Global Tax Exempt Holding Companies in 2024

Global Tax Exempt Holding Companies Netherlands Luxembourg Singapore UAE Hong Kong New Zealand
Summary at a Glance
Type of LLC Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Look-through
Total company engagement set up costs €15,440 €24,170 US$12,030 US$21,800 US$10,105 US$9,590
Subsequent annual costs (incl audit and tax) €2,355 €4,970 US$8,200 US$11,200 US$11,295 US$3,540
How long to set the company up? 3 weeks 3 weeks 1 week 2 months 1 week 1 week
How long to open company bank account? 4 weeks 4 weeks 4 weeks 5 weeks 3 weeks 3 weeks
Issued share capital required €1 €12,395 US$1 US$1 US$1 US$1
Corporate bank account location ABN AMRO ING Luxembourg DBS Singapore SCB Dubai HSBC HK HSBC NZ
Tenancy agreement required before incorporation? No No No Yes No No
Do you travel for company incorporation? No No No No No No
Legal considerations
Resident director required? No No Yes No No Yes
Resident shareholder required? No No No No No No
Minimum number of directors 1 1 1 1 1 1
Minimum number of shareholders 1 1 1 1 1 1
Resident company secretary required? No No Yes No No Yes
Individual shareholders allowed Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Corporate shareholders allowed Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Corporate director(s) allowed Yes Yes No No No No
Public register of shareholders and directors Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Tax and accounting considerations
Corporate tax payable on qualifying dividends % 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Must prepare annual financial statements Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Statutory audit exemption possible? Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Annual tax return to be submitted Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Access to how many double tax treaties 96 77 75 71 37 40
How long to get work permit approved 2 months 2 months 1 month 4 weeks 3 months 2 months
Can the entity hire expatriate staff in the country? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Access to EU directives? Yes Yes No No No No
VAT number possible? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Thin Capitalization rules No No No No No Yes
IP box regime Yes Yes No No No No
Logistics considerations
Allowed to sign sales contracts with local clients Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Allowed to invoice local clients Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Average monthly salary of unskilled labour €2,205 €1,923 US$4,427 US$4,300 US$1,644 US$4,202
English spoken by what % of the population 90% 60% 80% 78% 46% 96%
Literacy rate % 99% 100% 97% 94% 93% 99%
Computer literacy rate % 93% 65% 94% 80% 94% 89%
Office rental per square meter per month US$19 US$20 US$30 US$40 US$28 US$31
Warehouse rental per square meter per month US$30 US$30 US$25 US$30 US$20 US$5
Moody’s country credit rating Aaa Aaa Aaa Aa2 Aa1 Aaa
Internet connectivity rating Excellent Good Excellent Good Excellent Good
GDP per capita (US$) 44,433.4 101,450 52,889 40,438 42,423 37,808
Government liberal or controlling of daily business Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal
Population % tertiary enrollment 79% 75% 88% 19% 67% 79%
Ease of doing business ranking (lower the better) 28 59 2 26 4 1
Population (in thousand) 16,936 570 7,306 9,157 5,535 4,595,700
Unemployment rate 6.9% 6.1% 3% 3.2% 3.6% 4.6%
Inflation rate (2016) 0.1% 0.4% -0.2% 0.6% 2.7% 0.2%
GDP 2015 US$ billion 753 58 293 370 310 174
GDP annual growth (2015) 2% 4.8% 2.0% 3.2% 2.4% 3.4%
Estimate of engagement costs
Healy Consultants engagement fees €8,990 €13,600 US$1,980 US$3,950 US$3,350 US$1,910
Company secretary and legal registered office fees €1,100 €3,600 US$1,200 US$1,500 US$1,550 US$1,200
Government fees €1,800 €1,070 US$2,500 US$6,550 US$255 US$130
VAT registration/exemption, tax registration €750 €950 0 0 0 US$550
Corporate bank account opening €2,950 €4,950 US$4,950 US$4,950 US$4,950 US$4,950
Total €15,440 €24,170 US$12,030 US$21,800 US$10,105 US$9,590
Draft sales invoice attached View invoice PDF View invoice PDF View invoice PDF View invoice PDF View invoice PDF View invoice PDF

Contact us

For additional information on our incorporation services, please contact our in-house country expert, Ms. Chrissi Zamora, directly:
client relationship officer - Chrissi