Seychelles Foundations Fact sheet

Benefits:

Nil Tax: Complete exemption from Seychelles income or business tax, no Withholding Tax (“WHT”) is levied when distributions are made and no stamp duties are applicable
Fast Registration and name approval: Seychelles structures can be incorporated within as little as 4 hours of request
Inexpensive:
1. annual government fee is only $200
2. Minimum initial capital required is just US$1 which can be paid after registration (contrast that with Panama where one must invest a minimum of US$10,000 to set up a PIF)
Easy to Establish: Requires only the registration of a Foundation charter
Simple to Structure:
1. Only one Councillor is required (which can be either a person or a corporate entity)
2. The Founder may also be a Councillor (but can’t be sole Councillor)
Easy to Administer:
1. No annual return need be filed
2. Accounts do not have to be audited
3. No requirement to file annual accounts
4. No annual meeting need be called
Asset Protection: The Act:
1. Specifically provides that a Seychelles PIF is a separate legal entity in its own right
2. Specifically provides that neither the Founder nor the Beneficiaries have any ownership interest in the Foundation assets
3. Specifically protects the transfer of assets to the PIF from attack by creditors of the Founder
4. Requires that any claims by a creditor of the Founder can only be brought within 2 years from the date of transfer of property to the PIF
Privacy:
1. A Nominee can sign the Foundation Charter
2. There is no requirement to file the Foundation’s regulations
3. There is no requirement to file the names of the Foundation Beneficiaries (or Protector)
4. Names of the Councillors do not have to be stated in the charter
Succession Planning:
1. Entitlement to benefit from Foundation assets can be passed from one generation to the next outside the bounds of the Founder’s will or personal estate
2. Seychelles law specifically excludes the operation of foreign laws as to forced heirship
Founder can reserve specific powers to himself or to others including:
1. the right to appoint or remove Councillors
2. the right to add or exclude Beneficiaries
3. the right to add or remove Protectors
A Protector can be appointed:
1. and can veto certain decisions (eg change of Councillors or Beneficiaries)
2. A Founder, a Beneficiary or a Councillor can also be appointed as Protector (but a sole Councillor or sole Beneficiary cannot act as Protector)
Flexible Uses: A Seychelles Foundation:
1. Can have beneficiaries; or
2. May solely be for a specified purpose (without beneficiaries); or
3. Can be for a specified purpose and have beneficiaries.