An extract from The Corporate Tax Planning Law Review - Edition 3

Local developments

i Entity selection and business operations

The rules governing the ISB are mainly contained in the Sovereign Ordinance No. 3,152 of 19 March 1964 instituting the ISB in Monaco, as amended from time to time (the Ordinance 3,152).

Pursuant to Article 1 of the Ordinance 3,152, the following are subject to the ISB in Monaco:

  1. enterprises (whatever their legal form) that carry out an industrial or commercial activity in Monaco and whose turnover is generated for 25 per cent or more from operations carried out, directly or indirectly, outside of Monaco; and
  2. companies, whatever their legal form, whose activity in Monaco consists of deriving income from:
    • the sale or the licensing of patents, trademarks and manufacturing processes; or
    • intellectual property rights (referred as to IP assets), wherever the location of the relevant IP assets.

Articles 2 and 3 of the Ordinance 3,152 detail how the turnover criteria mentioned in point (a) should be understood. In this respect:

  1. Turnover derived from the sales of goods and assets is considered as generated outside of Monaco when the sales are realised outside of Monaco or when the final destination of the sold goods or assets is located outside of Monaco, whether the delivery takes place within or outside the Monegasque territory. Retail sales of goods on the Monegasque territory are, however, always treated as realised in Monaco.
  2. Turnover derived from services rendered within the course of a commercial or industrial activity is considered as generated outside of Monaco when the services are rendered or used outside of Monaco. The following, in particular, should be considered as realised outside of Monaco:
    • the insurance of risks located outside of Monaco;
    • banking and financing services provided to non-Monegasque beneficiaries;
    • transports of passengers and goods to or from outside of Monaco; and
    • renting or licensing of any tangible or intangible assets outside of Monaco.
Entity forms

The ISB is assessed on Monegasque entities depending on the nature of their activity, as described above, and irrespective of their legal form. Pursuant to Article 4 of the Ordinance 3,152, the ISB, where applicable, is assessed in the name of the company, partnership or other entity carrying out the taxable activity. There are therefore no look-through entities for ISB purposes in Monaco.

Certain Monegasque entities, such as Monegasque non-trading companies (sociétés civiles), are, however, prohibited from carrying out any commercial or industrial activities and therefore should not, in principle, be subject to the ISB.

Domestic income tax

Only enterprises generating 25 per cent or more of their turnover outside of Monaco, as detailed above, and Monegasque companies deriving income from IP assets are subject to the ISB. Where an enterprise is generating 25 per cent or more of its turnover outside of Monaco, all its income becomes subject to the ISB, including, as the case may be, income derived from the portion of the turnover generated in Monaco.

Numerous non-commercial activities (such as real estate promotion, liberal activities performed by medical professionals, lawyers or accountants) or local commercial activities (such as retail trade, catering and hotels) are therefore exempt from the ISB.

When applicable, the ISB is assessed on the net taxable income realised during the fiscal year. Expenses incurred in the interest of the taxpayer are generally deductible from the taxable income, in particular:

  1. general expenses of any nature, payroll expenses, rents;
  2. amortisations of fixed assets and impairments booked in accordance with Monegasque accounting rules;
  3. financial expenses, subject to the thin capitalisation rules described below;
  4. directors' fees, subject to the limitations described below; and
  5. taxes, with the exception of the ISB.

The following expenses are, however, not deductible, and would be added back to determine the taxable income:

  1. penalties related to infringements of the tax legislation;
  2. expenses incurred for corruption purposes; and
  3. lavish expenditures relating to the practice of hunting or fishing, or the acquisition of private houses or yachts.

Finally, tax losses recognised in respect of a fiscal year may be carried forward and offset upon the taxable income recognised in respect of the following fiscal years without any time limitation, but with a monetary limitation of €1 million, plus 50 per cent of the taxable income exceeding €1 million.

Tax losses recognised in respect of a fiscal year may also be carried back and offset only on the taxable income recognised in respect of the previous fiscal year, to the extent that this income has not been distributed to the shareholders. The offsetting is limited to €1 million. In this scenario, the taxpayer would receive a claim against the Monegasque tax authorities corresponding to the amount of the ISB overpaid as a result of the offsetting of the carried-back tax losses, which may be used to pay the ISB due in respect of the five following fiscal years, with any outstanding amount being reimbursed by the Monegasque tax authorities at the end of this five-year period.

