The parliamentary democracy in Ireland is stable, and it has been a member of the European Union for more than thirty-seven years. Moreover, Ireland was voted to be the world’s best country to do business by Forbes in December 2013 making it an excellent platform for global business.
The tax rate in Ireland is as low as 12.5%, and new companies enjoy three years of zero taxation. To further encourage foreign investments, Ireland guarantees protection and freedom to all investors despite the nature of business and value of investments. This is factor that has prompted large companies like Google and Facebook to establish their EU headquarters in the republic. Ireland is classified among the leading industrial competitive democracies in Europe due to its developed infrastructure and popular education system. Requirements for setting up a company in Ireland.
Company Name and Type
The company name must be unique and distinguishable. You will require authorisation to use specific words like insurance, group and bank while names thought to be offensive to the state are not allowed. The name has to be descriptive and avoid the use words like services and solutions. The company bureau registers the company name after you successfully fill and file an application form, the process takes approximately four working days. For small businesses with a low turnover, one needs to register as a sole trader or a partnership where there are two or more parties involved. For this kind of company, one requires to register a name for the business and register with the local revenue office as self-employed. The Companies Act in 2014 allows private limited companies to conduct any business activity as long as it is legal.
Office and Personnel
A company must have an office prior to filing for registration. The registered office should be within Ireland and should have a valid address to facilitate official correspondence. The company address can be different from your home or partner’s address. The personnel required are the directors, who run and manage the company and a secretary. The director should provide their name, nationality, residential address, date of birth, the name of other companies he/she may be running and their occupation during registration of the company. The secretary is responsible for meeting statutory obligations, he/she can be one of the directors, a corporate entity or any other unconnected person.
Capital and Shareholders
The republic of Ireland recommends that a company has authorised share capital of €100,000 which is paid and divided among shareholders to reflect company ownership. Shareholders should be above eighteen years and should provide their full name, residential address and the number of shares they wish to hold. However, an individual can own all the shares where the company is registered as a sole trader.
Summary
Setting up a company in Ireland requires assistance from professional and experienced business formation groups like Irish Company. Among other services, we help foreign investors in filing tax registration and company bank account opening. Above all, we take you through the It is the legal obligations of setting up a company in Ireland to ensure that you understand what you are getting into as well as what is expected of you and your company.