Curaçao: a low tax jurisdiction in the West Indies

Curaçao is an island country in the southern Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela, and is a constituent state of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Willemstad is the capital and the largest city. The legal system is based on civil law with some influence of British common law. Dutch is the official language.

Advantages of using Curaçao as your jurisdiction of choice:

• Open economy with advanced financial service sector;
• Free-trade zones;
• “E-zones” for online businesses;
• Advanced tax legislation;
• Nominee service for company directors and shareholders is available;
• Possibility of reducing corporate tax down to zero;
• Simplified exempt companies registration procedure;
• Absence of currency control and of limitations of asset repatriation;
• Tax incentives for foreign investments.

Price structure for company formation in Curaçao

Company Type

Private limited liability company (NABV)

• No public access to the company register;
• An NABV may be reorganised into another corporate structure (local or foreign) and take part in mergers and acquisitions;
• Minority shareholders’ rights protection.

A private limited liability company (NABV) may acquire tax exempt status under the following conditions:

• Corresponding application is filed with tax authorities;
• Local resident company director or a certified trust company is on the board of directors;
• Company provides investment, credit or financial services;
• The company shall not be a bank or other financial institution under the supervision of the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

The dividends or income received by the resident company from the sale of shares of a non-resident subsidiary are not taxed. The resident company shall hold no less than 5% in share capital of the subsidiary. The corporate tax rate in the country of registration of the subsidiary should be a minimum of 10%.

What do you need to form a company in Curaçao?

Give us a call, or drop us an email, and we will be glad to detail all the requirements for you.

Taxation and statutory requirements at a glance

Taxation

The spread of the corporate tax rate is 3% – 22% (from January 1, 2016). However, special rules are applied to companies where 90% of income derives from operations overseas. In this case a reduced corporate tax rate of 3.2% is applied.

Companies registered in e-zones pay 2% corporate tax.

The standard VAT rate is 5%. There is no tax on capital gains.

Individuals pay income tax at a rate of 30%.

Accounting, audit and filing requirements

The company shall prepare and file annual reports. There are no audit requirements.

Curaçao is in double taxation agreements with the Netherlands, Norway and Aruba.

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