10 reasons to buy a ready-made or register a new company in Nevis

Nevis is a well-established and reputable offshore jurisdiction that the FATF and European Union have excluded from the black and gray lists. It’s recognized by US Asset protection lawyers as one of the top two legal asset protection jurisdictions in the world. At the same time, there are no taxes here on international business. 

These are the reasons that motivate many businessmen from around the world to buy a ready-made company (LLC or IBC) on Nevis, or simply register a new Nevis offshore company. Additional advantages of the jurisdiction are the availability and high speed of registration of legal entities.

A quick introduction to Nevis

Nevis is a small island that is part of the twin-island federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, 350 km from Puerto Rico. The population of Nevis is almost 12,000 people. The country’s currency is the East Caribbean dollar (EC $) which is pegged to the US dollar, and the language is English. The main sectors of the economy are tourism and the offshore financial sector: registration of Nevis companies and trusts, as well as a small offshore banking sector.

10 reasons to buy a ready-made company in Nevis or register a new one

Nevis does not occupy a leading position in various ratings of offshore jurisdictions, but at the same time, the country practically does not appear in international reporting investigations. In other words, it’s neutral, discreet and little known compared to other jurisdictions like BVI, Cayman etc. This neutrality and discretion is much more important than the first positions in the top of high profile lists! So let’s look at the main reasons for buying a shelf company in Nevis or registering a new one.

No taxes 

A company in Nevis is not a taxpayer, unless it earns money locally on the island of Nevis. Neither are there taxes on worldwide profits, wealth, dividends, inheritance, donations, nor capital gains. Offshore companies in Nevis are not required to pay taxes at the source of payment, nor stamp duties on share transfers. Their only obligation is to pay a small annual registration fee, file a 1 page return and maintain a registered agent on the island.

However, for companies that receive income from a source in the jurisdiction of St Kitts and Nevis, rather high taxes exist:

• corporate income tax – 33%;
• for capital gains -20%;
• withholding tax on non-resident payments –15%.

The ability to completely avoid the fiscal burden is one of the main motivators to buy a ready-made company in Nevis or open a new one.

Very high level of confidentiality

The British newspaper of The Guardian wrote about Nevis in the article Nevis: how the world’s most secretive offshore haven refuses to clean up. When reading this article, you should consider the Guardian’s staunchly anti-business, anti-offshore point of view. If you are pro-offshore like us, we actually feel rather proud of Nevis’ stance and the local people’s attitude to the Guardian reporter who was sticking his nose into other people’s private business!

The so-called “Paradise Papers”, which supposedly leaked information on more than 70,000 companies in Nevis, was nothing more than publicity-seeking by the offshore haters. The important thing is it actually gave away nothing except the names of the companies and their registered agents. The “leakers” failed to mention that this was public information anyway – anyone could go in and do a company search, on payment of a nominal fee. However the details of the directors, shareholders and beneficial owners of Nevis offshore companies are so secret that they are not even in the island’s corporate registry.

We recommended you buy a ready-made company in Nevis or register a new one in order to ensure the highest level of legal confidentiality and protection of your personal data. Here information about LLC members, IBC shareholders, managers and other principals is closed from the public and is absent from the Public Register. Nevis also has excellent trust legislation, and it is common for an offshore company to be owned by a trust, adding an extra level of statutory confidentiality.

Judicial protection

Buying a company in Nevis will protect the business from unwarranted lawsuits. The use of a Nevis IBC or LLC structure allows you to shield the liability of the owners of the company. They or a professional trustee can manage it without incurring financial or legal obligations. The court of Nevis guarantees substantial protection for business:

• to start a lawsuit against a local company, it is necessary to post a bond of $ 100,000, which is a guarantee of the importance of the claim, being used to pay defence lawyers if the claim fails;
• the limitation period for a ‘fraudulent transfer’ is only 2 years, for example, if today the company’s assets were transferred to Nevis, then after 2 years their transfer cannot be challenged nor the assets seized by creditors;
• local courts do not recognize decisions of other jurisdictions, including the United States. Only the orders of the Nevis court are valid here.

