If an IBC in St. Vincent is not the perfect match for you, how about an LLC? 

 

A bit of a story… 

As you probably know by now, we are always improving our offer to match as many people as possible with the type of entity they are looking for. Yes, all entities are Smart by default if they are offered by Korporatio. However, we should not close ourselves in offering only one type of entity per jurisdiction. 

After many of you requested LLCs (Limited Liability Company) in St. Vincent, we went back to the drawing board and are very happy to present you the latest offer in our product lineup: Smart LLCs in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It’s still a Smart Company, but it’s an LLC! 

 

Change in the law for IBCs

We have written in the past about IBCs (International Business Company) in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. We have also suggested IBCs in St. Vincent as a perfect option for those looking to keep a very strong privacy in place.

However, the world evolves and so does corporate governance. Since January 2019, IBCs in St. Vincent are a bit different than before.

There are two major areas where the corporate structure of the IBCs has changed, and we believe for many it will be a deal breaker, particularly compared to other jurisdictions. 

Shareholder privacy

Firstly, shareholders and directors registry are now available to the public. In other words, anyone can check online and see if someone they are interested in appears in the records of the registrar of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I don’t think there is a need to say much more about it but, if privacy was your major factor in setting up a company there, then that advantage is no longer viable.

Corporate tax

The second important change that has been made is related to taxation. IBCs are known for their territorial tax system: all income generated outside the country of incorporation is subject to 0% corporate tax. Regarding this, things in St. Vincent and the Grenadines have changed a lot. From now on, all IBCs are required to pay a 30% income tax on every possible income that has been generated. This also includes income generated outside of the country. This change instantly re-ranked the country with a taxation rate higher than countries like Singapore or even the USA. 

Following the previous point, this means there is now also a need to submit a financial statement at the end of the year. 

We still offer Smart Companies in the form of IBCs in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, but we understand if many users are now looking at other jurisdictions for their new ventures. 

 

LLC is the new IBC

It didn’t take too long for the government to realize such a change was going to impact the business of company incorporations significantly. Therefore, they decided to change some things in the LLCs structure and present to the public a brand new offer. 

Basically, the new LLC in St. Vincent works the same way the IBC used to.

Private registry for both directors and shareholders. 0% income tax on revenue generated outside the country. No need to submit financial statements at the end of the year, and so on. 

Year-end balance

If you are familiar with LLCs in the U.S., let’s say Wyoming for example, you will be obliged to balance things out by the end of the year. This means that if the LLC ends up with a profit, such as positive year-end profit, it will have to be distributed to the members of the LLCs in the form of dividends. Vice versa, if the LLC has a loss, the members will need to open their wallets and put money in the company to balance the year-end losses. 

This is probably one of the reasons some people don’t like LLCs too much, or alternatively, they really love them as the structure automatically helps to keep things in balance. If I’m investing in a small startup, maybe having it set up as an LLC could be a good solution as it allows me to understand immediately if the company is on the right track. Plus, it’d almost force me to dilute the investment in tranches. 

Anyway, personal opinions aside, LLCs in St. Vincent and the Grenadines don’t follow such a logic. Members are not obliged to take out or put in money at the end of the year, which means, once again, they work exactly in the same way as the old IBCs. 

It is very clear now that there is a huge difference between IBCs and LLCs in St. Vincent. However, we believe that the best way to think about it is to consider LLCs like the general definition of IBCs, and the IBCs like the general definition of resident companies. Probably I confused you even more now, but I hope you get the point 🙂

 

New Agent

We always try to offer the best possible experiences to our users as it’s absolutely in the core of everything we do. Partners working with us should share that vision and therefore, we are excited to announce our new agent in St. Vincent with more options than ever before! 

More Banking Options

Agents that have been in business for many years have the power of experience on their side. This means that by working together, we are able to enter relationships otherwise very difficult for a young company. 

We are now able to provide introduction to two more banks for companies incorporated in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Banking is probably one of the most difficult things for companies established in what’s been traditionally considered as offshore jurisdictions.

We are always on the look for more options as we believe each user should be able to pick the best option available for him/her. 

Cheaper offer

Experience means also having the chance to discuss things at a different level. This means that we are also able to create a better offer for the user each time. Many companies see the possibility of an increase in margin as an opportunity to get more money, but we are a bit different in what we do.

We believe that bigger margins mean bigger savings for our users which then will be translated into a better experience – and therefore, a better brand and overall more people setting up Smart Companies around the world.

After all, we want as many people as possible to create Smart Companies as this gives us the leverage to open new jurisdictions in a much faster way. 

The new deal

So here’s the new deal. We are now offering IBCs and LLCs exactly at the same price, so users can really pick the option they prefer without having the price as a variable. Compared to our previous price, we are now able to offer first year incorporation at a 33% lower price and renewals at a 20% lower price compared to our previous offer.

Such reduction in prices, in our view, makes St. Vincent and the Grenadines a serious option to be considered when creating a Smart Company. 

The service fee for transfer of shares is still there, hopefully one day we will be able to waive that as well, but at the moment we haven’t managed to do much about it. Because of this, we think that St. Vincent could be a perfect place for a solo-owner or companies raising serious funds. While for companies looking at onboarding hundreds of shareholders options like Panama and Seychelles are still the best. 

We hope these news are going to help the community and proves once again how important your feedback is to us. Therefore, if you have anything you want to share with us, feel free to reach out at future@korporatio.com or join our discord.   


Thanks for reading, hope this was helpful! 

jurisdictions Smart Companies St. Vincent and the Grenadines