The Kingdom of Netherlands, commonly called as the Netherlands is located in the western part of Europe. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to its north and west, Belgium to the south and Germany to the east. The capital and largest city in the Netherlands is Amsterdam, while the seat of government and therefore most government activity is in the Hague.
The country is a member of the European Union, NATO, OECD, and WTO. Additionally, with Belgium and Luxembourg, it constitutes the Benelux economic union. The currency of the Netherlands is Euro (EUR).
The Netherlands is ranked as one of the most favorable locations for corporate ventures in all of Europe.
N.V. is an acronym for the Dutch phrase “Naamloze Vennootschap,” which is the equivalent of a public company. This type of company setup is perfect for investors who want to found a large-sized company. Public limited companies in the Netherlands are used by investors who need to trade the company shares on the Stock Exchange.
The main requirement to incorporate a joint stock company in the Netherlands is a minimum share capital of 45,000 EUR. It is also required that an N.V. has at least one shareholder, a managing board and a supervisory board. In the case, the capital is divisible into shares, which can be relocated to the public easily
What are the main features of a Public Limited Company (NV)?
- A minimum share capital of EUR 45,000 has to be deposited before the company may be publically listed
- At least 20% of this must be issued
- The NV is a legal entity with complete legal capacity and the founders are only liable to the extent of capital they invest.
- Suitable for companies wishing to raise capital publicly
- There is no nationality requirement for shareholders
- Audited accounts must be filed with the Chamber of Commerce
- The NV is subject to the corporate income tax in the Netherlands, the VAT and other taxes for companies.
Companies registered in the Netherlands will pay corporate tax (between 20% and 25%), dividend tax (between 0% and 15%), VAT (between 6% and 21%) and other taxes related to the activities they have.
The corporate tax will be paid as follows:
- at a 20% rate for companies that obtain profits up to EUR 200,000;
- at a 25% rate for the amounts over EUR 200,000.
VAT – incorporated in Dutch tax law – is based upon EU Directives. This means that the principles and the structure of the tax are in general the same throughout the whole EU. The Dutch standard VAT rate is 21% and applies to most goods and services.
A 6% rate applies to for example food and beverage for human consumption (except for alcoholics), water, pharmaceutical products, and medical aids, books, and magazines, passenger transport, hotel accommodations, cultural events, etc. A 0% rate applies to exports and intra-community (EU) supplies.
Holland offers a wide tax treaty network, the country has signed around 100 double taxation treaties with countries all over the world. Among these, most of them are with European countries, such as the United Kingdom, Belgium, Estonia, Denmark, the Czech Republic, France, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, and Ireland. In the rest of the world, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Russia, Qatar, the UAE, Singapore, Canada, the United States of America, Venezuela, Mexico, and Brazil.
In addition, the Dutch government offers a number of attractive incentive programs for international companies.
