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A Liechtenstein company is usually an AG, a GmbH or an Anstalt, used as a holding, an asset vehicle or a trading business. Liechtenstein is a member of the European Economic Area but not of the European Union, and it uses the Swiss franc under its currency treaty with Switzerland. It has around 24 comprehensive double taxation agreements in force, including those with Austria, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom; being outside the EU, it cannot use the Parent-Subsidiary and Interest and Royalties Directives.
All the forms come from a single statute, the PGR (Personen- und Gesellschaftsrecht), and all are entered in a single national commercial register at the Office of Justice in Vaduz. Our Switzerland overview covers the Swiss forms for comparison.
| Form | Minimum capital, fully paid | Who holds it | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| AG (Aktiengesellschaft) | CHF 50,000 of capital | Shareholders, at least two at formation, kept out of the commercial register | Shares that pass by endorsement, owners off the public record |
| GmbH | CHF 10,000 of capital | One or more members, named in the register or in a members’ list anyone may inspect | Smaller companies wanting the lowest capital |
| Anstalt (establishment) | CHF 30,000 of capital, CHF 50,000 when the statutes divide it into shares | Whoever holds the founder rights, who is not registered | Holding, asset or trading vehicle, possible with one founder |
| Stiftung (foundation) | CHF 30,000 of capital | No shareholders; set up by a founder’s declaration | Private wealth and charitable purposes; not sold ready-made |
Capital in euros or US dollars is allowed at the same figures. Liechtenstein has no special holding form; holdings use one of the three company forms together with the tax rule on participation income below. How each form is founded, by deed, template or signed statutes, is set out on our page on Liechtenstein company formation.
| Tax | Rule |
|---|---|
| Income tax on companies (Ertragssteuer) | 12.5% of taxable net income, charged on all the income of a legal person with its seat or effective management in Liechtenstein |
| Minimum income tax | A fixed sum each year, fully set off against the income tax; waived for a company whose sole purpose is a commercial business and whose total assets stayed under a CHF 500,000 threshold on a three-year average |
| Dividends and gains received | Profit shares from participations and gains on selling them are left out of taxable income, with exceptions set in the Tax Act |
| Dividends paid | No withholding tax under the Tax Act in force since 1 January 2011; the old coupon tax survives only for reserves built up before that date |
| Formation duty | 1% of the capital stated in the articles, not charged where that capital stays within the CHF 1 million exemption limit, as every statutory minimum does |
| VAT | Standard rate 8.1%, reduced rate 2.6%, accommodation 3.8%; liability once worldwide turnover reaches CHF 100,000 a year |
Shareholders, GmbH members and Anstalt founders can be of any nationality and live anywhere; Liechtenstein regulates the board instead. Article 180a PGR requires the administration of every company, whether the board of an AG or Anstalt or the managing directors of a GmbH, to include someone with authority to manage and represent it who is an EEA national, a person given equal status by treaty, or a legal person, and who holds a Trustee Act licence. The test is the licence, not residence: FMA licences go to trustees and trust companies established in Liechtenstein, to lawyers with a restricted licence and, under the 180a Act, to staff of licensed trustees. The rule does not reach companies obliged to have a managing director under the Business Act or supervised by an authority. Article 239 PGR also requires a representative before the authorities: an EEA national permanently resident in Liechtenstein, or a domestic legal entity naming one.
We can provide both through a trust company holding an FMA licence under the Trustee Act: its qualified member joins your board with full authority to manage and represent the company, has the same duty of care and the same liability as the other board members, and appears in the commercial register, as does the representative. A company left without its qualified member, or without a representative or an approved alternative, is dissolved by the Office of Justice of its own motion.
Beneficial owners, anyone with 25% or more of shares, votes or profit entitlement or with control by other means, are reported to the VwbP, the register of beneficial owners at the Office of Justice, within 30 days of the company’s entry and of learning of any change. The VwbP is not public: named authorities such as the FMA and the tax administration have direct access, banks receive disclosures, and anyone else must apply.
Business accounts are held in Swiss francs and, at some banks, in euros, with an IBAN beginning LI; Liechtenstein is inside the SEPA schemes, each bank choosing whether to take part. The EAS deposit guarantee foundation covers company deposits up to CHF 100,000 per depositor and bank. A bank taking on a company must identify its beneficial owners, obtain a VwbP extract and report any mismatch to the Office of Justice. Several banks say they work mostly with trustees and similar intermediaries. Our page on bank accounts for Liechtenstein companies sets out what each bank publishes.
A GmbH formed by individuals on the Office of Justice templates has a short statutory registration period, so buying one gains little. An AG is another matter: it cannot exist without two founders, a public deed and a bank certificate for CHF 50,000 of capital, and a ready-made AG spares all three, its endorsed shares passing to the buyer without a deed. An existing company also shows an earlier entry date and, once past its first deadline, filed accounts. Our page on buying a ready-made Liechtenstein company covers each form’s transfer, and our guide to aged shelf companies explains what an earlier date proves and what it does not.
What we do in Liechtenstein: we supply ready-made AGs, GmbHs and Anstalten or form new companies, draft the transfer or formation documents and the register filings, and support the bank application; if we know a suitable bank well enough, we introduce the company, and the bank makes its own decision.
The Anstalt, or establishment, is a legal form of Liechtenstein’s own. It has no members: one founder, a person or a company, signs its statutes, pays in a capital fund of at least CHF 30,000 and receives the founder rights. Whoever holds those rights controls the Anstalt much as a general meeting controls a company, including choosing its board. The rights can be assigned or inherited but not pledged, and their holder is not registered.
Capital, visibility and transfer. An AG needs CHF 50,000 of capital and two founders, keeps shareholders out of the commercial register and lets registered shares pass by endorsement. A GmbH needs CHF 10,000 of capital and one founder, but its members are on public record, and a GmbH share can only change hands by public deed, normally with the consent of three quarters of the members holding three quarters of the capital.
Not in law. The Tax Act applies one rate, 12.5%, to the whole income of any legal person seated or effectively managed in the country, whether it trades or not, and has no category of offshore company. The nearest thing to a passive regime is the private asset structure, open to entities without economic activity that hold only financial assets for private investors.
No. Liechtenstein belongs to the European Economic Area but not to the European Union. For a company, EEA nationality counts for the Article 180a board seat and Liechtenstein banks can join the SEPA schemes, but the EU Parent-Subsidiary and Interest and Royalties Directives do not apply, so cross-border dividends, interest and royalties rely on domestic law and the double taxation agreements.
On dividends it receives from participations, generally not: they stay out of taxable income, like gains on selling a participation, save for exceptions such as payments the distributing company could deduct. On dividends it pays, there is no withholding tax; the coupon tax of the former law reaches only reserves that existed when the current Tax Act took effect on 1 January 2011.
To ask what is available in Liechtenstein now, or how the board seat and the representative would be arranged for your company, contact us; you can also write on Telegram or WhatsApp at +48 663 247 166.