Even having won an order to confiscate the company’s property, it is unrealistic to put it into practice. The Nevis conmpany’s assets may well be in a different jurisdiction. And the plaintiff will then have to seek enforcement elsewhere.

The above facts maximize asset protection. A ready-made company in Nevis or a new legal entity (LLC or IBC) provides reliable protection for business from corporate raiders, modern day pirates, unlawful seizures and corrupt contingency-fee lawyers.

Nominee service

Companies in Nevis can use the services of nominee shareholders, directors and managers, which further enhances the level of business confidentiality. A registered agent can act as a nominee. Since 2021 this business has been regulated in Nevis, meaning it is now carried out at the highest professional levels by suitably qualified individuals, who have proper insurance or have posted fidelity bonds.

Minimal company requirements

It is possible to register a company on Nevis if there is only 1 participant / shareholder who can also act as a manager. There are no restrictions on the amount of the authorized capital on the island – it is allowed to open a legal entity from $ 1. Moreover, capital can be stated in any currency. The issue of shares is allowed both with and without declaring the par value.

There will be no problem with the preparation of relevant corporate documents – for registering a company in Nevis, a Memorandum, Articles of Association or an operating agreement are enough (the list of documents can be expanded if required depending on the individual characteristics of the legal entity, the use of a nominee service). Also, Nevis legislation does not require physical meetings of shareholders / members.

Flexible company structure

It is not usually necessary to register a ready-made company in Nevis if you can register a new one in just a day or two with the chosen structure: Limited Liability Company (LLC) or International Business Company (IBC). Shareholders / participants of a legal entity and other principals can be residents and non-residents, physical persons or companies. There are no restrictions on trusts, foundations etc serving as Managers and shareholders.

Neither does Nevis have any restrictions on the number of founders, directors, or managers. A Nevis LLC can be managed directly by its owners (“member-managed”) or professional managers (“manager-managed”). 

There is no official financial reporting and annual audit

A ready-made or new company on Nevis does not have to file official financial statements anywhere, nor is obliged to conduct an annual independent audit. However, the maintenance of financial records is required. Moreover, it must be available upon request to the registered agent for compliance purposes. 

Although not required, It is good practise to have the agent or professional manager prepare annual financial statements. Banks will normally ask to see such annual financial statements. Having good financial reports will make it much easier to keep existing bank accounts and open new ones if necessary.

Lightning Registration Speed

It is possible to register a new company (LLC or IBC) on Nevis within 1-2 days after passing all compliance checks, whereas purchasing a ready made shelf company will also take 1-2 days. A ready-made company in Nevis starts with all the necessary documents (and it will be possible to make changes if necessary quickly enough).

The creation of a trust takes more time, since it is necessary to prepare the trust deed in accordance with the individual circumstances. 

Redomiciliation

Any already established and operating foreign company can relocate its location to Nevis, provided that the legislation of the country cannot directly prohibit such a transfer. To implement the process, it is enough to submit an application for the transfer of domicile to the Registry of Companies of Nevis, a certificate of reputation of an authorized person of a foreign state and a charter.

In the process of re-domiciliation, a foreign legal entity retains its name, date of creation, and types of activities.

Possibility to use double taxation treaties

A ready-made company in Nevis with an IBC structure allows you to use the Federation’s double taxation treaties. The latter are concluded with: CARICOM, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland, Great Britain, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, USA.

All of the above makes the purchase of a ready-made company in Nevis or  better still creation of a new Nevis offshore company a great choice, because of:

• availability;
• confidentiality;
• no taxes;
• the lightning speed of the procedure.

Just a few days after contacting us, you will receive a first-class business tool on a global scale. We will also help to open an offshore bank account or an account in the payment system, as well as provide high-quality legal and accounting support, both for a ready-made company in Nevis and for a new legal entity. WhatsApp us, send an email or best of all use our dedicated form to jump straight to a specialist consultation on offshore company setup. We will answer you promptly.