We can assist you setup a company in Cyprus and other selected jurisdictions and handle the administrative burden so you can focus on your business.

• Establishing companies in Cyprus and other selected jurisdictions
• Arranging for a registered office and a company secretary
• Appointing qualified company directors
• Assisting with post incorporation and structure implementation
• Placing a company into liquidation or handling the strike-off procedure

Companies are used for a variety of private and business purposes including:

• Providing services
• Trading in goods
• Receiving and/or providing loans to related parties
• Holding subsidiaries or other investments (e.g. bonds)
• Holding real estate and other valuables
• Holding intangible assets and earning royalties
• Shipping

Depending on the activities of the company there are various structuring methods to mitigate tax.

For example, trading profits received by a company are taxed at the corporate income tax rate rather than the personal rate applicable to its shareholders. A resident of a high tax country may set up a company in a low tax jurisdiction and accrue business profits into the name of that company. Various anti-avoidance legislation in the shareholder’s country of residence may seek to ‘attack’ the effectiveness of such arrangements but these can be addressed with proper structuring.

If the company makes a distribution of profits, usually in the form of dividends, such distributions are generally taxable in the hands of the recipient. Thus, a great advantage is achieved by letting the profits roll up within the low tax company so that the potential tax can be deferred, and by reinvesting those profits, so the benefit is cumulative and substantive.

When there is a possibility of delaying a distribution of profits until the shareholder moves to a tax friendly jurisdiction with a lower, even zero tax rate, then any potential tax liability can be reduced significantly or avoided completely.

• Share Capital: Although there is no minimum initial share capital requirement, we generally incorporate Cyprus companies with 2.000 Euros authorized share capital of which the whole amount is issued in shares of 1,00 Euro each.
• Shareholders: The minimum number of shareholders is one (1), and this can either be a physical person or a corporate entity.
• Directors: The minimum number of directors one (1), and this can either be a physical person or a corporate entity. We generally advise for the majority of the board of directors to be comprised by Cyprus resident directors.
• Secretary: The secretary of the company can be a physical person or corporate entity. We generally suggest that for practical purposes, the secretary is a Cyprus professional.
• Registered office: The registered office is the official physical address of the company and must be in Cyprus. The statutory books and seal of the company must be kept at this location.
• Financial Statements: Audited financial statements have to be submitted to the Registrar of Companies within 18 months from the incorporation of the Cyprus company and every 12 months thereafter.