Who can see what?
Public registers, restricted access and disclosures to authorities answer different questions.
Compare public access →Content updated . Source-check dates are shown separately.
Company privacy, registration & tax
Company registration,
privacy and tax.
Research where to register, what the public can see and how company profits are taxed. Compare the two factors separately, with directors, shareholders and the conditions in view.
Sources checked . Read the publication and effective dates of each rule. Comparison method.
What is the tax base?
Retained profits, dividends, withholding and the owner’s own residence need separate treatment.
Understand the rate comparison →What must be maintained?
Start with the entity type, official fees, capital, office, directors and shareholder requirements.
Compare registration requirements →Does an overseas company remove UK tax?
No. Foreign incorporation does not by itself determine the company’s tax residence or its owner’s tax bill. Actual management and UK business activity can still create UK tax exposure. A UK-resident individual normally remains taxable on foreign dividends, subject to qualifying reliefs.
The CFC charge on qualifying UK companies and individual transfer-of-assets-abroad rules are separate tests. A low local rate does not mean that every foreign profit is exempt—or that it is automatically attributed to an individual.
Prepared with AI assistance from linked primary sources. General research, not personal tax, legal or investment advice. An incorporation, a residence permission and the tax residence of a company or its owners are separate questions.
The jurisdiction research
Privacy first. The rate beside it.
The starting order uses public-record privacy, then the retained-profit rate. Each profile concerns a specified company form, with exceptions and sources.
Seychelles
8/8 public-record privacy
Enacted change: current directors’ names and appointment dates become public on 1 January 2027. Review this current privacy rating before then.
Retained profits: 25%Distributed profits: 25%
Low-cost IBC formation is separate from tax treatment. Domestic company business-profit bands are 15% and 25%, foreign-income rules require source and substance analysis, and an enacted change makes current director names public from January 2027.
Registration, ownership & tax →United States — Delaware
8/8 public-record privacy
Delaware LLC baseline. Tax classification and UK treatment require separate analysis; this is not a 0% company-tax entry.
Retained profits: Not directly comparableDistributed profits: Not directly comparable
A Delaware LLC can limit routine state-registry disclosure, but its pass-through/disregarded federal classification cannot be labelled a 0% company tax rate. A C-corporation has a different tax and public-director profile.
Registration, ownership & tax →Bahamas
6/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: 0%Distributed profits: 0%
An international company jurisdiction with no general company income tax for ordinary smaller businesses. It now has a 15% minimum-tax regime for qualifying multinational groups and new nominee-transparency duties effective in 2026.
Registration, ownership & tax →British Virgin Islands
5/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: 0%Distributed profits: 0%
A flexible international company regime with no ordinary company income tax. Director names are obtainable, and 2026 beneficial-owner access rules mean the company should not be described as anonymous.
Registration, ownership & tax →Andorra
5/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: 10%Distributed profits: 10%
A 10% ordinary company rate accompanies notarial formation, local establishment and ownership disclosure. Registry access is controlled by eligibility and request procedures, not an anonymous-company promise.
Registration, ownership & tax →Bermuda
4/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: 0%Distributed profits: 0%
A substantial international corporate jurisdiction where exempted status concerns ownership and business permission. Ordinary smaller entities must be distinguished from multinational groups subject to the 15% corporate income tax introduced in 2025.
Registration, ownership & tax →Jersey
4/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: 0%Distributed profits: 0%
A 0% standard company rate is compatible with public directors and members; the private beneficial-owner register remains accessible for lawful official and obliged-entity purposes.
Registration, ownership & tax →Hong Kong
4/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: 16.5%Distributed profits: 16.5%
Public directors and shareholders coexist with non-public significant-controller records and no ordinary filing of private-company accounts.
Registration, ownership & tax →New Zealand
4/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: 28%Distributed profits: 28%
New Zealand publishes director and registered-shareholder information, has a 28% ordinary company rate, and does not turn a foreign-owned company into a tax-free vehicle.
Registration, ownership & tax →Switzerland
3/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: Not directly comparableDistributed profits: Not directly comparable
Public managers and members coexist with a non-public beneficial-owner register and creditor access to accounts. Canton and municipality are essential to any company-tax comparison.
Registration, ownership & tax →Cyprus
2/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: 15%Distributed profits: 15%
A 15% corporate-profit regime from 2026; company-file ownership remains accessible despite restricted beneficial-owner database access.
Registration, ownership & tax →Singapore
2/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: 17%Distributed profits: 17%
A 17% headline corporate rate with targeted exemptions; public paid company data is materially broader than its non-public controller register.
Registration, ownership & tax →Netherlands
2/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: 25.8%Distributed profits: 25.8%
Low formation capital does not mean low public disclosure or a single 19% tax rate. A BV’s directors, sole shareholder and filed financial statements must be considered separately from controlled UBO access.
Registration, ownership & tax →Mauritius
2/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: Not directly comparableDistributed profits: Not directly comparable
The 15% base rate is not a universal all-in burden or automatic 3% offshore rate; domestic company records are broadly inspectable.