International tax

As mentioned above, the ISB is levied in Monaco on a territorial basis. Therefore, income realised by a Monegasque taxpayer attributable to (1) a foreign permanent establishment of the taxpayer; (2) transactions realised abroad on a regular basis by a dependent representative of the taxpayer empowered to act on its behalf; or (3) a complete circle of operations realised outside of Monaco by the taxpayer, is excluded from the ISB taxable base.

Conversely, income realised by foreign companies carrying out commercial or industrial activities in Monaco through a Monegasque permanent establishment, a dependant representative or a complete circle of operations, is subject to the ISB in Monaco – to the extent that 25 per cent or more of their turnover is realised outside of Monaco, as described above.

Local subsidiaries of foreign parent companies are subject to the ISB under the same conditions as Monegasque controlled companies.

Tax incentives

Pursuant to the Sovereign Ordinance No. 10.324 of 17 October 1991, new companies can benefit from a full exemption from the ISB during the first 23 months of their existence. The exemption is further reduced to 75 per cent, 50 per cent and 25 per cent for each following period of 12 months. These full and partial exemptions are subject to the following conditions:

  1. the share capital of the new company is not more than 50 per cent held by other companies; and
  2. the company is not created within the context of a regrouping, a restructuring or an extension of pre-existing activities.

These exemptions do not apply to enterprises conducting banking, finance and insurance activity or management or rental of real estate.

Pursuant to the Sovereign Ordinance No. 10.325 of 17 October 1991, as amended, companies incurring research and development expenses can benefit from a tax credit assessed on these expenses (the R&D Tax Credit). The R&D Tax Credit is equal to 30 per cent of the R&D expenses not exceeding €100 million and 5 per cent of the R&D expenses exceeding this amount. Public subsidies and, under certain conditions, fees paid to third-party advisers to obtain advice for benefiting from the R&D Tax Credit are, however, deducted from the R&D Tax Credit base.

Finally, pursuant to the Sovereign Ordinance No. 14 of 10 May 2005, foreign companies involved in the cross-border shipping and aircraft navigation industry are, under certain reciprocity conditions, exempt from the ISB in respect of their activities conducted in Monaco. Correlatively, Monegasque companies that benefit from an exemption in foreign countries are taxed in Monaco on their exempt foreign derived income. Further to the Ministry Order No. 2005-270 of 27 May 2005, these activities include, in particular, the transportation of passengers and merchandises, the operating, renting or chartering of cruisers and aircrafts, and the operating of fishing vessels.

Foreign source income

Foreign source income that is not attributable to a foreign permanent establishment is generally included in the ISB taxable basis. Any withholding tax withheld by the jurisdiction of source of the income can, upon justification, be offset against the ISB due in Monaco in respect of the same income.

Pursuant to Article 15 of the Ordinance 3,152, Monegasque corporations (SAMs) may benefit from a participation exemption regime in respect of dividends received from subsidiaries that take the form of limited liability companies or corporations whose shares are nominative, whether the limited liability companies or corporations are established in Monaco or abroad. Under the participation exemption regime, dividends received from these subsidiaries are:

  1. 95 per cent exempt if the parent company has held at least 50 per cent or more of the share capital of the subsidiary for at least two years at the time the dividend is paid;
  2. 90 per cent exempt if the parent company has held at least 35 per cent and less than 50 per cent of the share capital of the subsidiary for at least two years at the time the dividend is paid; and
  3. 80 per cent exempt if the parent company has held at least 20 per cent and less than 35 per cent of the share capital of the subsidiary for at least two years at the time the dividend is paid.

No tax credit is granted in respect of any foreign withholding tax withheld on dividends benefiting from the participation exemption.

Capitalisation requirements

Under Article 9 of the Ordinance 3,152, interest incurred on loans granted to a company by its direct shareholders is subject to an interest rate limitation, pursuant to which the portion of the interest calculated at a rate exceeding by two points the legal interest rate published by the French Central Bank is not deductible from the taxable income.

