Ireland – Ready Made Shelf Companies – Company Formation

Ireland

The Republic of Ireland is a state located in the isle of Ireland, seated between the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, just 20 kilometres west off the coast of Great Britain. Although the island of Ireland is part of the British Isles, one should remember the republic is not a part of the United Kingdom but a sovereign state. It is the only Eurozone member with English as official language. The Dublin urban area has a population of over 1 million.Business law in the Republic of Ireland is regulated by Companies Act of 2014. Private company limited by shares is the most widely used legal form for business. Pursuant to the provisions of the Act, the name of any company shall end with the word “limited” (“ltd.”) or “teoranta” (“teo.”) A company is not allowed to trade under a misleading name.
Documents submitted to the Companies Registration Office can be in English or Irish, one of the two official languages in the country. Every ltd entity is required to appoint at least one director and one secretary. At least one director shall be a person who is resident in an EEA state. The number of shareholders can be anywhere between 1 and 149. There is no minimum capital requirement.
Ltd companies are prohibited to perform certain types of operations, e.g. be engaged in insurance or credit activities. They are also under obligation to submit Annual Returns to Irish authorities. Company taxation in Ireland is very entrepreneur-friendly. The standard corporate tax rate is merely 12.5%, which makes the country very attractive to foreign investors. The tax is paid in one or two instalments depending on previous year’s tax liability amount. Group tax relief provisions apply to Irish residents. Withholding tax at the standard rate (i.e. 20%) applies to distributions made by an Irish resident company. Capital gains tax rate is 33% (in certain cases it is 40%). Business environment is very favourable to both Irish residents and foreign investors. Ireland ranks high in the categories of freedom of business activity, skilled workforce, and competitiveness. Attractive tax regime is the reason why many multinational corporations, such as Facebook and Google, move their strategic European base to the country. Ireland ranks 32nd in global nominal GDP. Ireland is a unitary parliamentary republic that is a member of the European Union. The Irish legislature (Oireachtas) consists of the President of Ireland and a bicameral parliament of Dáil Éireann (lower house) and Seanad Éireann (upper house). The head of the government is the Taoiseach while the head of the state is the President, although the latter’s powers are limited. The Central Bank of Ireland is the authority supervising the financial sector in the country. Their objective is to protect the consumers and maintain the stability of the sector. There are over 60 banks operating in the country. The biggest ones, often referred to as the “Big Four”, are AIB, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank and Danske Bank.