A registered office transfer is a procedure by which a company changes its legal address. This transfer can have significant consequences, especially in the case of an international transfer.
Why relocate your registered office?
Relocate your registered office, boost your competitive edge, increase your margins!
Moving your registered office abroad can be beneficial for a number of reasons, including company expansion, legal, tax, social, and investment reasons…. The end result is that the company is subject to a different set of laws. The purpose is to place the company under more attractive tax regulations and more favorable corporate legislation. The United Kingdom is a very attractive destination for transferring a company’s registered office. Once the company has been transferred, it will be subject to a 4% tax on profits (based on certain conditions) and a payroll tax of 28%.
The impact of a registered office transfer
Relocate your company to London and pay only 4% corporate tax and 28% payroll taxes
Changing a company’s registered office does not only provide advantages in terms of taxes. The transfer gives the company a new nationality without entailing the creation of a new legal entity. The company remains in place; only its nationality and applicable law are changed.
Transfer formalities
Two different methods may be used to change a company’s registered office: direct transfer, and a complete asset transfer.
A number of formalities must be complied with to transfer a company’s registered office. The relocation must be approved internally by the company’s shareholders/partners. To this end, the board of directors will draw up a transfer resolution which will specify the impact of the relocation on those holding social benefit vouchers, creditors and employees. Once the decision has been taken to move forward with the transfer, the company must comply with the chosen corporate structure (i.e., LLP or Ltd. in the UK or Germany) currently en force in the country relocated to, and its corresponding terms and conditions, such as share capital, shareholders, status, etc. Lastly, the company must be stricken from the trade register after having been newly registered abroad.
