Best Onshore and Offshore Jurisdictions List

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• International Jurisdictions
• UAE Jurisdictions

¹ When a company is resident and acts for itself, the accounts and tax fillings are obviously required. When a company is not resident, we don't need to provide accounts, but we need to file a tax declaration at the end of the year stating the company is non-resident in Canada.
² No taxes are levied on incomes earned outside Hong Kong.
³ U.A.E law (United Arab Emirates)
⁴ Section 65 of the IBC Act, 1994 (Amended) requires the company to keep such documents (receipts, invoices etc.) as to enable it for accounts to be prepared; there is NO accounting requirement per se.
⁵ Under US Legal System.
⁶ There is 2 ways for a company in Canada to not be taxable in Canada:

• A non-resident company is not taxable in Canada (in such case we may refer to the government website speaking about it, more exactly the section named "Common Law").
• If a company in Canada has a trust, an agency or a services agreement with a person or a company, and such agreement states the company in Canada is only acting on the behalf of the said person or the said company. In clear, if the company is only acting as mandatory. In such case, we need to refer to the civil code. If it's the case, as for the non-resident company, at the end of the year, we do a tax declaration stating the company is only a mandatory company and no accounts need to be filled.

⁷ SFM does not assist in registering companies with bearer shares.
⁸ Foreign sourced income is taxed at 30% and domestic sourced income is exempt. An exemption exists for foreign-sourced income provided the IBC qualifies by meeting the economic substance requirements.
⁹ Regulation 101 – 107 of the RAK ICC Business Companies Regulations 2018 and Federal requirements requires the company to maintain its underlying documentation, including accounting records, for a minimum of 5 years.
¹¹ Your presence is required or must provide a POA to represent you and sign at the authority office.
¹² The Federal Decree-Law No. (47) of 2022 introduced the UAE corporate income tax regime at a rate of 9% and is effective for financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023.
¹³ Yes, for mainland registered companies (under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry) and in Qatar Financial Center.
No, for companies registered in Qatar Free Zones and Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP)
¹⁴ However, the companies need to appoint an external auditor for the purpose of conducting annual audits
¹⁵ CIT in Mainland: standard rate for foreigners: 10% - except certain activities or sectors: e.g. oil&gas up to 35%. Also, Qatari nationals are exempted from CIT.
CIT in Free Zone: 20 years Tax Holidays (tax exemption).
CIT in Qatar Financial Centre (QFC): 10%.
¹⁶ Mainland: Sharia & Civil Law; QFC: English Common Law; QFZ: Companies Regulations issued by QFZ and certain regulations imposed by the State of Qatar (mainland government)
¹⁷1-4 weeks in Mainland; 2-3 months In Free Zones and QFC
¹⁸ Mailand and QFZ: Min. 1 shareholder and 1 Manager; QFC: Min. 1 shareholder and:1 Director, 1 Senior Executive Function Holder (GM), 1 Secretary (at least 2 people)
¹⁹ LLCs incorporated in Belize are required to maintain the accounting records for the last 5 Financial Years at the Registered Office’s address.

Where is the best place to register your company?

We often get the question, “where should I register my company?” or what is the “best offshore jurisdiction?”.

Our answer is simple: every client, every situation is unique, there is therefore no straight answer to that question.
A lot of factors have to be taken in consideration, namely :

All these factors have an influence on which jurisdiction you should opt for. If you need guidance, the SFM team will gladly help you reviewing the options and deciding which jurisdiction would fit you best.

For clients who would like a rapid incorporation process, a bank account, keep the fees to the minimum and no accounting requirement, offshore jurisdictions such as Seychelles, Belize, or the BVI are often a favorite pick. You may also find that some of your clients do not wish to pay you on an offshore company account, and would require you to select a more established jurisdiction. In that case you could look at jurisdictions such as Hong Kong or Cyprus, which are considered to be Onshore Jurisdictions (even if tax rate is low or nil, there is a need to submit accounts on a yearly basis to the jurisdiction’s tax authorities).
In other instances, some of our clients may need to provide services in the Middle East, in such case a RAK (Ras Al Khaimah) offshore company may be best suited, as it is internationally well recognized.

In summary, every client has a different situation, and every jurisdiction that we offer (45+ jurisdictions) could fit in one or the other of these situations

Also, an important factor in choosing a jurisdiction is to be sure that your company will be incorporated in a country that has a:

• 1. reliable means of communication;
• 2. political and economical stability;
• 3. good reputation;
• 4. sophisticated corporate laws;

All the jurisdictions we work with enjoy the above-mentioned advantages.

Disclaimer : SFM does not provide tax or legal advice of any sort and may only recommend a jurisdiction on a general basis, without giving any advice about your personal tax/legal framework.

Please contact us for further information.