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Firmengründung UK - FAQs |
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Ltd. Formation - FAQs |
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Welche Vorteile bietet eine Firmengründung in Großbritannien?
Eine Limited Company (Ltd.) ist eine Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung. Im Unterschied zu einer deutschen GmbH besitzt eine englische Limited Aktien. Dies bedeutet allerdings nicht, daß sie damit automatisch an die Börse gehen kann. Die Limited Company hat das Recht, Aktien an Freunde, Verwandte und Geschäftspartner zu verkaufen oder zu verschenken. Sie darf jedoch nicht öffentlich damit werben. Der Gang zur Börse ist nur unter besonderen Umständen und bei einer Mindestgröße der Gesellschaft möglich. Die Gesellschaft, die für diesen Zweck gegründet wird, heißt "PUBLIC Ltd. Company" und ist an höhere Auflagen gebunden als die weit häufiger und unkompliziert gegründete "PRIVATE Ltd." von der in der Regel gesprochen wird, wenn es um Limitedgründungen geht. Wird die englische Limited in Deutschland anerkannt? Ja. Eine in Großbritannien gegründete Gesellschaft ist in allen EU-Mitgliedsstaaten geschäftsfähig und rechtlich anerkannt. Der europäische Gerichtshof und mittlerweile auch der deutsche Bundesgerichtshof haben in verschiedenen Urteilen die europäisch garantierte Niederlassungsfreiheit bestätigt. Muß die englische Limited in Deutschland angemeldet werden? Wenn die englische Limited in Deutschland nur eine unselbstständige Niederlassung hat, braucht sie nicht ins deutsche Handelsregister eingetragen werden, sondern benötigt lediglich eine Gewerbeanmeldung. Hat Ihre Ltd. in Deutschland nur ein Korrespondenzbüro, brauchen Sie auch diese nicht. Da es auf diesem Gebiet viele schwarze Schafe gibt, sollten Sie auf folgendes achten:
Wie viele Personen werden zur Gründung einer englischen Limited benötigt? Es werden ein Director (Geschäftsführer) und ein Company Secretary (kümmert sich um die Einhaltung der Termine beim Companies House und der Inland Revenue und ist Ihre Kontaktperson.) Wir stellen allen unseren Limitedkunden eine zuverlässige Company Secretary zur Verfügung. Den Director können Sie selbst bestimmen und jederzeit auswechseln lassen. Nach englischem Recht kann einer der zwei Personen auch eine juristische Person sein, also z.B. eine Limited Company. Ja. Ihre englische Limited steht und fällt mit dem
englischen Geschäftssitz. In welchem Land ist die UK-Limited steuerpflichtig? Dieses Thema sollten Sie einzelfallspezifisch ausführlich mit
einem kompetenten Steuerberater besprechen. In vielen Fällen,
die uns bekannt geworden sind, haben deutsche Steuerberater
leider eher Verwirrung gestiftet als sich intensiv über die
Sachlage zu informieren. Wir sind Mitglied bei der
Deutsch-Britischen Handelskammer in London und können Ihnen
jederzeit kompetente Steuerberatung vermitteln. Obige Fragen und Antworten sind keine Rechts- bzw. Steuerberatung! Nützliche Informationen und Ansprechpartner in speziellen Rechts- und Steuerfragen, Merkblätter, Broschüren und Formulare zum Downloaden finden Sie unter: www.steuerlinks.de www.steuer.niedersachsen.de/service/GB.html Kontaktieren Sie uns für weitere Informationen |
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Why have a Private Limited Company? The key point to recognise is that a company is a separate entity - a legal person in its own right, quite separate from those who own it (the members, usually shareholders) and those who run it (the directors). As a separate person a company can itself
Differences between a Private Limited Company and a Public Limited Company The main difference between the two is that a public limited company (PLC) can offer its shares for sale to the general public through a recognised stock exchange. However, a public limited company must always have at least the authorised minimum of £50,000 sterling in issued capital, a PLC cannot take advantage of many of the provisions and exceptions applying to private companies under the Act, such as audit exemptions or voluntary strike-off. A private limited company is not obliged to a minimum share capital. It can start up with a Share Capital as little as £ 1,- . (Increases of Share Capital are possible at any time). When one speaks of limited companies we normally mean private limited companies. A Limited Company has limited liability for its members. The effect of this is that, if the company is unable to pay its debts and is put into liquidation, the members will not be required to contribute more than they have actually paid or agreed to pay towards settling its debts. A private company may be limited by share or by guarantee. The Company Secretary is an officer of the company and responsible for its actions. This includes ensuring that any documents which need to be sent to Companies House are sent on time (with the exception of the company's accounts, which are the personal responsibility of the directors). Who can be Company Director or Company Secretary of a Private Limited Company? Anybody can be appointed apart from someone who is
