THE SCF GROUP HAS BEEN FORMING AND MANAGING LUXEMBOURG COMPANIES FOR OVER 25 YEARS

LUXEMBOURG – WHY & FOR WHOM?

Why? Luxembourg is the original ‘tax haven’ within the European Union with its companies having been long employed within tax planning ‘sandwiches’ particularly in conjunction with Dutch NV and BV companies. The reason it is so popular especially for multi-nationals is that local companies with the correct fiscal election – In Luxembourg there are only two major companies; sociétés à responsibilité limitée (Sàrl’s) and sociétés anonyme (SA’s) – can be very tax efficient. In addition, Luxembourg is a founder member of the EU and by definition will fully benefit from all key EU Directives and Regulations (see below) not to mention its remarkably developed tax treaty network.

The advantages of using a Luxembourg company are many but include:

Benefits

• Pro-business environment;
• Highly respectable and credible jurisdiction;
• Highly educated population;
• Highly developed corporate and general law;
• Excellent communications with the rest of Europe including close geographical proximity to Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and France;
• Active and positive member of the European Union;
• Fully benefits from all EU Directives and Regulations;
• It is one of the initial 11 Euro zone countries;
• Excellent double taxation treaty network especially with the Netherlands;
• Few scandals;
• Luxembourg is the base for Europe’s largest international financial services centre (IFSC) with Dublin coming in a close second;
• Very sophisticated banking and corporate law together with a large ‘pool’ of highly trained multilingual professionals;
• SOPARFI’s are fully covered by Luxembourg’s tax treaties and can also avail of the EU Parent/Subsidiaries’ Directive;
• ‘Bearer’ shares can be provided for SA companies;
• Luxembourg’s banking community have maintained much of their confidentiality code despite recent attacks on its veracity by Germany. In addition, bank account facilities can be maintained outside of the Luxembourg jurisdiction

Double Taxation Treaty Network

The key benefit is that Luxembourg has an extensive and very favorable tax treaty network with most European countries despite its favorable holding company structures especially with the Netherlands and its NV and BV companies.

For Whom?  Luxembourg companies are not for everyone as they are expensive to both set-up and maintain. However, for the right often multi-national client they offer unparalleled advantages.