Registration, ownership & tax →Estonia
1/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: 0%Distributed profits: 22%
Ordinary profits can be reinvested before company tax, but distributions trigger 22% of gross profit; e-Residency gives digital access, not residence or tax immunity.
Registration, ownership & tax →Ireland
1/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: 12.5%Distributed profits: 12.5%
A 12.5% trading-profit regime within the EU, with public company filings and meaningful EEA-director or alternative requirements.
Registration, ownership & tax →Liechtenstein
1/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: 12.5%Distributed profits: 12.5%
A 12.5% profit-tax jurisdiction with a CHF 1,800 minimum; ordinary GmbH shareholders and accounts are disclosed, unlike privacy assumptions drawn from foundations.
Registration, ownership & tax →Malta
1/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: 35%Distributed profits: 35%
A 35% ordinary system with conditional shareholder refunds and a separate optional 15% final-tax election; compare eligibility and cash flow, not an advertised universal 5%.
Registration, ownership & tax →Luxembourg
1/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: Not directly comparableDistributed profits: Not directly comparable
The ordinary SARL combines public incorporation and accounts records with controlled beneficial-ownership access. Compare combined municipal and national taxes, not just the national headline.
Registration, ownership & tax →Latvia
0/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: 0%Distributed profits: 20%
A retained-profit tax deferral jurisdiction with open company records; 2026 adds a conditional distribution alternative that combines company and owner withholding.
Registration, ownership & tax →United Kingdom
0/8 public-record privacy
Retained profits: 25%Distributed profits: 25%
Low official formation costs and accessible company records; the UK is a transparency benchmark rather than an ownership-privacy jurisdiction.
Registration, ownership & tax →Cayman Islands
Public-access rating not verified
Retained profits: 0%Distributed profits: 0%
An established international holding and investment company form with no general corporate income tax. Director names are public through paid searches; the exempted-company member register has a different access rule.
Registration, ownership & tax →Georgia
Public-access rating not verified
Retained profits: 0%Distributed profits: 15%
A distribution-based profits system can defer ordinary company tax while profits remain reinvested, but legal ownership and managers are public.
Registration, ownership & tax →Guernsey
Public-access rating not verified
Retained profits: 0%Distributed profits: 0%
Standard 0% company tax is not proof of maximum privacy. This research leaves unverified disclosure components unscored instead of relying on formation-agent claims.
Registration, ownership & tax →Isle of Man
Public-access rating not verified
Retained profits: 0%Distributed profits: 0%
An ordinary 0% company-tax baseline exists, but director filings are now mandatory, beneficial ownership must be declared, and sector, property, substance and large-group rules can change the tax outcome.
Registration, ownership & tax →United Arab Emirates
Public-access rating not verified
Retained profits: 9%Distributed profits: 9%
Compare a mainland LLC with a specified free-zone alternative; neither incorporation nor a free-zone address guarantees 0% company tax.
Registration, ownership & tax →Panama
Public-access rating not verified
Retained profits: 25%Distributed profits: 25%
Territoriality requires a source analysis; directors are public, while current share books and beneficial-owner records have different disclosure routes.
Registration, ownership & tax →Anguilla
Public-access rating not verified
Retained profits: Not directly comparableDistributed profits: Not directly comparable
An international company regime with published capital-band fees and official tax-neutral positioning. Current public ownership-access details need further confirmation: the enacted company statute and 2026 BO proposals must not be replaced by generic anonymous-company marketing.
Registration, ownership & tax →Belize
Public-access rating not verified
Retained profits: Not directly comparableDistributed profits: Not directly comparable
Belize now uses a unified company framework. Former IBCs must not be promoted as universally tax exempt: official tax notices require annual business-tax returns, and gross-receipts taxes cannot be compared as a simple corporate-profit percentage.
Registration, ownership & tax →Nevis (St Kitts and Nevis)
Public-access rating not verified
Complete public-access rating withheld: beneficial-owner access remains unverified. Filed organiser details are public; current tax rates are also unranked.
Retained profits: Not directly comparableDistributed profits: Not directly comparable
A separate legal entity with flexible membership and non-public ordinary ownership/management records. Its historical offshore tax exemption expired in 2021; current treatment requires federal residence/source analysis, not reliance on the old 0% wording.
Registration, ownership & tax →Practical guides
From a headline to the right questions.
Company types and registration routes: choose the entity before the country
Private companies, LLCs, branches and other structures have different liability, tax-classification and public-filing rules. Compare the actual entity and ownership case.
Read the guide →UK owners and overseas companies: residence and attribution
A foreign company can still be UK tax resident. Check real management, UK business activity, owner dividends and attribution rules before incorporating abroad.
Read the guide →Lawful company privacy and disclosure
Compare public registry access, protected personal details, beneficial-ownership duties and information exchange without confusing privacy with anonymity.
Read the guide →From company profit to shareholder cash
Understand retained profits, distributions, withholding tax, owner taxation and entity-classification mismatches before comparing headline rates.
Read the guide →Incorporation and ongoing obligations: a research checklist
Check entity choice, public records, actual operations, filing costs, substance and large-group rules before buying an incorporation package.
Read the guide →