IRELAND

Geographical position. Ireland is situated in the West of the British Isles and is separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea.

The population is 5,000,000 people. The official language is English.

Political system. It is an independent democratic parliamentary country with a democratically elected Parliament. Ireland is a member to the European Union.

Legal system. A common law similar to that of Great Britain.

1	Advantages	A high international reputation of Ireland as a EC member.
2	Disadvantages	The need of accounting, presentation of the annual report with an auditors’ opinion. The company has resident status.
3	Corporate Law	Companies Decrees of 1961 to 1990.
4	The form of a company	A resident company (hereinafter referred to as the “Company”).
5	Permitted activities	Any activity not prohibited by the law. A special license for banking, insurance, reinsurance and trust services is required.
7	Taxation	Starting from 1^st January 2001 trading profits of the company are taxable at the rate of 20% (24% were before this date). Non-trading profits, e.g. investment income, are taxable at the rate of 25%. A rate of 12.5% is applied to the trading profits of “small” companies (whose annual profit does not exceed 200.000 IR pounds). From 1^st January 2001 standard VAT rate is reduced by 1%; it is 20% now. The standard rate of capital gains tax is 20% Where the Irish company is treated for the purposes of a double tax treaty as being resident in another tax treaty country and not tax resident in Ireland, the company will not be treated as an Irish tax resident under the place of incorporation rule. Also it will not be treated, where the Irish company is a relevant company and (a) carries on a trade in Ireland or (b) is related to a company which carries on a trade in Ireland
8	The period of registration	7 to 14 days
9	The possibility to buy a shelf company	Yes
10	The name of the Company	Should not be identical or similar to any one registered. The name should end in the word “Limited”, or “Ltd.” . The words: “Insurance”, “Bank”, “Chamber of Commerce”, “Co-operative”, “Credit Union”, “Group”, “Holding”, “Building Society”, “Royal” and a number of others may be used only upon approval of the Financial Control Commission.
11	The documents required for the registration	Memorandum of incorporation, the Articles of Association.
12	Who signs the incorporation documents?	Subscribers who subscribe to 2 shares minimum GBP 2; their function is only to appoint the first director
13	The Company’s share capital	There is no requirement of the minimum size and payment of the share capital
14	The recommended share capital	GBP 2,000 divided into 2,000 shares with the face value GBP 1 per share
15	Shares	Only registered shares and bearer shares with the face value are issued (shares without any face value are prohibited)
16	Shareholders: -- minimum number -- nominee shareholders -- trust ownership of shares	a single private individual or corporate entity, non-residents of Ireland permitted permitted
17	Possible re-domiciliation of the company in any other jurisdiction	None
18	Whether the law provides non-disclosure of the information: -- on the beneficial owner of the Company -- on banking operations	The beneficial owner of the Company cannot be identified in case shares are held by the nominee owner No
19	Directors: -- minimum number -- ethnic origin and nationality -- status	Two private individuals At least one Irish resident should be director of a company All rights except those being within the exclusive competence of the shareholders (determined by the Articles of Association)
20	The existence in the territory of Ireland of: -- a registered office -- a registered agent -- a local secretary	Obligatory Not obligatory Obligatory, a private individual or a legal entity, a resident of the Ireland, may combine the positions of the secretary and a director
21	Meetings of: -- shareholders; -- directors	The meetings may be held in any part of the world and the minutes of the meetings may be kept in any place. Annual meetings of shareholders are obligatory. No requirement.
22	The requirement of: -- the accounting -- preparing the annual return -- submission of the audited balance sheet	Yes Yes, including the information on the names and addresses of directors, secretaries, shareholders, the number of shares owned by them, share capital, the status of accounts. Yes
23	The information available upon request of any third parties	Names and addresses of the secretary, directors and shareholders, the registered office, memorandum and Articles of Association, creditors’ claims
24	Documents kept in the registered office	The register of shareholders, directors and secretaries
25	Double taxation avoidance treaties	Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Pakistan, India, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Great Britain, the USA, Zambia, Greece, Nigeria, Spain, Portugal – not applicable to non-resident companies
26	Currency control	None