Tag Archives: Business Base

Irish passport granted based on investment, start of a business or Irish ancestry

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The Irish government is offering special residence visas to foreign individuals willing to invest in the country.

This new program began on April 15, 2012, and if you make the investment, it can lead to full citizenship. Irish citizenship opens the door to full personal and commercial access to all 27 countries in the European Union.

Ireland’s aim is to attract both money and wealthy individuals from outside the EU who want to take advantage of new and existing investor schemes to immigrate to Ireland.

The virtue of an Irish passport is access to all EU countries, plus visa-free travel to over 150 countries, including the entire British Commonwealth.

Under the new 2012 programs potential Irish investor immigrants have several choices, including an investment in a low-interest bond, or  a venture capital fund, or a property investment or government securities. The minimums amounts range from 500,000 euro to 2 million euro ($627,000 to $2.5 million).

There is also a separate residence visa program for foreign entrepreneurs who wish to start an innovative business valued at a minimum of 75,000 euro ($94,000).

There is another citizenship options in Ireland as you can use Irish ancestry to claim an Irish passport.

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Secretive Andorra opens up to foreign investments

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Andorra is an old tax haven in Europe and is well known for its bank secrecy. Andorra plan to liberalize foreign investments and foster more economic openness. This comes as part of Andorra’s policy in the past few years to open its economy.

Back in 2008, Andorra had enacted a law to reduce protectionism in the Principality, and allow 100% foreign ownership in Andorran companies. However, in its recently published implementing regulation, the Andorran government observes this has not been enough and argues that it is necessary to liberalize further.

Under the new law, foreign individuals wanting to exercise a profession in Andorra will no longer be required to have been resident in Andorra for at least 20 years, provided there is a reciprocal agreement between Andorra and the relevant foreign country.

However, a system of authorizations from the administration still applies. Prior authorizations are required for foreigners to own property in Andorra, unless they are individuals resident in Andorra. All investments in at least 10% of the capital or voting rights of an Andorran firm also require prior authorization. Quantitative restrictions on ownership of real estate by foreigners (previously no more than two flats per individual) will be abolished. Portfolio investments do not require authorization, but they must be reported to the registry of foreign investments in the event they are in substance akin to direct investments.

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UK gives big tax breaks to creative high tech industries

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In aiming to establish the UK as the technology centre of Europe, the government hopes that the tax breaks will support technological innovation and ensure that creative industries continue to contribute to economic growth.

The UK’s creative industries are set to benefit from new “world class tax breaks” unveiled by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne in a move designed to encourage innovation and investment.

According to Osborne, the reliefs will be among the most generous in the world, and will build on the success of the UK’s existing Film Tax Relief. The government is now consulting on plans announced in Osborne’s 2012 Budget, which outlined proposals for tax reliefs targeted at animation, high-end television and video games.

Subject to European Union State aid approval, these corporate tax reliefs will enter into force from April, 2013. The government is keen to repeat the boost generated for the film industry, where tax reliefs provided around GBP 95m (USD 150m) of support and helped over GBP 1bn of investment in 208 films in 2009/10.

The consultation invites views from individuals, companies, and representative and professional bodies on the proposed design options. In particular, the government wishes to hear from production companies and those working directly in the production of video games, animation and high-end television.

A separate consultation on the design of suitable cultural tests for each of these reliefs will be launched in the autumn. The tests will identify culturally British works that are to be considered eligible for the new tax reliefs in line with the European Commission’s rules on State aid. In the meantime, discussions will continue with industry-focused working groups and the European Commission.

Osborne explained the government’s initiative: “I want the UK to remain a world leader in the creative industries, that’s why I am announcing tax reliefs that will be among the most generous available anywhere. High-end TV, animation and video games production are exactly the kind of innovative, high-tech industries at which this country excels, and the government is determined to support them as part of our efforts to grow this economy.”

Reacting to the news, Rachel Austin, Deloitte tax director, said: “The aim of the proposed relief to support a sustainable creative industry with a world class skills and talent base in the UK will be welcomed by the industry. However, given the long lead time for productions in these sectors, companies need to know the value of the proposed reliefs as soon as possible to start building it into their planning processes. If the government sets the rate of relief at the right level, the proposals will increase the UK’s competitiveness in these sectors encouraging additional investment in the UK and discouraging UK companies from producing culturally British content in countries that already offer incentives such as Ireland, Hungary and France.”

The consultation remains open until September 10, and the government will publish draft legislation for further consultation in the autumn.

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Malta reduce taxes for both local citizens and foreign investors

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Malta’s Minister of Finance, Economy and Investment Tonio Fenech has announced numerous tax measures in the territory’s budget for 2012, many of which reduce the tax burden on islanders and enhance the island’s appeal to international investors.

Among the latest changes, royalties income derived from copyright-protected books, film scripts, music and art will now be tax exempt in Malta. The announcement follows the decision in the 2010 Budget that royalties on patents would receive an exemption.

To further promote Malta as a hub for innovation and product development, the 15% personal income tax scheme – aimed at attracting skilled persons engaged in certain fields to Malta – is to be extended to include international professionals specializing in the development of digital games.

In addition, Maltese companies which commission educational digital games will be given a tax credit up to a maximum of EUR 15,000 (USD 20,000).

The government has also announced significant tax cuts for parents with the introduction of a new ‘parent computation’ in addition to the current single and joint computation. This will apply to taxpayers who are a parent of at least one child under the age of 18 (or 21 if the child is in tertiary education) and entitle claimants to a 0% income tax rate on the first EUR 9,300 of income. A taxpayer newly transferring to parental computation and with an income of EUR 21,200 would for instance see a reduction in income tax payable of EUR 420 per annum compared to the single computation system, according to Fenech.

In addition, tax allowances for parents sending their children to private, fee-paying schools will be significantly increased.

Other measures include the introduction of a new car scrapple scheme, worth 15.25% of the value of the new car when trading in an older model, with the benefit capped at EUR 2,000. Registration taxes for older vehicles will be hiked from January 1, 2012.

Tax concessions are also to be introduced for property owners for the restoration of certain buildings.

Excise duty on cigarettes and tobacco will increase by 5.8% and 8.5%, respectively, and tax on bunker fuel and cement is also due to rise.

The government also intends in the new year to merge the Inland Revenue Department and value-added tax department, and to hold a VAT amnesty to allow taxpayers to regularize their tax affairs.

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Barbados to tap Latin American trade opportunites

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Barbados Minister of Tourism, Richard Sealy has welcomed the ‘highly productive’ meetings held with officials and business leaders in Panama aimed at enhancing bilateral trade and boosting tourism receipts for both countries.

Both countries committed during the five-day trip to enhance bilateral trade and look at opportunities for exporters in Barbados to tap the Latin American market using existing infrastructure and trade arrangements, including through Panama’s Colon Free Trade Zone.

The Colón Free Trade Zone is situated at the Atlantic gateway to the Panama Canal and acts as a tax-free re-export hub. More than 2,500 companies are established there, shipping more than USD 16bn of goods annually.

Representatives of the Chambers of Commerce from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States have praised the initiative, stating that the Caribbean needs “to work together to realise tangible trade benefits and the mission was a good start”. They urged Caribbean territories to work together on international trade issues rather than competing with one another.

Talks were also held for the first time with Copa Airlines on establishing air links between Barbados and Panama.

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