Belize

General data
Belize is the sovereign republic, which belongs to the area of administration of Great Britain.  Official language – English. Legislative  drafting of Belize is based on the law of England. The capital city is Belmopan. Monetary unit – Belize dollar.

Taxation
No taxes are imposed on income, sales, succession and dividends of an enterprise in Belize. There is no currency control.

Contracts made to avoid double taxation
Contracts are made with Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark and Caribbean Community.

Legislation related to entrepreneurship
International Business Companies Act, 1990.

Types of companies
International Business Company (IBC). Its variant – Public Investment Company (PIC).

Fixed capital of a company
Fixed capital of a company must be declared, there are no requirements for obligatory payment of capital and minimum and maximum limit of the capital. Share capital may be in any currency. Minimum amount of shares issued by a company includes one share without nominal value or one share with nominal value.

Permitted field of activities
All field of activities, which are not forbidden by law, are permitted. Bank services, insurance services and reassurance services and also offer of trust services is licensed.

Forbidden field of activities
Company must not trade on the territory of Belize and acquire the real estate there.

State annual fee
Annual registration fee depends on the amount of company’s declared share capital. For the company with fixed capital of 50 000 USD it is paid 100 USD annually; for the company with fixed capital of more than 50 000 USD it is paid 1000 USD annually. Fine for delay of payment of annual fee is 50% of the rate of annual fee.

Foundation of a company
Presence of real owners upon registration of a company is not obligatory. Registered agent presents Memorandum and Articles of Association to a registrar and pays the corresponding fee.

Founders of a company
Minimum number of shareholders is 1 (one). Information about the owners of a company is confidential. Nominal shareholder may be a registered agent, who is entered in Memorandum and Articles of Association and has a local license. Details related to shareholders do not appear in public information, however list of shareholders (nominal shareholders) must be at the address of a registered office of a company.

Requirements to a business name
Business name of a company may be in any language using Latin alphabet. The register may require translation of a name into English. Name cannot be similar to already registered name. For indication of limited liability a name must include the following words: Limited, Corporation, Incorporated, Société Anonyme, Sociedad Anonima, Gesellschaft mit beshränkter Haftung or abbreviation Ltd., Corp., Inc., GmbH, SA.
Words Assurance, Bank, Building Society, Chamber of Commerce, Chartered, Cooperative, Imperial, Insurance, Municipal, Royal, Trust Company, Trustee Company or other words or phrases, which have the same meaning, cannot be used in company’s name in case company does not have a corresponding license.

Directors of a company
Minimum required number of directors is 1 (one). Besides, corporate directors are permitted. A director may have any citizenship. The detailed information about directors does not appear in public information. Legislation does not forbid the use of nominal directors.

Secretary of a company
There are no requirements, but it is a common practice to appoint one secretary for validation of efficiency of written documents.

Registered office
Company must have the registered office address in Belize.

Period of registration of a company
2 (two) weeks.

Presentation and audit of financial and annual statements
No requirements for presentation of financial statements. No requirements for presentation of annual statements and audit. Companies are obliged to make accounting notes which would reflect financial status of a company.

Documents kept in the registered office
List of shareholders and directors, impression of the seal.

Information about a company available for the third persons
Registration documents, list of shareholders and directors, name of registered agent and registered office.