Ireland No. 1 for Business
Ireland No. 1 for Business
Ireland is now ranked by Forbes as the
number 1 country globally for business. Despite its recent economic woes
Ireland tops the influential ranking list and is still a favoured
Business destination for many of the worlds leading multi national
business concerns and recognised global Business brands with 8 out
of the top 10 global technology Businesses and 15 of the top 25
medical device companies located here. According to Forbes
“There are now more than 1,000 overseas companies with a presence in Ireland and they employ 150,000 of the nation’s 1.9 million workers.”
Ireland's Business corporations tax rate of 12.5 % affords multi -
national companies the opportunity of basing their headquarters in
Ireland in order to benefit from a taxation level not available to
them in their country of origin. Brands such as Intel, Google, Ebay
are examples to name a few.
Setting up a Business in Ireland can not only benefit the larger
business concerns but indeed can be a viable alternative for
any small to medium sized Business and particularly those with
global export potential.
Related Articles
Budget 2014 Incentives - Starting Your Own Business
Start Your Own Business - Government Incentives Budget 2014
The Government introduced a new Start Your Own Business scheme to assist individuals who have been unemployed for at least 15 months to start their own unincorporated businesses that is - register as a sole trader or register a partnership by giving them a two year exemption from income tax.
Related
To promote entrepreneurship, from next year, the Government has introduced a Capital Gains Tax relief to be allocated to entrepreneurs who reinvest the proceeds from the disposal of assets, on which CGT has previously been paid, into a new investment in productive trading activities. The relief will be a tax credit equal to the lower of the CGT paid on the previous asset disposal or 50% of the CGT due on any gain from the future disposal of the new investment.
Closing a Limited Company
Closing a Limited Company - Voluntary Strike Off in Ireland
How to Close Your Limited Company - If a company has ceased trading or has never traded it may avail of Voluntarily Strike Off to have the company struck off from the register of companies.
Our Voluntary Strike Off document drafting expertise and advice is provided to many companies each year, seeking to Close a Limited Company.
Closing a Limited Company - Your Company Status
In order to apply to close a limited company and benefit from the Voluntary Strike Off process;
- company debts should have been fully paid/ compromised or else written confirmation of write-off secured by the company from any creditor.
- any assets and liabilities must not exceed €150.
- all corporate tax liabilities will similarly have to be discharged.
- the company should not have issued capital in excess of €150 now or at any time in the past 3 years.
- all annual returns and revenue filing requirements must be up to date at the time of application or be in the process of being finalised in advance of making application.
Business & Company Formations can advise you on the Voluntary Strike Off and Company Closure process. We will assist the Voluntary Strike Off of your company by drafting the required statements and public notices for you, advising on any outstanding filing requirements, assisting in the completion of any outstanding accounts matters and liasing where appropriate with the Revenue Commissioners and the Registrar of Companies.
Note, that Closing a Limited Company i.e. the Voluntary Strike Off process is a lengthy one and can take anything up to six months.
Contact us to handle your voluntary strike off requirements.
Trademark Your Name
Trade Marks & Protecting your Name
What is a Trade Mark ?
A trade mark may be described as the manner by which a business distinguishes itself from that of its competitors and others. A trade mark may be achieved by identifying not only a business or trading name but also by identifying the goods, products and or services that the business in question trades in.
What Can be Trademarked ?
A trademark may be a collection of words, numbers, designs, logos, letters, distinctive packaging, shape of goods and or packaging and or any sign capable of being represented graphically which would distinguish one undertaking from another.
Examples of some very famous trademarks would be Coca Cola, Disneyland, Google, Microsoft etc.
Trade Mark Disputes
Identifying an protecting your brand, trade mark etc can be a very complex and costly matter. Disputes frequently arise amongst those seeking to enforce their rights to a particular Mark. Some notable trade mark disputes have arisen amongst the giants if international business. As an example Apple Inc. a company not averse to seeking trade mark infringement redress, was involved in litigation for over 20 years with a record company, called Apple Corp. It just so happens that the record company in question was the Beatles record company. Apple Inc disputed the right of the record company with regard to the use of the term "Apple." The matter was eventually settled in 2007 with Apple Inc. purchasing all trademarks relating to "Apple," and licensing back some of the marks to Apple Corp the record company.
Those of you that have enjoyed Subway's "footlong" sandwich may be interested and or even surprised to know that they made an attempt to register a trademark relating to "Footlong" but the application was rejected presumably based on the word "footlong being considered to be a descriptive word as opposed to a significantly distinguishing word. Nevertheless Subway have recently sought to take action against a number of catering outlets who use the term " footlong" when describing the wares in their eateries. The outcome of these actions a have yet to be determined but further illustrates the complexity of trade-marking and the lengths that some entities will go to to protect their rights or perceived rights !
International Trade Marks - Other Considerations
Establishing the right to a Trade mark has significant advantages but the right must be established to include all territories within which that trade mark may be used. This can be a very costly procedure because the Trade Mark may have to be registered globally in order to effectively protect the brand or mark. As an example, back in 2002 an enterprising chap in Japan by the name of Taro Yamamoto, sought to register the domain tokyodisneyresort.com You may recall that Disney were at that that time in the initial stages of setting up their Disneyland Tokyo operation. Needless to say once Disney Enterprises Inc. became aware of the existence of the domain they sought to have the registration of the domain and brought an action to have the domain transferred to them. Whilst such a domain dispute is not a trademark dispute Disney Enterprises Inc. proved that they were the owners of numerous marks incorporating the DISNEY mark and consequently won their case to have the domain transferred to them.
