Uruguay is a stable, secure jurisdiction with a sophisticated legal system and developed economy. It ranks 33rd in the Heritage Organisation’s 2010 Index of Economic Freedom, a measure of freedom enjoyed in  business, trade, monetary, financial, investment and labour markets. Because of this, Uruguay is not considered an international tax haven, and therefore a Uruguayan company projects a positive image to clients, suppliers and even venture capitalists.

Uruguay is politically and economically stable, making Uruguay company formation a good long-term solution. According to 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, a measure of corruption amongst public officials and politicians, Uruguay ranks as the world's 25th least corrupt country.

100% foreign ownership is permitted. A minimum of one director and one shareholder is required, who can be of any nationality and need not be resident in Uruguay. Corporate shareholders are permitted. Following the formation of a SAFI, shareholders' and directors' details are not available for public viewing.

Uruguay company formation via a SAFI is a cost-effective corporate structure. There is no minimum paid up capital requirement, there are no annual reporting requirements and Uruguay government fees are low.

If properly structured, a SAFI is legally exempt from corporation tax provided certain conditions are met. One such condition is that the company is not permitted to conduct business in Uruguay.

International entrepreneurs use the Uruguayan SAFI for the following activities: i) investing in securities, bonds, shares, notes, debentures ii) real estate investment and iii) legally tax-exempt international trade.

Healy Consultants can open a local or international corporate bank account to support Uruguay company formation. Healy Consultants works with internationally banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered and Citibank to provide corporate bank account services.

A Uruguayan limited liability company is subject to a profits tax of 30% on international and local income. Furthermore, a Uruguayan company is also required to register for value added tax (VAT), currently levied at 23%.

A SAFI is not permitted to take a shareholding of more than 50% in a Uruguayan company.

Uruguay negatively ranked 124th for its ease in which to do business in out of 183 countries, according to the 2011 Doing Business Survey by the World Bank.