South Africa

1. INTRODUCTION
- South Africa is an independent country situated in the Southern Region of Africa.
- South Africa (SA) is well known for its human rights activist and ertwhile president Nelson Mandela.
- SA hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup and the 1996 African Cup of Nations, as well as won the bid for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
- South Africa maintains diplomatic relations through 254 embassies, consultates, accreditations and organisations in other countries, and through 209 such representations in South Africa. This means that using a South African corporation or company in your country carries with it a good background of international relations.
- SA is a member of SADC, AU, NEPAD, UN, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), The Commonwealth, The Non-Aligned Movement, and The World Trade Organization.
- SA has an agreement on Trade, Development and Cooperation with the European Union (EU).
- South Africa is well-represented at the annual World Economic Forum (WEF).
- SA registers / incorporates over 100 000 corporations and companies annually, many of which are used by non-residents.

2. ADVANTAGES
- Tax Agreements with some 50 countries worldwide.
- Running your Corporation / Company in such a country means that you pay no (zero) South African tax; you report for tax in the country concerned.

3. DISADVANTAGES
- Running your Close Corporation (CC) / Company in a country that does not have a tax agreement with South Africa, you only pay South African tax on profits: 30% less the tax payable in that country.
Examples:
If your CC/Company pays 20% tax on profits in your country, you pay 10% tax in South Africa.
If your CC/Company pays 30% tax on profits in your country, you pay no tax in South Africa.

4. COMPANY NAME
- Sensitive words "Holdings", "Group", "Investments", etc.
- Must end with "CC" (Corporation) or "(Pty) Ltd" (Company).

5. SHAREHOLDERS
- Corporation: min. 1 individual
- Company: min. 1 corporate or individual

6. DIRECTORS, SECRETARY
- min. 1 individual director/member.
- secretary: informal appointment; can be SA non-resident.

7. ACCOUNTS
- No annual audited accounts in SA for tax-agreement countries.
- Annual audited accounts must be filed in SA only for non-tax-agreement countries.

8. SHARE CAPITAL
- 1 SA Rand (paid up) = R1.00

9. TIME TO SUPPLY
- from ready-made list - 5 days for courier.
- with new name - up to 4 weeks.