Category: Company Formation
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Implementation of a Central Register of Controllers
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Singapore – With effect from 30 July 2020, all companies, foreign companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs), unless exempted, are required to lodge with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) the same information that they presently continue to maintain in their Register of Registrable Controllers (RORC). This is part of ACRA’s on-going efforts to…
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Economic Substance in the Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands, following the lead of other offshore jurisdictions such as Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands, has introduced an economic substance regime effective 1 January 2019 in response to the work of the OECD and the European Union on fair taxation. The legislation has since been twice amended and supplemented…
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BVI Economic Substance framework now fully operational
The International Tax Authority has informed all Registered Agents and legal entities with reporting obligations under the Economic Substance (Companies and Limited Partnerships) Act, 2018 and the Beneficial Ownership Secure Search System Act, 2017 that the Economic Substance portal as integrated with the Beneficial Ownership Secure Search system (BOSS(ES)s) went live on 12 June 2020.
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New ACRA requirement for Register of Registrable Controllers (RORC)
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SINGAPORE – The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) has said that, as 1 May 2020, all companies, foreign companies and limited liability partnerships incorporated or registered in Singapore must ensure to lodge information on their RORCs with ACRA via the ACRA’s business filing portal, Bizfile. The maximum penalty for non-compliance of the…
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Changes to Beneficial Ownership thresholds – filing extension
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CAYMAN ISLANDS – The definition of a beneficial owner in the Companies Law (Revised) and the Limited Liability Companies Law (Revised) will change on 15 May 2020 from “more than 25%” of the shares or voting rights in a company to “twenty-five per cent (25%) or more” of the shares or voting rights in a…
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Hong Kong 2020-21 Budget proposal highlights for HK Companies
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Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, outlined his budget for 2020-21 in his Budget Address on 26 February 2020. Following the HKD30 billion coronavirus relief package two weeks ago by Hong Kong Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, Chan’s budget offers additional relief with generous measures for business.
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Economic Substance Requirements in the BVI
The Economic Substance (Companies and Limited Partnerships) Act, 2018 came into force on 1 January 2019 requiring British Virgin Islands companies and limited partnerships that are tax resident and carrying out ‘Relevant Activities’ to demonstrate economic substance. The new legislation, which applies to existing and new BVI entities, was introduced to address the concerns of…
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Economic Substance Requirements in the Cayman Islands
This summary replaces our previous releases of 21 December 2018 and 11 March 2019 and provides an updated overview of the key aspects of the legislation by outlining steps to identify which Cayman entities are in scope and how to achieve compliance.
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Economic Substance – an overview and comparison summary of requirements
In response to increasing pressure from the EU and the OECD, and to avoid being placed on the EU Council’s list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, each of Bermuda, BVI and Cayman have introduced economic substance legislation (ES Legislation) effective 1 January 2019 to satisfy such requirements. The ES Legislation varies slightly by jurisdiction…
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Hong Kong 2019-20 Budget proposal
A range of relief measures were outlined to help local enterprises deal with the fallout and uncertainty of the global economic and trade environment. As part of these measures it is proposed that the business registration (BR) fees for the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 will be waived, and only the BR…