Canada is one of the most attractive and prestigious jurisdictions for doing business. Canada is a federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories. A distinctive feature of this jurisdiction is the possibility of registration in some provinces of extra-provincial corporations (EPC), which are exempt from taxes on income generated outside Canada. At the same time, the EPC license allows you to interact not only with foreign partners, but also with local counterparties. In most provinces, there is no requirement for a public register of directors and shareholders and their residency, there are no obligations to maintain and provide accounting and auditing, and there are no requirements for the minimum authorized capital.
IN WHAT CASES IS IT PROFITABLE TO OPEN A CORPORATION IN CANADA
• If you intend to do business in Canada or expand into the United States.
• If you are going to scale your business that already exists in another jurisdiction.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPANY REGISTRATION
1. Director
At least one. Individual. Resident of any country for British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Quebec, Northwest Territories and Yukon. For the rest, a separate requirement.
2. Shareholder
At least one. A natural or legal person. Resident of any country.
3. Secretary
There is no requirement for a secretary.
4. Unique name
Checked in the registry before registration (search in the NUANS database). The name must be in Latin, can contain numbers or be a number. The name of the company necessarily includes the designation of the legal form of Limited, Incorporated, Corporation. Certain words are not allowed.
5. Share capital
There is no requirement for the size of the minimum authorized capital.
6. Legal address
The presence of a registered agent, a natural person resident in the province, or a legal entity with a registered office in the province.
7. License (if required)
To carry out banking, insurance operations and the provision of reinsurance services, a special license is required.
To register a company in Canada, the personal presence of the owners is not required.
ACCOUNTING REPORTING AND AUDIT
Financial statements are not required. An annual return is provided, including statutory data, directors, secretaries, share capital, par value, number of shares issued, shareholders and share transfers.
Accounting records must be maintained and stored in Canada. There is no requirement to audit statements for companies with registered capital of up to CAD 5 million.
TAXATION
Basic taxes:
• Corporate tax - federal 38% / 0% *, provinces 11.5% - 16% / 0% *;
• VAT (GST / PST / HST) - federal 5%, provinces 0% –10%;
• Personal income tax - federal 15% –33% / 0% *, provinces 4% –26% / 0% *;
• There is no foreign exchange control;
• Capital gains tax (50% of the gains);
• Tax on dividends / royalties / interest - from 0% **
* No activity in Canada
** If there is an Agreement for the avoidance of double taxation
In 2022, a tax on “Unproductive Use of Canadian Homes by Non-Resident Owners” is expected to be enacted at a rate of 1%.
Our company provides its clients with the service of "nominees" to maintain the confidentiality and anonymity of directors and shareholders of companies.