apply for tax refunds on income allocated to the Maltese Taxed Account and Foreign Income Account. This highly advantegous tax system approved by the European Union offers companies to claim tax credits that can result in an effective rate of between 0 – 10%.
Apart from all this, Malta can be easily reached from popular destinations and is an attractive hub for businesses who would like to relocate to another country and benefit from being set up in Malta, an EU financial centre. Other factors why Malta is also a popular hub include that it uses the Euro as a currency while also having English as one of its official languages together with Maltese, its native language.
The formation procedure for a private limited liability company in Malta
Companies in Malta are registered with the Malta Business Registry (MBR) according to the Maltese Companies Act. Once you decide on the best business structure, to form a private limited liability company, you will need to provide the following information: A name for the company, the primary and secondary objects of the company, the authorised and issued share capital, a registered address in Malta, and at least one shareholder, one director and one company secretary. The identification documents of these individuals also need to be presented. A set of due diligence documents on the shareholders and directors also need to be presented for compliance purposes. Generally, the compliance team sends out KYC forms which need to be filled out.
It’s important to know that in the case where a shareholder of the proposed company is a body corporate, then a Form BO1 must be filed and submitted to identify the beneficial owner of the company.
With all this information in hand, the authorised corporate services provider, generally a lawyer or an accountant or similar firm, will be able to draft the memorandum of association and articles of association for approval and signatures, and then submit to MBR for the registration of the limited liability company. Once these documents are processed, it’s a matter of days until the Certificate of Incorporation is issued.