We have no idea what happened to Taro Yamamoto !.
Audit Exemption & How it Works
Audit Exemption
A company filing its annual return may rely on audit exemption i.e relief from the requirement to have company accounts audited thereby reducing the costs of ongoing compliance significantly. This should not be confused with the ongoing requirements regarding company accounts preparation and approval for private limited companies.
There are certain criteria that apply to Audit Exemption and these are summarised as follows; In order to benefit from Audit Exemption in respect of the financial year concerned:
The company must be a Private Limited Company;
The turnover of the company must not exceed €8.8 million;
The balance sheet total of the company must be less than €4.4 million at the end of its financial year;
The average number of employees must not exceed 50;
The company must not be a parent company or a subsidiary company;
Business Permission for Non EEA Nationals
Business Permission for Non EEA Nationals
The EEA, European Economic Area comprises the 27 Member States in
the European Union: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic,
Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the
Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Sweden and the United Kingdom and the countries Iceland,
Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland
A non-EEA National who intends to come to Ireland in order to
establish a business will require the permission of the Minister for
Justice and Equality to do so otherwise know as "Business
Permission".
Non-EEA Nationals who wish to pursue a business activity (in a
capacity other than as an employed person for whom an employer would
have to obtain a work permit) must first obtain Business Permission.
There are a number of requirements that Non-EEA nationals
applying for business permission must satisfy.
These are that;
(a) they must create employment (other than their own)
(b) show personal investment of €300,000 or more.
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Exemptions from the Requirement for Business Permission
A number of categories of non-EEA nationals are exempt from the
requirement to obtain Business Permission. The categories are as
follows:-
- persons who have been granted refugee status by the
Minister for Justice and Equality.
- dependant relatives of EEA nationals exercising a
valid right to reside in Ireland.
- persons who have been granted permission to remain in
the State on one of the following grounds:-
- persons with permission to remain as the spouse of an
Irish national.
- persons with permission to remain in Ireland on the
basis that they are the parent of an Irish born child ( an Irish
citizen).
- persons who have been granted temporary leave to
remain in the State on humanitarian grounds, having been in the
asylum process.
Before submitting an application for Business Permission in
Ireland applicants should meet the following criteria;-
(a) have not less than €300,000 of your own money available to
make an investment into business in Ireland and be in a position to
supply documentary evidence e.g. statements etc. from a financial
institution confirming available funds.
(b) where the the funds are held in Ireland, the financial
institution used for the funds must be regulated by the
Financial Services Authority of Ireland (CBFSAI). The Financial
Services Authority of Ireland is the official financial regulatory
body in Ireland.
(c) the proposed business must create employment for two EEA
nationals for a new project or, at the very least, maintain
employment in an existing business;
(d) the proposed business must add to the commercial activity and
competitiveness of the State;
(e) the proposed business must be a viable business with
sufficient income to maintain and accommodate the applicant and any
dependants without resorting to social assistance or paid employment
for which a work permit would be required;
(f) The applicant must be in possession of a valid passport or
national identity document and be of good character.
Business Permission Application Process
Applicants for Business Permission in Ireland must submit –
- A valid passport or national identity document;
- A registration certificate if already residing in the State;
- A statement of character from the police authorities of each
country in which you have resided for more than six months
during the 10 year period prior to your making an application;
- Business plan which addresses points (1) to (5) above. This
business plan must be endorsed by a firm of accountants or a
financial institution involved in venture capital.
- Detailed proof of the skills levels required to undertake
such a business including, where applicable, academic
qualifications in the particular field, details of
apprenticeships, evidence of previous business experience, all
qualifications relevant to the proposed business and general
experience.
- References from former employers.
- Details of where the business will operate
from, including layout specification and lease/rental plans.
SPECIFIC CRAFTS
Writers, Artists and Crafts persons – while not subject to the
capital or employment requirements must demonstrate clearly that
they are well known/internationally renowned in their chosen field
and are in a position to fully support themselves from income from
their chosen craft without recourse to alternative employment and/or
social assistance. How can I contact the Irish Naturalisation and
Immigration Service regarding the status of my application?
If a Business Permission application is approved a letter
issued granting permission to engage in business for an initial
period of 12 months.
Starting a Business in Ireland
What is a Single Member Company ?
Single Member Company
There is often much confusion and misinformation (usually
disseminated by the local bar stool expert) as to what type of
entity a Single Member Company actually is. Let's clear it up then!
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Single Member
A Single Member Private Limited Company does not,
first and foremost ,mean that the company can have only one
director!
A member means is a shareholder or in effect a company owner. In
many small companies the company members i.e. shareholders may
indeed be one and the same as the company directors.
A Single Member Company is therefore no different from any
other private limited company other than the fact that the
entire issued share capital is held or owned by
one single/sole person i.e the single member hence,
the designation "single member company". This sole person is the sole beneficial
owner of the company and is the company's only member/shareholder
i.e. the single member.
A Single Member
company requires that a minimum of two persons are still in place to act as company
directors - member refers to shareholder and not to director! Note
that this is likely to change post 2012 when it is likely that all
stages of the new Companies Bill has been effected allowing a
company to effectively have in place only one person.
There are some specific requirements with regard to the drafting
of the memorandum & articles for a Single Member company.
Related Resources
-
Register a
Limited Company
Have your limited company registration documents drafted and
prepared for you for filing. Use our online application system
to prepare you company formation documents.
Read More.
-
Business Name Registration
For Sole Traders and Partnerships the registration of a Business
Name may be preferable.
Read
More on how to Register a
Business Name.
