Gibraltar Background

Non-resident companies enjoy tax-free status on income derived from outside Gibraltar or earnings which are not remitted back to Gibraltar.
Money held in a bank in Gibraltar by a non-resident company is taxable; it is advisable to have your bank account outside of Gibraltar. A fee of one half of one percent (0.5%) of Authorized Capital is payable at the time of incorporation.
There are no Information Exchange Treaties between Gibraltar and other countries.

Gibraltar Introduction

Gibraltar is a peninsula at the southern tip of Spain with an area of approximately 7 sq km. It is adjacent to Africa yet within Europe, and has a historically strategic position at the junction of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

The population of Gibraltar is approximately 30,000 although a substantial number of the working population commutes daily from homes nearby in Spain. A number of Moroccan, British and Indian expatriates live in Gibraltar.

Law and Taxation

The Gibraltar Companies Ordinance, which is based on the Companies Act 1929 of the United Kingdom which has been amended and enhanced. The tax status for various types of Gibraltar companies is established primarily by the Gibraltar Companies (taxation and concessions) Ordinance of 1967. We recommend the Non-Resident Company as the most practical type to meet your needs for your offshore international business activities.

Corporate Requirements

Non-resident corporations do not require more than one director.

A director may be a natural person or a corporate entity.

The minimum number of shareholders is one.

A resident secretary is required and will be provided by us.

There is a Public Register of Shares but Nominee Shareholders are usually used.

A non-resident company cannot use without special permission: a name which is identical or similar to an existing company; any name which is undesirable or offensive in the opinion of the Registrar; any name which suggests royal or government patronage, or which may imply an activity associated with the banking or finance industry e.g. "Association", "Bank", "Imperial", "Assurance", "Group", "International", "Royal" or "Trust".

Some words require special permission from the Gibraltar authorities to appear in a company name and such permission is close to impossible to obtain. We will not proceed with company names which contain these sensitive words.

Local Infrastructure

Gibraltar is a British Dependent Territory and is a Crown Colony with internal self-government. It has its own elected House of Assembly, which legislates on domestic matters. The United Kingdom is responsible for defence, foreign affairs, financial stability and internal security.

Gibraltar is a member of the European Union, by virtue of Article 227 paragraph 4 of the Treaty of Rome, in its capacity as a territory for whose external relations a Member State (the United Kingdom) is responsible.

Gibraltar enjoys special status within the Community and is exempted from the Common Customs Tariff, the Common Agricultural Policy and Value Added Taxation. Gibraltar is politically stable and the current Government actively promotes Gibraltar as a first-class international financial centre.