Doing Business in...: Country Q&A tool

Resource type: Articles: know-how

Status: Published on 01-Mar-2011

Jurisdictions: Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, California, Canada, Chile, China, Colorado, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Delaware, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, New Zealand, Oklahoma, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Romania, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Texas, Thailand, The Netherlands, Turkey, USA, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Wisconsin

This tool enables subscribers to search the Country Q&A in the Doing Business In... Handbook by question and jurisdiction. Simply select the questions and the jurisdictions that you are interested in and click the "submit" button.

Choose your questions - Select all/De-select all

1. What is the legal system (civil law, common law or a mixture of both)?

2. Are there any restrictions on foreign investment (including authorisations required by central or local government)?

3. Are there any exchange control or currency regulations?

4. What grants or incentives are available to investors? Are any of these aimed specifically at foreign investors?

5. What is the most common form of business vehicle used by foreign companies to conduct business in your jurisdiction?

6. What are the main laws regulating employment relationships?

7. Is a written contract of employment required? Are any agreements and/or implied terms likely to govern the employment relationship?

8. Are employees entitled to management representation and/or to be consulted in relation to corporate transactions (such as redundancies and disposals)?

9. How is the termination of individual employment contracts regulated?

10. Are redundancies/mass layoffs regulated?

11. Do foreign employees require work permits and/or residency permits? If so, how long does it take to obtain them and how much do they cost?

12. In relation to employees, what constitutes tax residency in your jurisdiction?

13. What income tax or social security contributions must tax resident employees, non-tax resident employees and employers (in relation to their employees) pay?

14. In relation to business vehicles, what constitutes tax residency in your jurisdiction?

15. Please give details of the main taxes that potentially apply to a tax resident business vehicle (including rates).

16. How are the activities of non-tax resident business vehicles taxed?

17. Please explain how dividend payments and receipts, interest payments and intellectual property (IP) royalty payments are taxed in relation to foreign corporate shareholders or companies.

18. Are there any thin capitalisation rules (restrictions on loans from foreign affiliates)?

19. Must the profits of a foreign subsidiary be imputed to a parent company that is tax resident in your jurisdiction (controlled foreign company rules)?

20. Are there any transfer pricing rules?

21. How are imports and exports taxed?

22. Is there a wide network of double tax treaties?

23. Are restrictive agreements and practices regulated by national competition law?

24. Please outline the main intellectual property rights that are capable of protection.

25. Are agency, distribution and franchising agreements regulated?

26. Are there any laws regulating e-commerce (such as electronic signatures and distance selling)?

27. Are there any data protection laws?

28. Are there any laws regulating product liability and product safety?

Choose your jurisdictions - Select all/De-select all

Legal system

1. What is the legal system (civil law, common law or a mixture of both)?

Top

Foreign investment

2. Are there any restrictions on foreign investment (including authorisations required by central or local government)?

3. Are there any exchange control or currency regulations?

4. What grants or incentives are available to investors? Are any of these aimed specifically at foreign investors?

Top

Business vehicles

5. What is the most common form of business vehicle used by foreign companies to conduct business in your jurisdiction? In relation to this vehicle, please provide details on:

Registration formalities (including timing).
Minimum (and maximum) share capital.
Whether shares can be issued for non-cash consideration such as assets or services (and any formalities).
Any restrictions on the rights that can attach to shares.
Any restrictions on foreign shareholders.
Management structure and any restrictions on foreign managers.
Directors' liability.
Parent company liability.
Reporting requirements (including filing of accounts) and cost of compliance.

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Employees

6. What are the main laws regulating employment relationships?

7. Is a written contract of employment required? Are any agreements and/or implied terms likely to govern the employment relationship?

8. Are employees entitled to management representation and/or to be consulted in relation to corporate transactions (such as redundancies and disposals)?

9. How is the termination of individual employment contracts regulated?

10. Are redundancies/mass layoffs regulated? If so please give details.

11. Do foreign employees require work permits and/or residency permits? If so, how long does it take to obtain them and how much do they cost?

Top

Tax

12. In relation to employees, what constitutes tax residency in your jurisdiction?

13. What income tax or social security contributions must the following pay:

Tax resident employees?
Non-tax resident employees?
Employers, in relation to their employees?

14. In relation to business vehicles, what constitutes tax residency in your jurisdiction?

15. Please give details of the main taxes that potentially apply to a tax resident business vehicle (including rates).

16. How are the activities of non-tax resident business vehicles taxed?

17. Please explain how each of the following is taxed:

Dividends paid to foreign corporate shareholders.
Dividends received from foreign companies.
Interest paid to foreign corporate shareholders.
Intellectual property (IP) royalties paid to foreign corporate shareholders.

18. Are there any thin capitalisation rules (restrictions on loans from foreign affiliates)? If so, please give details.

19. Must the profits of a foreign subsidiary be imputed to a parent company that is tax resident in your jurisdiction (controlled foreign company rules)?

20. Are there any transfer pricing rules? If so, please give details.

21. How are imports and exports taxed?

22. Is there a wide network of double tax treaties? If so, please give details.

Top

Competition

23. Are restrictive agreements and practices regulated by competition law in your jurisdiction? If so, please give brief details.

Top

Intellectual property

24. Please outline the main intellectual property rights that are capable of protection in your jurisdiction. In each case, please state:

Nature of right.
How protected.
How enforced.
Length of protection.

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Marketing agreements

25. Are marketing agreements regulated in your jurisdiction? If so, please give brief details in respect of the following arrangements:

Agency.
Distribution.
Franchising.

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E-commerce

26. Are there any laws regulating e-commerce (such as electronic signatures and distance selling)? If so, please give brief details.

Top

Data protection

27. Are there any data protection laws? If so, please give brief details.

Top

Product liability

28. Are there any laws regulating product liability and product safety? If so, please give brief details.

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Resource ID: 7-501-3536
Published: 01-Mar-2011
Products: Doing Business in..., PLC Construction, PLC Corporate and Securities, PLC Cross-border, PLC Law Department, PLC US Law Department, PLC US Law Department

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