Find out what requirements must be met in order to qualify for the tax incentive for investors in Curacao
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Based on the National Ordinance tax facilities for investments (in Dutch: “Landsverordening belastingfaciliteiten investeringen”), investors can be granted tax facilities under certain conditions. The latter is the so-called “Tax Holiday”. For the application hereof, a formal written request must be submitted to Sector Fiscal Affairs of the Ministry of Finance of Curacao.
Benefits
Under the investment tax incentive amongst
others the following benefits can be
obtained:
• a reduced profit tax rate (3%) for a period
of 6 to 11 years, depending on the
investment;
• an exemption from property tax for a
period of 5 to 10 years, depending on the
investment;
• an exemption from import duties for
certain materials, goods and assets for a
period of 2 to 5 years, depending on the
type of materials, goods and assets, and
• an exemption from personal income tax on
dividends and other distributions of profits
to shareholders and holders of other
qualifying profit-sharing certificates,
provided that the distribution takes place
within two years after the end of the
financial year in which the profit was
generated.
Requirements
As previously mentioned, to be able to
qualify for the Tax Holiday, certain
conditions must be met. The following
companies could qualify for the Tax Holiday
in the following cases:
1. A company for the operation of hotels or
other facilities for accommodation and
relaxation, for which the construction and
initial furnishing of which requires an
investment of at least NAf. 5,000,000.
Permanent and full-time work must be
provided to at least ten persons registered in
the local population register at the start of
the business activities, and which is aimed at
promoting foreign visits.
2. A company whose objective is land
development, whereby plots of
undeveloped land are developed, by preparing the land for construction and
constructing infrastructure, whether or not in
combination with the construction of
immovable property. The development,
excluding the value of the land, should require
an investment of at least NAf. 5,000,000 and
which is aimed at promoting foreign visits or at
social housing.
3. An industry or a company, not being a
company as referred to in sections 1 and 2, for
which the establishment requires an
investment of at least NAf. 5,000,000.
Permanent and full-time work must be
provided to at least ten persons registered in
the local population register at the start of the
business activities, and which company is
active in one of the, at this moment, 16
specifically mentioned sectors.
4. A company as referred to in sections 1 and
3, for which the expansion, improvement or
renewal requires an investment of at least NAf.
5,000,000.
If the conditions are met, the company may
qualify for the Tax Holiday. The minimum
required investment must be spent within
three years after the Tax Holiday is first
invoked.
Formal written request
In order to receive approval for this incentive, a
formal written request must be submitted to
Sector Fiscal Affairs of the Ministry of Finance
of Curacao. Please note that, in principle, the
request should be filed before starting the
project. However, it has been approved that if
the request is submitted within six months of
the start of the project, the incentive can still
be granted retroactively.
Key Contact
Jeannitza Felix