One of the advantages of registering a foreign company in Cyprus is that there is no requirement for public disclosure of personal information about the company’s shareholders. However, if any authority requests information about the owners of such a company for the purpose of investigating crimes, the registrar of Cypriot companies and the tax authorities provide such information.

Cyprus offshore company it can be transformed into a regular company (onshore, i.e. operating only in this country), without much effort and at any time. This can be used advantageously in some cases of corporate structuring of holdings.

Cyprus offshore companies have the official name of International Commercial Companies and they will pay a tax of 12.5% on net profit if they are tax residents of Cyprus.

The IBC will be recognized as a resident of Cyprus if its management and control are located in that country. Management and control are usually determined by the place of residence of the majority of directors and the venue of meetings of the board of directors. However, it is possible to hire nominee local directors who are distinguished by a high level of professionalism, unlike many other offshore jurisdictions.

Offshore Cyprus has no withholding tax on the payment of dividends, interest on deposits and payment of royalties to individuals or non-resident companies. Income in the form of dividends received offshore in Cyprus is completely exempt from tax, subject to certain conditions.

The profit received from a permanent establishment abroad is completely exempt from income tax. The profit from the sale of shares is not taxable for all tax residents of Cyprus. 50% of the interest received is exempt from tax, unless the interest does not arise in the ordinary course of business (for example, interest on overdue balances on debtors’ accounts). There are no restrictions on the transfer of tax losses. They can be postponed indefinitely to be offset against future profits.

A group benefit is available, in which losses from one company can be offset against the taxable profits of other companies in the same holding group. Operations on reorganization, consolidation, mergers and acquisitions of offshore companies can be carried out without any tax consequences. There is an exemption from capital gains tax in Cyprus (except for the sale of real estate located directly in Cyprus).

There is no currency control in Cyprus. Cyprus offshore companies can open a bank account in any currency both in Cyprus and abroad. Cyprus has more than 50 double taxation agreements that apply to more than 40 countries and can be used to optimize the tax burden. However, the full advantage of the Cyprus network of double taxation agreements with other countries can only be obtained by resident offshore companies.

Confidentiality and anonymity of beneficial owners are guaranteed by law and despite the fact that this information is stored in the state register, the true identity is disclosed only to local banks if a local account is opened. Information about the beneficiaries of Cyprus offshore companies is not disclosed to third parties or other countries, except in cases of a properly executed criminal investigation by law enforcement agencies.

A source:  https://www.zedlike.com/blogs/61264/Cyprus-Offshore-Company