|
|
Jurisdictions Nevis |
Jurisdictions - Nevis BASIC JURISDICTION INFORMATION Official Name: Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis HISTORY Nevis comprises half of the twin-island federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. Its name comes from the Spanish word for snow, because of a white cloud Christopher Columbus saw covering the top of island¡¯s sole peak when he passed it on his second visit in 1493. In the early 1600s, Nevis was settled by both the English and the French, who annihilated the local Carib population. Together with St. Kitts, Nevis ultimately became a British colony. In 1983, St. Kitts and Nevis became an independent nation. GEOGRAPHY Nevis is located in the Leeward Islands, in the northern section of the Eastern Caribbean, approximately 1,000 miles southeast of Miami. The total land area of Nevis is about 36 square miles, supporting an estimated population of just over 10,000. St. Kitts and Nevis achieved full independence from Britain in 1983, and remains a member of the Commonwealth. Within the federation, Nevis has its own unicameral legislature, and its government has the authority to formulate economic policy. While the federation has a single Prime Minister, each island has its own Premier, nominated by the Deputy Governor from the party that holds a majority in the island¡¯s legislature. Nevis launched its international financial services sector in 1984, just one year after independence. The government has adopted a conscientious and conservative approach to promoting the island as an offshore center, focusing for the first ten years on company formation and the development of its infrastructure. As a result, Nevis has built a solid reputation, though its offshore sector remains small. MONETARY SYSTEM The unit of currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar (EC$), though the American Dollar (US$) is widely accepted. Nevis does not have any foreign exchange controls. COMMON LAW SYSTEM BASED ON ENGLISH LAW As a former British colony, Nevis boasts English as its official language. The legal system is based on British common law, supplemented by local statutes enacted by the parliament. BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT Nevis has an adequate communications system. Because the international financial services sector has remained small, Nevis also lags behind the more sophisticated jurisdictions in terms of the availability of in-country support professionals. STATUS WITH INTERNATIONAL AUTHORITIES Nevis has filed a letter with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development indicating its commitment to comply with OECD initiatives. It was deemed a non-cooperative jurisdiction in the Financial Action Task Force¡¯s June 2000 report, but was removed from the FATF blacklist in June 2002. Nevis does not have a Tax Information Exchange Agreement with the United States. TAX SYSTEM Nevis is essentially a tax-neutral jurisdiction for Trusts, Limited Partnerships and Non-Resident Exempt Companies (also known as IBC¡¯s). It has double taxation treaties with the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the US, though this last deals only with social security benefits. Details are as follows: A. Personal Tax B. Corporate Tax C. Withholding Tax D. Capital Gains Tax E. Estate Tax F. Transfer Tax at Death and on Gifts COMPANY REGISTRATION Registered local agents can incorporate companies in Nevis within 24 hours. Although Nevis is not a particularly new jurisdiction, many names are still available. TYPES OF COMPANIES The formation of companies in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is governed by two pieces of legislation. The Companies Act 1996, which deals with the creation of ordinary companies, has effect throughout the federation. The Nevis Business Corporation Ordinance 1984, which is modeled largely on the corporate statutes of Deleware in the United States, permits the establishment of Non-Resident Exempt Companies (also known as ¡®NBCOs¡¯), and applies only to Nevis. These NBCOs are the favored vehicle of offshore investors. However, other types of companies that qualify for tax exemption under Nevis law include Limited Liability Companies (LLC) and Exempt Limited Partnerships (ELP).
Limited Liability Companies (LLC) Nevis law allows the creation of Limited Liability Companies, which are exempt from taxes as long as they adhere to the same restrictions on operations as NBCOs. LLCs in Nevis must have at least one member. That member may be either an individual or a corporate entity, and there are no restrictions on nationality or residence. TRUSTS Nevis trusts are governed by the Nevis International Exempt Trust Ordinance, 1994, which provides for the creation of charitable, spend-thrift and protective trusts. It includes special provisions to promote the establishment of asset protection trusts. To qualify as an international trust under the Ordinance, at least one trustee must be either a trust company doing business in Nevis or an NBCO company; the settlor and beneficiaries must at all times be non-residents of Nevis; and the trust property must not include any land situated in the Federation. Trusts established under the Ordinance are exempt from all taxes in Nevis. They may have only one trustee, and the settlor or trustee may also be named as a beneficiary. They may continue for 100 years, and cannot be invalidated by forced heirship rules. The Ordinance provides for the appointment of a protector to monitor the major acts of the trustee. The Nevis International Exempt Trust (Amendment) Ordinance, 2000, clarified registration requirements, including the introduction of the new concept of the qualified foreign trust; shored up fraudulent conveyance provisions; and affirmatively prohibited the use of international trusts to support criminal activity. BANKING FACILITIES The Nevis Offshore Banking Ordinance, 1996, amended in 2000, provides various tax incentives to encourage the development of Nevis as an offshore banking center. Licenses may be granted only to eligible subsidiaries of local banks incorporated under the Domestic Banking Act, or to qualified foreign banks - those with adequate capitalization and assets, and which are licensed to conduct domestic banking in their jurisdiction of incorporation, or which are wholly owned subsidiaries of such banks. Despite this legislation, the banking sector in Nevis remains small, with only one offshore bank, three international banks and a variety of regional and local banks. The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the Eastern Caribbean Home Mortgage Bank and the Eastern Caribbean Stock Exchange are all headquartered in St. Kitts. WHY ICS TRUST? ICS TRUST can incorporate Non-Resident Exempt Companies and Limited Liability Companies speedily and seamlessly. Based in Hong Kong, ICS Trust (Asia) Limited incorporates companies in Hong Kong and most offshore jurisdictions including Anguilla (Caribbean), where one of our affiliates is a registered agent. ICS TRUST is an independently owned, Hong Kong-registered trust company, also licensed as an Investment Advisor by The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. With more than twenty years experience, we are a market leader in helping Entrepreneurs and Multinationals establish and grow their businesses in Asia as well as providing comprehensive TAX, TRUSTS and TRADE services.
(c)2008 ICS Trust (Asia) Limited. All Rights Reserved. Site Development & Design: ICS Trust (Asia) Limited. Comments & Suggestions: ics@icstrust.com Legal |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
