| BAHAMAS INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMPANY
GENERAL INFORMATION OF BAHAMAS
Location
The Bahamas are a group of around 700 islands located off the south
east coast of the state of Florida, USA and have been an independent
member of the British Commonwealth since 1973. The Bahamas have
one of the oldest parliamentary democracies in the western hemisphere
and the islands have a political and legal system which closely
follows the UK system and British common law applies.
Population
The population is approximately 255,000 centred principally on the
capital city of Nassau on the island of New Providence. The Islands
boast excellent communications with a state of the art telephone
system and convenient flight links to most major international air
routes.
Financial Infrastructure
The Bahamas have an excellent range of international banks based
in the islands with currently 396 banks holdings licences under
the Banks and Trust Companies Regulations Act 1965. Confidentiality
is excellent with the English common law duty of confidentiality
being preserved and expanded upon by statute imposing penalties
upon banks, attorneys, auditors and government officials who are
privy to private information. Additionally, the Bahamas have no
tax treaties or agreements for the exchange of information with
any other state except agreements covering mutual assistance in
cases of drug trafficking.
FEATURES OF BAHAMAS IBC
Taxation
IBCs pay no taxes in Bahamas
Shareholders
A minimum of two shareholders are required and only registered shares
may be issued. No details of the shareholders appear on the public
file but a register of shareholders must be kept at the registered
office address of the company in the Bahamas.
Directors
A minimum of two directors are required and corporate directors
are permitted. Details of directors are filed with the Companies
Registry and therefore appear on public record.
Annual Reporting
No annual return or accounts need be filed. It should be noted that
penalty fees of up to 50% of the annual licence fee will be incurred
if the licence fee is not paid when due.
Processing Time
Incorporation can be achieved within 48 hours but takes approximately
1 week for documents to arrive from Bahamas. We do, however, keep
ready-made companies in stock available for immediate purchase.
Restrictions on Name and Activity
Names must end with one of the following words, or abbreviations
thereof - Limited, Corporation, Incorporated, Societe Anonyme or
Sociedad Anonima. The following words, and their associated activities,
cannot be used: Assurance, Bank, Building Society, Chamber of Commerce,
Chartered, Cooperative, Imperial, Insurance, Municipal and Royal.
Local Requirements
As a matter of local company law the company MUST maintain a registered
office address with the Bahamas and must also appoint a Bahamas
resident as registered agent. We would generally provide these services
as part of the domiciliary fee.
Secrecy
There are no specific statutory provisions governing secrecy in
relation to companies but English Law, which applies within the
jurisdiction, does impose a common law duty on professionals to
keep the affairs of their clients confidential.
REGISTRATION AND MAINTENANCE FEES
Registration Fee (inclusive of first year
annual fee)
Our registration fee for a company with a share capital less than
US$50,000 is US$950 exclusive of delivery
charges. The fee covers first year licence fee, first year registered
agent fee and first year registered office fee.
Maintenance Fee
Annual maintenance cost for second year onward is US$700.
Other Fees (Optional)
Provision of nominee director: USD300 each/per year
Provision of shareholder: USD200 each/per year
Provision of Post Office Box facility: USD350
Forwarding of each batch of mail: USD60
Certificate of Good Standing: USD150
Certificate of Incumbency: USD150 |
