General information
Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Antigua in 1493 and the island was named in honor of one of the churches in Barcelona. So, Spaniards were first Europeans who set foot on the island. Soon the British appeared on the island and in 1674 Christopher Codrington founded the first sugar factory. At the time, slave labor was used there, and slaves were brought from West Africa. In 1834 slavery was abolished, November 1st 1981Antigua became an independent state of Antigua and Barbuda. The island state is part of the Commonwealth countries and the nominally subject to the British Queen.
Antigua and Barbados is located in the eastern part of Caribbean near the Puerto Rico. Total area is a little more than 400 square kilometers and population is about 90 thousand people, two thirds of whom live on the island of Antigua. The capital is St. John, the main language is considered to be English, as well as the majority of the population is familiar with the so-called Creole dialect. Currency of the islands is Eastern Caribbean dollar, which is pegged to the US dollar ratio of 1 to 2.7. State is member of the UN, IMF and World Bank. Most of GDP is made up of income from tourism.
The most common business entities
Legislation provides that type of entities:
International business company (IBC)
International limited liability company (ILLC)
Limited liability company (LLC)
Non-profit organizations
Corporate legislation
The law is based on English common law. Companies are governed by corporate law of International Corporate Legislation.
Registered capital
The company’s founders have to be two shareholder- citizens, one of whom must be a lawyer in Antigua and Barbuda. The number of shares must not be less than one; however, it is advised to have ten thousand shares per one dollar.
The main requirements for directors and shareholders
It is sufficient for company to have one director who can operate as a legal person. Registration requires one shareholder who can be both natural and legal person. There is a requirement to hold annual shareholders’ and directors meeting on the territory of Antigua.
Disclosure of the company’s beneficial to the government bodies
According to the law of Antigua and Barbuda information on beneficiaries is closed and not included in the free access data registry, but it is necessary for opening a bank account. Thus, it may be provided to law enforcement organs after legitimate request.
Taxation
Companies pay an annual fee on the basis of the amount of the registered capital. Antigua has signed twelve agreements to avoid double taxation and twenty agreements on tax information exchange with various countries of the world.
Accounting
Business tax return must be submitted no later than three months after the end of financial year, together with the financial statements. There is a system of fines for delays. At the same time the international companies are not required to submit financial statements. Audits must be carried out only on an international insurance companies, investment funds and banks.
Terms
Typically, offshore company registration takes two to three days. There is a fast registration options, and when the Apostille is not necessary, the period is reduced to one day.