Iceland

Iceland is an island on the borders of the Atlantic and the Arctic oceans. The economy of the country has gone through some difficulties in the past, but since the country joined the European Economic Area, the economy has made a significant recovery. The country is among the top of the countries in the UN Human Development index.

Economy

The bases of the economy are built on the export of various goods, in the past fish where the main product of export and still today remains a large part of the exported goods, joined with the with goods as aluminium and other raw metals. Its one of the most productive countries in the world per product produced on capita and also one of the largest abundant power producers per capita.

Language

The official language of the country is Icelandic, both for documents and verbal usage. Most of the population has a great knowledge of the English language and also other European languages.

Incorporation

There are two main types of companies available for incorporation - public and private. A company registered with in Iceland must have local registered office. The usual time for company incorporation in Iceland ranges form one to two days up to a month depending on the type of the company. The shorter time period may be applicable to the limited companies and the longer time to the international trading companies.

Taxation

Taxation in Iceland is relatively low and having double taxation agreements with over 15 countries such as USA and UK and various other counties it serves as a great place for offshore company incorporation. There are more double taxation agreements that have not yest been ratified. And by relatively low I mean lower than in the previously mentioned countries, but still quite high at 20%, in comparison with many offshore locations I have reviewed in the past.

Directors and shareholders

Private company must have at least one shareholder a public company must have at least two shareholders. There are no requirements for a company secretary. Companies with less than 3 shareholders must have at least one director, companies with three or more shareholders must have at least three directors and a minimum of one managing director.

In order to maintain a registered company in Iceland a local office must be registered. The annual returns and accounts must be submitted. Also a yearly license fee must be paid to the government.