The principal legislation regulating companies and partnerships in Malta is the Companies Act (Chapter 386 of the Laws of Malta) which was largely modeled on the UK Companies Act and which had the effect of harmonising Maltese law with the European Union Directives on Company Law. The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) is the regulator for all financial services activities in Malta and houses the Malta Registry of Companies.
The most popular corporate vehicle remains the Limited Liability Company. Limited Liability Companies can be private or public with the main differences being that the former limits the number of their members to 50 and prohibit invitations to the public to subscribe to their shares or debentures.
Malta offers significant advantages as a company domicile, including:
- Full EU member state;
- Fully EU-compliant, low effective tax rates including the entitlement of non-resident persons to various levels of tax refunds, based on Malta’s full imputation tax system resulting in an effective tax rate of 5%;
- Double taxation treaties with over 50 states;
- No Maltese withholding tax applied on the distribution of dividends to shareholders of Maltese companies;
- Companies have a separate legal personality and shareholders enjoy limited liability (The members’ liability is limited to the amount, if any, unpaid on the shares respectively held by each of them).
- Low registration and annual renewal costs;
- Possibility of nominee shareholding;
- Possibility of appointing local Directors;
- No requirement for a local shareholding;
- English-speaking, highly educated work-force;
- Availability of all major audit firms;
- The company formation process can take as little as 48 hours to complete.
Maltese Company Law caters for the re-domiciliation to Malta of companies incorporated in jurisdictions outside Malta thus benefiting from all advantages available to Maltese companies without having to wind-up their foreign business since the company is effectively continued in Malta. The firm can provide comprehensive advice regarding the conditions to be satisfied in order for a company to be eligible to migrate to Malta and assists in implementing all necessary procedures and formalities.
How can we assist you?
The firm’s corporate expertise includes the following:
- Corporate and tax structuring;
- Mergers and acquisitions (M&A). We provide tailored assistance in all areas of law that will be required to be addressed from the due diligence investigations generally required at the outset of all M&A transactions through to the drafting and negotiation of the relative transaction documents;
- Advising on Corporate finance transactions;
- Conducting and reporting on legal due diligence exercises;
- Shareholders’ agreements;
- Implementation of joint-venture arrangements and drafting of relative agreements;
- Pledging of shares and drafting of relative agreements;
- Advising on Corporate insolvency and personal bankruptcy issues;
- Re-domiciliation of companies into and out of Malta.