currently disqualified by a court from acting as a company
director or someone who is an undischarged bankrupt (except
with leave of the court). What documents have to be filed at Companies House every year? Annual Accounts: Every limited company must submit accounts
to Companies House even if it has not traded. The accounts and
reports of the company must include a director's report, a
profit and loss account (or an income and expenditure account
if the company is not trading for profit), a balance sheet.
The accounts must be approved by the board of directors, one
of whom must sign the balance sheet. The director's report
must also be approved by the board and signed by a director or
the secretary. Do Company Accounts have to be audited? For accounts that end after 31 March 2004 the turnover
threshold has increased to £5.6m. The total asset threshold
is £2.8m. Profits are irrelevant. How many people are needed to run a Limited Company? Two: at least one company director and a company secretary. However, it is possible that a limited company acts as director or secretary. A company secretary can also be a director. The directors are responsible for the management of the company. Since the directors can act as and for the company, they must ensure that the company does everything that it is obliged to do by law and that the decisions they make are in the best interests of the company. In this context, the interests of the company are those of the shareholders as a whole. These may be different from the interests of customers, employees, individual shareholders or the directors themselves. Is it necessary for Director, Company Secretary and Registered Office to be in the UK? The registered office must be a physical location (not a post office box only) and has to be in the United Kingdom. The director can be a resident of any other country. The secretary could theoretically also live in another country, but it is more sensible if he/she is a resident in the UK, as someone has to make sure that the obligations towards Companies House and Inland Revenue has to be met and that no deadlines are being missed. According to a European statute made in 1999 in Brussels there is a freedom of registration in all EU-countries. Therefore a limited company registered in the UK may have branches, holdings and sister companies in all EU-countries. If you like to set up a Branch in Germany you have several options. Four of them are: 1. The Registered Branch (Zweigniederlassung) of your Limited Company: If you decide to have your own office in Germany and plan to operate independently from the Head Office in the UK, you need to register your Branch in the German Handelsregister (commercial register) and at the Gewerbeamt (business office). 2. The Dependent Branch (unselbstständige Betriebsstaette): This type does not need to be registered in the commercial register, but a notification of trade or business (Gewerbeanmeldung) is necessary. 3. The Postal Address (Korrespondenzbüro) If you don’t want to set up a proper office in Germany you can operate with a postal address. Your business will mainly operate in the UK but correspondence can take place in Germany. 4. You can of course also set up a German GmbH, which is a German Company with limited liability. However, the amount of its share capital has to be at least 25,000.00 Euro and the set up is more bureaucratic than a limited company in the UK. Whatever you decide, we are here to help you. When does a Limited Company need to be registered for VAT? You must register if a) at the end of any month, the total value of the taxable supplies you have made in the past 12 months or less is more than £58,000. b) at any time you expect that the value of your taxable supplies will be more than £58,000 in the next 30 days alone. You can, however, apply for voluntary registration. You get more information on customs, excise, VAT or any other taxes or duties on 0845 010 9000 (from outside the UK +44 208 929 0152) or at www.hmce.gov.uk . Please contact us for more information. |
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