- Sole Proprietorship;
- General Partnership;
- Limited Partnership;
- Private Company;
- Limited Life Company;
- Public Investment Company;
- International Business company;
- Trust Fund;
- Joint Venture and Cooperative;
- Branch;
- Representative office

Shelf companies permitted

Yes

Incorporation timescale for a new company

1 day

Company suffix

Limited, Corporation, Incorporated, Society Anonyme, Sociedad Anonima, Aktiengesellschaft or related abbreviations: Ltd., Corp., Inc., S.A., A.S., A.G.

Sensitive words

- Building Society, Chamber of Commerce, Chartered, Cooperative, Imperial, Municipal, Royal or similar words;
- Assurance, Bank, Insurance, Trust;
- words suggesting the patronage of His Majesty or that of a member of the Royal Family, or a connection with the Government of Belize;
- indecent, offensive or objectionable words

Cyrillic alphabet permitted in company name

No

Local registered office

Yes

Local registered agent

Yes

Information to be kept at the registered office

Register of shareholders and directors, Register UBO, minutes, resolutions, Memorandum and Articles of association, booking accounts and common seal imprint

Seal required, type of seal

Yes, imprint of a common seal must be kept at the registered office

Redomiciliation (to, from) permitted

Permitted

Director and secretary

Minimum number of directors

1

Residency requirements for directors

No

Corporate directors permitted

Yes

Directors’ meetings/frequency/location

No requirements / anywhere

Disclosure to local agent

Yes

Disclosure to public

No

Company secretary required

No

Residency requirements for a secretary

No

Qualified secretary required

No

Corporate secretary permitted

No

Shareholder and beneficiary

Minimum number of shareholders

1

Residency requirements for shareholders

No

Corporate shareholder permitted

Yes

Meetings/frequency/location

No requirements / anywhere

Disclosure to local agent

Yes

Disclosure to public

No

Beneficiary info disclosure to

No

Shares and share capital

Minimum authorized share capital

No requirements

Minimum issued share capital

No requirements

Minimum paid share capital

No requirements

Authorized capital payment deadlines

No requirements

Issued capital payment deadlines

No requirements

Standard currency

USD

Standard authorized share capital

50 000

Standard par value of shares

1

Shares with no par value permitted

Yes

Bearer shares permitted

No

Taxes

Personal tax

25%

Сorporate tax

25%

Corporate tax (in detail)

Companies operating in the oil industry pay a flat tax of 25% on all profits. Other companies pay income tax at a set rate depending on their profits

Capital gains tax

No

Capital gains tax. Details

There is no capital gains tax in Belize

VAT

12,5%

VAT. Details

GST is similar to VAT. The tax rate is 12,5%

Withholding tax

15% (dividend), 15% (interest), 25% (royalty)

Other taxes

Social contributions, Property taxes

Exchange control

No

Government fee

—

Stamp duty

Yes

Accounts

Requirement to prepare accounts

Yes

Requirement to file accounts

No

Publicly accessible accounts

No

Requirement to file Annual Return

No

Publicly accessible Annual Return

No

Audit required

No

General information shortly

Location

Central America

Total area

22 966 sq. km

Population

400 031 (2021)

Capital

Belmopan

National currency

Belizean dollar

Conditional reduction of currency

BZD

Against USD

0,5 (2022)

Climate, average max and min t°

Tropical trade-wind; the average temperature is about +26°С

Time difference from Moscow

- 9 hours

Dialing code

+501

State language

English

Ethnic groups

Belizean Creole people 21%, the Maya 11%, the Garifuna people 6% and others

Literacy rate

75,1% (2019)

History

The history of Belize dates back thousands of years. In the past nearly the whole western part of today’s Belize was occupied by the Maya until they left it in 895. At the beginning of the 16th century when the first Europeans (Spanish) put foot here, some tribes of Maya still inhabited the seaside. Spanish tried to get into the inland area, but they had to give up because of the strong resistance from Maya. In 1638 the British started to colonize Belize. In 1786 Spain and Britain signed a convention according to which Belize belonged to Spain. Since 1840 British began to call Belize – British Honduras and in 1862 they declared it a crown colony. During the economic crisis of the 1930s colony’s economy was at the verge of breakdown due to the significant decline in demand for timber in Great Britain. Except from the disasters caused by mass unemployment came the consequences of the hurricane of 1931. Economic situation improved during the World War Two, however after the war it came into stagnation again. In 1964 the colony got internal autonomy, and 1973 it changed its name into Belize. Full independence was granted to the country on September 21, 1981.

Credit rating

B-

Government type

Parliamentary democracy

Executive branch

Head of State - The King of Great Britain, represented by the Governor General. Executive power - the Government (cabinet ministers) with the Prime Minister at the helm

Legislative branch

Bicameral National Assembly ( Senate and House of Representatives)

Judicial branch

The Supreme Court is the court of first instance and appeal. In the districts, there is a Summary Jurisdiction Court, which hears criminal cases, and a District Court, which hears civil cases

Unemployment

23,7% (2020)

GDP per capita rank

136 (2020)

Corruption perceptions index rank

Corruption Perception Index - 43 (2022)

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Banks of Belize

Caye Bank

2 500

N/A