COMPANY IN MALTA

Modern businesses prefer to conduct its activities from small but very favorable regions. Malta is one of them and is considered an authoritative center of world trade.

Establishing a company in Malta comes with the following advantages:

• you can either open a business from scratch or relocate an already existing enterprise without any problems;
• full access to world markets (EU, Asia, and other regions);
• a special taxation system for companies that conduct international activities (income tax is just 5%);
• 70+ double taxation treaties;
• complete English legal system.

In other words, Malta offers all the strengths of Europe, but without the restrictions that are inherent in the large countries of the region. Malta's extreme loyalty to trade and business is a benefit that definitely deserves the attention of any businessman wishing to start a business in the "safe harbor".

Which form of the company is it better to register?

As already noted, Malta is subject to English law. LTD (limited liability company) is the most advantageous form of business registration for non-residents, because this legal form is the easiest to register for them. As an alternative, you can consider a joint stock company (PLC), but you will need to resolve the problem of securities issuance in this case.

What documents are required?

The following documents are required to register a company in Malta:

• memorandum of association (certificate of incorporation);
• charter (memorandum);
• application;
• deposit receipt;
• special form of KYC;
• information about the beneficiaries (passport details).

All the presented documents must be written in either English or Maltese. Cortax helps businesses to correctly translate all the necessary certificates, which significantly reduces the time of the registration procedure.

What do you need to know about setting up a business in Malta?

There are the following features and requirements for organizations in Malta:

• no restrictions on founders (they can be individuals or legal entities, there are no requirements for resident status);
• minimum amount of the authorized capital is 1,165 Euros;
• 20% of the capital must be deposited before the incorporation;
• minimum number of directors is 1;
• minimum number of secretaries is 1;
• information about the members (directors and shareholders) of the company is provided in public access, but information about the beneficiaries can be obtained only at the request of state bodies.

Since Malta takes advantage of English law, there are no special requirements for the name of organizations. The name must be in Latin letters and include the legal form (LTD).

You can only conduct business on the island if you have a registered office. This automatically entails the need for a lease or purchase of a legal address. Cortax provides customers with verified legal addresses, which won’t cause any questions from the registrar when checking documents.

A bank account must be opened before the registration of a company — this is a general requirement that follows from the tradition of English law. You need to deposit an account with any licensed bank on the island.

Based on the results of business registration in Malta, the applicant receives a Certificate of Incorporation, which confirms the successful completion of the procedure. The registrar also issues an extract from the register with brief and basic information about the registered entity.

Specifics of taxation in Malta

Malta has long been considered as a “safe harbor” for businesses due to the lighter tax burden. The following taxes are paid on the island:

• corporate tax. The rate is 35% if the activity is carried out within the country. The size is significantly lower for international business — just 5%;
• VAT. The base rate is 18%. A lower rate is provided for many types of activities — up to 5%;
• there is no tax on dividends;
• mandatory contributions, which are 10% of the monthly earnings of employees;
• the minimum wage in Malta in 2021 is 784 Euros.

In other words, Malta opens up extremely favorable taxation for businesses that conduct international activities instead of being limited to just this island. If you are going to register a company in this country, the Cortax team will help speed up and facilitate the procedure by competent translation of documents, search for a legal address and other important intermediary actions.