Tax
Every piece we have published on tax. Dated, sourced, and written under a name.
Jersey company cost: GBP 205 to file, but the administrator sets the real price
Jersey charges GBP 205 to file, GBP 856 for the two-hour service. Why the administrator and substance, not the fee, set the real cost.
Costa Rica SRL vs S.A.: which to pick, and why territorial tax still means up to 30%
SRL or S.A. in Costa Rica: up to 30% on local profit, a yearly entity tax whether or not you trade, an April ownership filing and slow banking.
Andorra company for non-residents: the permit comes first, the 10% needs you there
Non-residents taking more than 10% of an Andorran SL need foreign-investment approval first, and keeping the 10% tax usually means living there.
Thailand nominee shareholders: the 2026 crackdown on who actually paid for the shares
From 1 January 2026 Thailand's registry screens Thai shareholders of foreign-managed firms for proof they paid, and filing is online-only.
Taiwan foreign investment approval: why a foreign-owned company takes 2–3 months
Foreign-owned companies in Taiwan take 2–3 months: foreign investment approval alone runs 6–8 weeks. Tax is 20%, plus a 5% surtax on retained profit.
Swiss resident director requirement: not optional, and the canton still sets your rate
A Swiss GmbH needs CHF 20,000, an AG CHF 100,000. One director must live in Switzerland with individual signing authority; the canton sets the rate.
Swedish AB for non-EU founders: SEK 25,000 is easy, the EEA board rule is not
A Swedish AB needs SEK 25,000 and no notary and pays 20.6%, but the EEA board rule catches most non-EEA founders, and banking is harder still.
Starting a fintech company in Lithuania: the EUR 30 UAB, and why tax is not the reason
A large share of Europe's fintech runs through Vilnius, a better reason to come than tax. The UAB: EUR 30.83 to register, EUR 1,000 capital, 17% tax.
Slovak s.r.o. for non-residents: 10% tax, an e-signature barrier and an August reform
A Slovak s.r.o. needs EUR 5,000 capital and small firms pay 10%, but the e-signature, a minimum tax and the 17 August 2026 reform bite non-residents.
Seychelles IBC bank account: why a US$130 company can leave you unbanked
A Seychelles IBC costs US$130 to register and US$140 a year and pays 0% on foreign income, but banking is where people regret it.
Scottish limited partnership: what stopped working in 2017 and what ID checks changed
Why the Scottish limited partnership is not what you read, what mandatory ID verification changed, and the £100 one-day Ltd alternative.
Qatar WLL vs QFC: 10% on foreign profit, an office lease and no remote setup
A Qatar WLL pays 10% on profit attributable to foreign ownership and needs an office lease; the QFC works like a different country.
PT PMA minimum capital: IDR 2.5 billion paid up, and the IDR 10 billion nobody mentions
PT PMA paid-up capital fell from IDR 10 billion to IDR 2.5 billion in October 2025. The figures in the right order, and the Positive Investment List.
Monaco business authorisation: 2–3 months, personal to you, and it can be refused
Every Monaco business needs prior government authorisation, granted to a named person for a defined activity. It takes 2–3 months and can be refused.
Mauritius GBC vs Authorised Company: the 3% rate and the two directors you must hire
GBC or Authorised Company: decide first. The GBC's 3% comes with conditions and two directors you must hire, and licensing takes three to six weeks.
Malta's 5% corporate tax is a refund, not a rate: the company pays 35% first
A Maltese company pays 35% and most of it comes back later by refund. How the refund works, EUR 1,165 minimum capital, running costs and substance.
Malta dividend tax: 0% withheld, 35% paid first, and the float nobody quotes
Malta withholds nothing on dividends, and full imputation means profit is never taxed twice. How refunds get you near 5%, and the cash-flow catch.
Malta capital gains tax: no separate rate, up to 35%, and a closed list of what is taxed
Malta has no separate capital gains tax: gains sit in income tax at up to 35%, only assets the law names are caught, and property and non-doms differ.
Madeira's 5% corporate tax: new MIBC licences end on 31 December 2026
New MIBC licences for the 5% rate end on 31 December 2026, with benefits to 2033. A shell will not qualify; outside the MIBC, 14.7% applies.
