The Top 8 Benefits of Incorporating a Company in the BVI

Hello, I hope you are doing great. In this expertly written article, you will understand all the benefits that one can enjoy by incorporating their offshore company in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). This video will add a lot of value to your business decisions about starting off your journey in the BVI and help guide you in the right direction, so I recommend you watch till the end.

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1. Zero taxation:

Enjoying the zero taxation policy is one of the most famous reasons for BVI offshore company founders. The BVI has a strictly zero taxation policy for all income generated outside the British Virgin Islands. For example, in most cases, you would be using your BVI company as a holding company. This means that if you are using your BVI company to hold companies that are in other countries and your BVI company is not directly involved in income-generating activities within the BVI, then you are not liable to pay any taxes in the British Virgin Islands. This makes this offshore country a dream destination for those who want to save hundreds of thousands or millions on taxes. The BVI is a tax-neutral country. No direct personal taxes are levied in the BVI. Personal income, capital gains, net worth, and inheritances are also exempt from taxes in the BVI. The only tax that exists in the BVI is a payroll tax for businesses that employ local workers, which may not apply to you in most cases.

2. No auditing:

A BVI company is not required to audit its financial statements and books of accounts. However, please keep in mind that having up-to-date books of accounts is mandatory in the BVI and they must be kept at the registered address in the BVI so that the government authorities can take a look at them at any time. That being said, you are not required to audit, file, or submit any financial statements, financial records, or books of account with the authorities, as it is not required, thanks to the official BVI's strict privacy laws. You just have to keep them at your registered address that is known to the BVI authorities. This should save you from unnecessary compliance costs and auditing hurdles. In special cases, if you are a regulated entity, such as baking, insurance, fund management, etc., you might need to audit and submit to the relevant authorities as mandated by them.

3. A white-listed country:

The British Virgin Islands is a white-listed country. Yes, the British Virgin Islands are now a white-listed country. On February 18, 2020, the BVI removed the European Union's non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, simply called the EU's gray list by the Economic and Financial Affairs Council. This made the BVI a safe jurisdiction for offshore company formations while indicating that the BVI country is now in line with the transparency standards and tax governance standards as laid down by the European Union. This step by the EU made BVI attract a large amount of investment and offshore founders to the country due to its increased reputation and efforts to make it an even more attractive and safe heaven with its ease of doing business policies and business-friendly laws and regulations. The BVI is more recognized internationally and the chances of getting a bank account are higher than ever before.

4. Privacy:

The BVI jurisdiction stresses a lot on privacy. With its super strict and offshore founder-friendly privacy laws, it attracts founders and businesses from almost every part of the world. There are no public directories made available in the country. There is no way an outsider can get personal, sensitive information about the directors and shareholders of a company. The law even allows the use of nominee directors and shareholders so you can hide your real identity even in your official incorporation documents. But please note that you will still need to provide your details to the BVI government while incorporating your company into the BVI. Even if you use a nominee, you will still need to provide your details as the ultimate beneficial owners of the company. But rest assured, your details would never be released to the public, thanks to the strict data privacy and protection laws laid down by the government and authorities.

5. Non-residents are welcome:

Let's continue with the fifth benefit. Foreigners and non-residents can easily set up an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands. There is no requirement to have local resident directors or shareholders. Irrespective of your country of origin, residence, or citizenship, you are free to start your offshore company journey in the BVI without any hassles. The BVI government not only allows but also encourages 100% foreign ownership. You are not even required to be physically present in the BVI to incorporate your company. Yes, you can stay wherever you are in the world and still complete the entire company formation procedure in the BVI, completely online. On top of that, you do not even need to visit the BVI to manage your company, as you can remotely manage, file forms, and stay compliant with all the rules and regulations without having to step out of your home country even once.

6. No paid-up capital requirement:

Let's know more about the sixth benefit. There are no minimum paid-up capital requirements to incorporate your BVI offshore company. There is also no minimum authorized share capital and you do not even need to mention it. You can just mention the number of shares it will issue and there is no minimum number of shares that you can issue. But as a general practice, most of the BVI offshore companies are incorporated with an authorized share capital of $50,000 and a nominal share value of $1 each. The feature of having zero paid-up capital requirements can save you from huge upfront capital investments in your business in the BVI.

7. U.S. Dollar ($) is the official currency:

The US dollar (USD) has been the official currency in the BVI (British Virgin Islands) since 1959. This promotes ease of doing business globally. The USD is one of the strongest currencies worldwide and individuals and businesses worldwide try to keep their money in the USD and transact worldwide without having to worry about multiple currency exchanges and exchange conversion costs, facilitating ease in international transactions. You will get access to the world's most widely accepted and stable currency. The BVI government has even made it clear that it is not looking to change its official currency, making it one of the most stable currency economies in the world for individuals and businesses, ensuring ease of doing business.

8. Easy compliance:

Let us go through the first benefit. The BVI government has made it super simple to stay compliant with the local laws and regulations. Every offshore company incorporated in the BVI needs to meet the minimum compliance requirement to keep their companies active and in good standing. You need to appoint a local registered agent and have a local registered address in order to register your company. On an annual basis, in addition to having a registered agent and address, you need to file a simple financial return form with your registered agent to keep your company active. You might also need to prepare and file an economic substance BOSS, depending on your situation. These simple compliance requirements promote ease of doing business and ensure that you focus on building and growing your business without needing to spend your resources and worry about the compliance hurdles.

So, yeah, that brings us to the end. In short, the British Virgin Islands is truly a heaven for offshore company founders worldwide whose main objective is to save on tax, privacy, asset protection, ease of doing business, etc. BVI is such a jurisdiction that checks off all such major objectives, making it a perfect jurisdiction for individuals and businesses from all parts of the world.

If you have any doubts or queries, please feel free to reach out to us in the comments section or email us at hello@vepapu.com so that we can try helping you out if you are stuck anywhere in the process.

If you are looking to incorporate your BVI, then we can handle it for you. We will incorporate your BVI business company in just 2–3 days, 100% online; you don't need to travel anywhere. We will accompany you in every step of your BVI journey, right from name availability checks and incorporation all the way up to filing required annual forms to comply with the relevant rules and regulations of the country to keep your company in good standing.

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