Estonia

Located in Northern Europe, the Republic of Estonia can offer foreign investors a number of business advantages. If you wish to register a company in Estonia, this country is exactly what you need.

Advantages of Opening a Company in Estonia

• EU membership;
• one of the lowest levels of corruption;
• well-developed banking sector;
• opportunity to open an account with an Estonian bank (only for a resident company that has a registered office);
• opportunity to obtain Estonian citizenship, residence permit, permanent residence and affordable housing;
• stable currency;
• access to the EU market;
• OECD membership;
• reduced tax rates for non-residents;
• well-developed IT sector;
• DTA agreements with 60 countries.

Registration Requirements

• coming up with a unique name and translating it into Estonian, Russian or English;
• preparing the Memorandum and Articles of Association;
• having at least one founder (can be physical persons and legal entities; there is no residency requirement);
• no secretary required;
• BoD meetings can be held anywhere or via the Internet;
• having a paid up share capital: of 2 500 euros; minimum nominal value of one share is 1 euro;
• conducting an audit, if a company’s annual turnover exceeds 4 million euros; at the end of the fiscal year, the BoD must submit an annual financial statement and business activity report to the auditor.

Taxation

• preferential interest rate (0%) on corporate tax is applied provided that the company distributes its profits at the end of the reporting period (or is its management decides to invest the profits in business development);
• if a company operates in Estonia, it must pay a tax at the rate of 25%;
• VAT is 20% (for some goods (e.g. pharmaceuticals) the rate is reduced to 9%)).

Companies registered in Estonia can obtain a VAT status. Obtaining it requires a company to operate in the European Union and has a turnover of 16, 000 euros.