Low tax manufacturing in Europe in 2024

Ireland Hungary Cyprus Latvia Bulgaria
Our ranking in order of preference 1 2 3 4 5
Summary at a Glance
Total year 1 engagement set up costs (in €)? 16,580 10,990 9,535 8,990 8,360
Total year 2 costs (incl. audit and tax in €)? 12,130 3,420 3,400 3,580 4,630
Our Client must travel during the engagement? No No No No No
Total engagement period? 2 months 2 months 2 months 2 months 2 months
Corporation tax rate on net profits? 12.5% 9% 12.5% 20% 10%
Tax-optimized free zones available? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Average monthly employee salary (2015)? 3200 786 1796 606 443
Warehousing rental (€ per sq. m.)? €10 €4 €3 €5 €3
Industrial space rental (€ per sq. m.)? €5 €5 €4 €5 €3
Fast turnkey solution available? Yes No No Yes Yes
Incorporation requirements
How long to setup the company? 2 weeks 3 weeks 3 weeks 3 weeks 2 weeks
Minimum paid up share capital in €? 1 10,000 1 2,800 1
Minimum number of shareholders? 1 1 1 1 1
National shareholder required? No No No No No
Corporate shareholders allowed? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Minimum number of directors? 2 1 1 1 1
Resident director required? Yes No No No No
Corporate director(s) allowed? No No Yes Yes No
Public register of shareholders & directors? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tax and accounting considerations
Corporation tax rate on net profits? 12.5% 9% 12.5% 20% 10%
Average import taxes payable? 23% 25% 15% 21% 20%
Average export tax payable? 4% 4% 4% 4% 4%
Export credit incentives\subsidies available? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Local GST or VAT? (%) 23% 27% 19% 21% 20%
Tax incentives for manufacturing start-ups? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
How many tax-optimized free zones in the country? 2 No 2 4 7
Part of the Eurozone single currency? Yes No Yes Yes No
EU VAT member? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Total effective tax paid by a business (% earnings) 26% 48% 23% 35% 27%
Average dividend withholding tax with double taxation treaty access? 10% 8% 10% 5% 3%
Average dividend withholding tax without double tax treaty access? 20% 16% 17% 15% 5%
Access to how many double tax treaties? 72 79 51 57 60
Annual financial statements required? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Statutory independent annual audit required? Yes No No Yes No
Quarterly accounting and tax reporting to the Government? No No No No No
Corporate bank account characteristics
Healy Consultants’ preferred bank? Top 5 Bank Top 10 Bank Top 5 Bank Top 10 Bank Top 3 Bank
How long to open a corporate bank account? 4 weeks 3 weeks 4 weeks 4 weeks 4 weeks
Do I travel to open the bank account? No No No No No
Minimum deposit (€)? €1,000 €1,000 None €1,000 None
Multi-currency corporate debit cards? Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Corporate ATM card available? Yes No No No No
Foreign exchange controls? No No No No No
Bank rating by World Economic Forum? 139 73 143 56 62
Ease of getting credit? (by WEF)? 117 126 109 96 53
Employment considerations
Minimum national salary? 1,499 333 870 360 184
Average monthly employee salary (2015)? 3,200 786 1,796 606 443
Average social contributions (%salaries)? 10.75% 18.50% 11.50% 23.59% 18.50%
Labor productivity per hour (in US$)? 47.3 28.3 31.2 8.2 16.5
Mandatory labour unions? No No No No No
Minimum notice to dismiss employees? 1 week 4 weeks 1 weeks 30 days 30 days
Minimum redundancy indemnity? 2 weeks 2 months 2 weeks 4 weeks 4 months
Quotas on foreign workers? Yes No Yes No No
How long to get work permit approved? 4 weeks 4 weeks 4 weeks 4 weeks 4 weeks
Schengen area member state? Yes Yes No Yes No
Manufacturing considerations
Warehousing rental (€ per sq. m.)? 10 4 3 4.5 3
Industrial space rental (€ per sq. m.)? 5 5 4 5.3 2 - 4
Cost per unit of electricity (€ per kWh)? 0.19 0.11 0.24 0.13 0.09
Average unemployment rate in 2015? 9.40% 6.70% 15.30% 9.80% 9.20%
Internet connectivity? 25 60 58 42 54
Dealing with construction permits ranking? 128 103 148 47 101
Tax incentives for manufacturing start-ups? Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Average inflation rate 2014-2015? 0.20% -0.20% -1.40% 0.6 -1.40%
Logistical considerations
Preferred manufacturing city? Dublin Budapest Limassol Riga Plovdiv
Proximity of sea port in kilometers? 12.5 530* 8.6 5 256
Proximity of airport in kilometers? 10.7 22.4 91 10.4 14.4
Proximity of rail in kilometers? 5.6 4.3 None 10.5 1.6
Does the country have maritime access? Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Local Market size (in USD) US$ 250bn US$136bn US$23bn US$31bn US$55bn
Local purchasing power (GDP per capita) 53,313 13,902 31,836 16,037 7,588
Ease of doing business index 13 54 64 23 38

Contact us

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