The Republic of Uruguay is the smallest country in South America with a total population of 3.4 million. In the north, the republic borders Brazil, in the west – Argentina, and on the southeast side it is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, on the coast of which the capital of Uruguay is located – Montevideo (about 75% of all enterprises are concentrated here).
Despite its size, Uruguay is known in the world as one of the most economically developed and stable countries. In Latin America, Uruguay is ranked 3rd and 42nd in the world. There is no strong property stratification in the republic, GDP per capita is 15.5 thousand dollars, and over the past 10 years, the poverty line has decreased from 26% to 4%. Uruguay is called the “Switzerland of Latin America” due to the equal distribution of income and the protection of banking secrecy, which is the basis of the functioning of the financial industry.
Thanks to evergreen pastures, agriculture is developed in the republic with exports of more than $ 8 billion a year. There are 10 million cattle and sheep each, crops are produced – from wheat and rice to corn and sunflowers. Uruguay has a very developed trade and financial sphere, as evidenced by the headquarters of the largest regional integrated market in Latin America – MERCOSUR. Also, the government of the republic in every possible way motivates and attracts business from all over the world, for this, 12 free trade zones have been created in the country, which is ideal for commercial activities all over Latin America, have abolished currency controls and completely exempted companies that operate outside Uruguay from taxes. …
The only thing is that Spanish is recognized as the national language in the country, all documents are maintained in it, and most of the business community also negotiates only in Spanish. To minimize the inconvenience associated with this, we offer our services of a migration type and can take care of interpretation and your accompaniment in the relevant authorities in Uruguay.
Features of the Uruguayan offshore
Important! SA Offshore Companies are required to maintain accounting records and provide them annually.
The main feature of the Uruguayan offshore is high reliability and anonymity, even bank secrets are protected by law. In Uruguay, you can open a universal offshore company like SA – a joint-stock company.
There are also SRL – limited liability companies (suitable for small/medium-sized businesses), and if you plan to trade with Latin America, register a company in one of the 12 free trade zones and export/import goods and raw materials without paying taxes. When registering in SOCIEDAD ANONIMA ZONA FRANCA, office rent in this zone is required, which varies in the range of 1400-2400 $ / month.
Since the country is stable, there are no problems with remote registration and offshore use. When registering an offshore company in the SA format, you get asset protection at the state level and several advantages, provided that the company’s commercial activities are outside Uruguay:
- There are no requirements for the authorized capital (the registration of the company ends with the issue of the 1st share), and there are also no restrictions on its maximum size.
- Annual submission of financial statements is required.
- There are two types of shares (registered and bearer).
- One shareholder can own 100% of the shares.
- Lack of currency control – financial transactions are carried out in any currency of the world.
- 100% exemption from income taxes. There is a single $ 600 annual company fee.
- Tax is not paid on foreign accounts. When opening a local bank account, 1.5% of the account balance at the end of the year is added to the above fee (if you bring the balance to 0, there will be no costs).
- In SA, you can open and conduct activities of various types without any restrictions, special conditions exist only for financial projects that imply banking activities.
- The responsibility and obligations of partners are commensurate with their shares of shares.
- There are no taxes on the distribution of dividends to shareholders.
- Nominee service allowed.
- No physical office is needed.
- Main bodies of SA: Board of Directors, Meeting of Shareholders.
- Shareholder names do not appear on public records – the Journal of Registered Shareholders is completely hidden and not subject to external scrutiny.
The board of directors is an additional body and its powers, if necessary, can be made limited. The directorate has one or more members, and since there is a nominee service in Uruguay, these may be legal entities and not necessarily shareholders of the company.
Required documents
- Register at IRS (R.U.T).
- Bank Social Security Registration (BPS).
- Registration with the Department of Labor and Social Protection (MTSS).
- Register of activities in the state register.
- Catalog of shareholders registered in the register.
- Members of the shareholder directory.
- A catalog of registered shares that provide the integral capital of the company.
- Operating charters of the Internal Audit Department and in the state register.
- Publications in two newspapers.
- Payment of notary fees.
- Tax Payments to the Constitution of Corporations (ICOSA).
- Change of directorate in DGI and BPS.
