Offshore Company Formation in Belize

Belize is a country on the eastern coast of Central America. Belize is considered a Central American and Caribbean nation with strong ties to both the Latin American and Caribbean regions. It is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and the Central American Integration System (SICA), the only country to hold full membership in all three regional organizations. Belize is a Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state.
Since 1974, the party system in Belize has been dominated by the center-left
People’s United Party and the center-right United Democratic Party, although there have been other small parties that have participated at all levels of elections in the past. Though none of these small political parties have ever won any significant number of seats and/or offices, their challenge has been growing over the years.

IBC – an International Business Company – is the most popular type of offshore corporation, used worldwide for tax planning and asset protection purposes. Every offshore tax haven has its version of IBC legislation. IBC is the cornerstone and the primary product of the offshore services industry.
An IBC is a private company that is designed to engage in any international business activity. An IBC is exempt from tax in its home jurisdiction, it has extensive features protecting the confidentiality of its owners, and is not subject to any onerous reporting requirements.
A Belize IBC is formed under the Belize International Business Companies Act. This piece of legislation was initially adopted in 1990 and further extended and amended in 2000. Belize IBC Act is considered internationally one of the most modern and user-friendly offshore corporation legislations available today. A Belize IBC is a perfect corporate vehicle for international financial transactions, being specially designed with the offshore investor in mind.

A Belize International Business Company, by the definition of the law, is not subject to any tax or duty on income or profits. These provisions are provided by Article 130 of the Belize IBC Act.
In particular, all income of a company incorporated under the Belize IBC Act; all dividends or other distributions paid by the company to persons who are not resident in Belize; all interest, rent, royalties, compensations, and other amounts paid by the company to persons who are not persons resident in Belize; all capital gains realized with respect to any shares, debt obligations or other securities of a company incorporated under the Belize IBC Act by persons who are not a person resident in Belize, are exempt from all provisions of the Belize Income and Business Tax Act.

Belize International Business Companies are not obliged to prepare or file any financial accounts. Only such records must be kept as Directors deem necessary in order to adequately keep track of the Company’s transactions, for the information purposes of its owners and management. If any, financial records do not have to be kept in Belize and the location for keeping such records can be determined by the owners of the IBC. There is no requirement whatsoever to make any commercial or financial records of the Company available to the general public.

• Certificate of Incorporation

• Memorandum & Articles of Association

• First Minutes appointing the Directors and Shareholders

• Share Certificates

Confidentiality is one of the key benefits of the Belize International Business Company. At registration, no information whatsoever is filed on public record on the company’s beneficial owners, directors, and shareholders. This information remains only known to the licensed Registered Agent, who is bound by the law to keep it completely confidential. The internal corporate records of the IBC as the Registry of Members, Registry of Directors, and the Corporate Minutes and Resolutions, are all kept by the Registered Agent and are also confidential.
The only documents of a Belize IBC held on public record are the Memorandum and the Articles of Association. These documents do not contain any indication as to the actual beneficial owners, directors, or controllers of the company.

A Belize IBC may not be registered under a name that is identical to the name of an existing Belize company. The registration of a new IBC in Belize may also be refused if its name so nearly resembles the name of another company as to be calculated to deceive, except where the other company gives its express consent.
The name of a Belize IBC may not contain the words “Building Society”, “Chamber of Commerce”, “Chartered”, “Cooperative”, “Imperial”, “Municipal”, “Royal”, or any word conveying a similar meaning, or any other word that, in the opinion of the Registrar, suggests or is calculated to suggest the patronage of Her Majesty Queen of England or that of a member of the British Royal Family. Similarly, the name of a Belize IBC must not suggest any connection with the Government of Belize or any of its departments.
A Belize IBC may not register the name containing the words “Assurance”, “Bank”, “Insurance” or “Trust”, or any of their derivatives or cognate expressions unless it is specifically licensed in Belize to carry on the respective business or activities, as designated by such word.

For Belize IBC we can assist you with the bank account opening in Belize or internationally. The banks we cooperate with are reliable financial institutions with a long tradition in private and corporate banking. Our clients are provided with excellent customer service, online banking, Visa and/or Master cards, and other services, such as factoring, foreign exchange, savings, and specialized banking solutions.