Luxembourg Soparfi: a regime, not a company type, and substance decides whether it works
The Soparfi is a regime, not a company type. The Sàrl behind it, EUR 12,000 of capital, about 23.87% tax, the notary and the substance test.
Liechtenstein GmbH cost: CHF 1,100 to the state, then the mandatory trustee
About CHF 1,100 in state fees, a 12.5% profit tax with CHF 1,800 attached, a trade licence nobody mentions and a trustee you cannot do without.
Hungary's 9% corporate tax: the EU's lowest rate is not the whole rate
The EU's lowest headline corporate rate is not the whole rate. What a Kft. costs: the zero fee that is not free, HUF 3,000,000 capital and banking.
Guernsey company cost: GBP 100 at the registry, then a fiduciary you cannot skip
GBP 100 at the registry, GBP 1,000 for fifteen minutes, plus a mandatory fiduciary whose fees are the real cost. And why 0% is only a standard rate.
GmbH vs UG: EUR 25,000 or EUR 1, and the trade tax that sets Germany's real rate
A GmbH needs EUR 25,000 of capital with half paid up; a UG starts from EUR 1. The trade tax, video notarisation and the bank-account bottleneck.
Gibraltar Category 2 vs HEPSS: GBP 39,940 a year if your employer applies
HEPSS is granted to a job and your employer applies: a fixed GBP 39,940 tax bill, no net-worth test. Category 2 is for people with money.
Estonia's 0% corporate tax is a deferral: 22% arrives when you take the money out
Estonia taxes retained profit at 0%, distributions at 22%. What an e-Residency OÜ costs, the banking catch and the tax that follows you home.
Dutch holding BV: the participation exemption, substance, and the bank that says no
Why the Dutch BV is a top European holding vehicle: the participation exemption, withholding, the substance it needs and the bank that says no.
Delaware vs Wyoming LLC for non-residents: the USD 25,000 Form 5472 trap
A Delaware LLC costs about USD 110, a Wyoming LLC USD 100, both in days with no US residency, but a Form 5472 mistake carries a USD 25,000 penalty.
Czech s.r.o. for foreigners: CZK 1 of capital, but a criminal-record check sets the pace
A Czech s.r.o. needs no local director and CZK 1 of capital, pays a flat 21%, and the criminal-record extract is what sets the timeline.
Cayman exempted company: what US$853 buys, and what economic substance takes back
A Cayman exempted company registers in 3–5 business days from US$853: no corporate income tax, an exemption undertaking and economic substance rules.
BVI company annual requirements: three obligations that outlast the USD 550 fee
USD 550 registers a BVI Business Company in one to three days. The three obligations people forget, what the register shows, and why banking decides.
Belize IBC: gone since 2022, and anyone still quoting one is using an old price list
The Companies Act 2022 ended the Belize IBC. What replaced it: one company register, BZD 300 to register, one to three days, and banks as the limit.
Austrian FlexCo vs GmbH: the 2024 reform and the minimum tax nobody budgets for
Since 2024 an Austrian GmbH needs EUR 10,000, not 35,000, and startups get the FlexCo. Tax is a flat 23%, with a minimum even in loss years.
Is Belarus a tax haven? 13% income tax, no CRS, and banks that will not touch it
A 13% income tax, an IT park with no profit tax until 2049, no CRS exchange and residence through a company. Why it still fails the bank test.
Iran tax residency rules: the test starts from your passport, not your days
Iran counts residency from the passport, not the calendar. Foreign staff face a deemed salary and exit permit; diaspora, a passport they cannot drop.
Hong Kong offshore company tax: the claim the IRD takes apart, and what FSIE changed
Hong Kong taxes only Hong Kong-sourced profit, at 8.25% then 16.5%. Why the IRD takes offshore claims apart, what FSIE changed in 2023, and the bank.
Denmark's expat tax scheme: 27% for seven years, then the year-eight cliff
The 27% researcher and key-employee scheme: an effective 32.84% for up to 84 months, once in a lifetime, then year eight and the exit tax.
Chile tax exemption for new residents: three years on foreign income, then up to 40%
New foreign residents in Chile are taxed only on Chilean income for three years from entry, then worldwide at up to 40%. Uruguay compared.
Gibraltar company annual costs: USD 148 to register, then the renewal nobody quotes
Gibraltar's registry charges about USD 148 to incorporate. Over five years a simple company costs about USD 10,000: renewals, extras and banking.
There are 51 tax residencies that don't report you. You will hate 50 of them.
51 of the 165 countries we track sit outside CRS. The biggest is the United States. Here is what the non-reporting list actually buys you — and what it costs.
Malta tax for foreigners: a 35% headline, and why much of the incoming wealth pays 15%
Brackets from 0% to 35%, the non-dom remittance basis and the 15% flat-rate programmes: what foreigners in Malta actually pay, and which status fits.
Gibraltar company pros and cons: 15% tax, no VAT, UK access in, EU access out
A Gibraltar company: 15% territorial tax, no VAT, UK access in, EU access out. Compared with Malta, Cyprus and the UAE, plus a verdict.
Cayman Islands taxes: what zero actually costs
Cayman Islands taxes explained: 0% income, corporate and capital gains tax, 7.5% stamp duty — what zero really costs and our verdict on who should go.
Canada departure tax: how the deemed disposition on leaving Canada works
Canada's departure tax explained: the deemed disposition on leaving Canada, what's exempt, the interest-free deferral — and a verdict on timing your exit.
10 countries where the wealthy move themselves, their companies and their trusts
A US passport now costs $450 to hand back. The exit tax is the expensive part. Germany taxes gains you never realised. Norway's billionaires simply left. Here is what leaving actually costs in every rich country, and the ten places the wealthy move themselves, their holding companies and their trusts. Verdict inside.
Your crypto just joined the bank statement
CARF and the expanded CRS went live on 1 January 2026. The verdict: on-chain privacy from your home tax office is now a scheduling problem, not a strategy.
Why your bank hangs up when you say you're American
It is not personal and it is not illegal. FATCA turned every foreign bank into an IRS reporting agent. And for many of them, the cheapest response to a US client is no.
Uruguay's tax holiday still holds. The entry fee just went up
Uruguay kept its 11-year foreign-income holiday but repriced the door in 2026. Who still qualifies free, who gets priced out, and the once-only trap.
Japan shut the cheap door and kept the death tax
Japan made its Business Manager visa six times harder in October 2025. But the real trap for relocating wealth is its worldwide inheritance tax. The verdict.
Britain's 12% window is closing, and it won't reopen
Britain's Temporary Repatriation Facility lets ex-non-doms bring offshore wealth onshore at a flat 12%, but only until 2027. The verdict: don't wait.
The Cayman Islands charge you at the border instead
The Cayman rate table is one line long and every line says zero. Here is what replaces it, and the two qualifiers that decide your actual bill.
Malta's 35% is a headline almost nobody pays
Malta's headline rate is 35%. Trading profits land near 5%, and non-doms' foreign capital gains land at zero. The real rates, and the catch.
Italy's flat tax is not what the romantics think
Italy's flat-tax regime suits the genuinely globally rich and burns the romantics. How it compares with Greece and Portugal. Verdict inside.
Is Paraguay really a zero-tax country? Four people, four answers
Paraguay is sold as a zero-tax country. It is not zero, it is territorial at 10%. Four composite cases showing who pays nothing and who pays plenty.
Gibraltar company bank account: three days to incorporate, then the compliance desk
About three working days and GBP 100 to incorporate, then a bank's compliance desk. Plus management and control, home-country tax and Pillar Two.
Cyprus's 20% capital gains tax that hardly anyone pays
Cyprus taxes capital gains at 20%, but only on Cyprus property. Securities are exempt. What the 2026 reform changed, and what non-dom really buys.
Will you be a covered expatriate?
The US exit tax has three tests. Fail one and you are covered. The 2026 figures, Form 8854, and the green card trap at eight of fifteen years.
The end of non-dom
The UK abolished non-dom on 6 April 2025. The 4-year FIG regime, the 12% repatriation window closing in 2028, and the IHT tail that is not 10 years.
The 183-day rule is a myth
Day counting is one test among several and rarely the decisive one. What treaty tie-breakers actually turn on, and why keeping the house loses cases.
Reading is not advice
None of this knows anything about you. When you want an answer that does, we are here.