In addition to this interest rate limitation, interest served by a company to its direct controlling shareholders incurred on the portion of the loan exceeding half of the amount of the share capital of the company is not deductible for tax purposes.

More generally, as from fiscal years opening on or after 1 January 2019, the deduction of net financial expenses is subject to a new general deduction limitation. Deductible financial expenses are capped at the higher of the following amounts:

  1. €3 million per fiscal year; or
  2. 30 per cent of the taxable income subject to the ISB, before offsetting of any carried forward tax losses, increased by the relevant net financial expenses, any booked amortisations and impairments and capital gains or losses recognised upon the transfer of assets.

For the purpose of this general deduction limitation, net financial expenses are defined as the difference between interest served and interest received from any debts contracted by the company. Net financial expenses that cannot be deducted in any given fiscal year may be deducted from the taxable income recognised in respect of the five following fiscal years, subject to the same limitations.

By exception, the portion of the net financial expenses served by a company to related parties are subject to a more restrictive deduction limitation rule, to the extent that the average amount of the debts contracted by the company towards such related parties exceeds by 1.5 the amount of the company's net equity, assessed either at the beginning or at the end of the fiscal year. In such a scenario, the deduction of the net financial expenses would be limited to the higher of the following amounts:

  1. €1 million per fiscal year; or
  2. 10 per cent of the taxable income subject to the ISB, before offsetting of any carried-forward tax losses, increased by the relevant net financial expenses, booked amortisations and impairments and capital gains or losses recognised upon the transfer of assets.

For the purpose of this more restrictive deduction limitation rule, two parties are deemed related where:

  1. one of them holds, directly or indirectly, the majority of the share capital of the other, or in fact exercises a power of decision on the other; or
  2. both of them are controlled by the same third party, under the conditions described in the point above.

The portion of financial expenses served to related parties that cannot be deducted in any given fiscal year can only be deducted up to one-third of their amount in the following fiscal years, subject to the same limitations.

ii Common ownership: group structures and intercompany transactionsOwnership structure of related parties

There is no tax group consolidation regime in Monaco allowing a tax consolidation of income and losses between entities of the same group of companies.

There are, further, no rules that would allow the taxation in Monaco of income recognised by foreign-controlled companies, even in the circumstances where such controlled foreign companies would be established in low-tax jurisdictions.

General tax deduction rules

Domestic transactions between a company subject to the ISB and a related party are usually not challenged by the Monegasque tax authorities, to the extent that these transactions are entered into within the interest of the company and are properly documented.

Pursuant to Article 12 of the Ordinance 3,152, services fees, brokerage fees, intermediary commissions, and IP right licence fees, however, are generally not deductible from the taxable income when they are paid to Monegasque-resident related parties.

Pursuant to Article 13 of the Ordinance 3,152, directors' fees are generally deductible from taxable income, provided that they relate to effective work and are not excessive with regards to international recognised practices, in particular those applied in the European Union. However, directors' fees by service provider companies with a turnover that does not exceed €3.5 million, and other companies with a turnover that does not exceed €7 million, are capped to the amounts fixed under the Sovereign Ordinance No. 373 of 26 January 2006. These caps, however, are high. For instance, for a service provider company whose turnover amounts to €3.5 million, the fees paid to the best paid director would be capped at €1.5 million, to which can be added an allocation for reimbursement of business expenses that can be determined as a percentage up to 15 per cent of the fees. The fees of the other directors are capped at 75 per cent of the fees paid to the best-paid director.

Transfer pricing intercompany transactions

Article 14 of the Ordinance 3,152 provides for transfer pricing rules. Pursuant to this Article, any transfer of profits from a Monegasque company subject to the ISB to foreign related parties, through transactions that are not concluded under arms-length conditions (increase or decrease of price compared to the fair market price, any other means), should be added back to the taxable income of the Monegasque company.

iii Capital gainsSales of shares or assets for cash

Pursuant to Article 10 of the Ordinance 3,152, capital gains recognised by a company in the course of its activity on the transfers of fixed assets may be excluded from its taxable income of the fiscal year of the transfer, provided that the company undertakes to reinvest, within three years of the transfer, an amount equal to the capital gain increased by the tax basis of the transferred asset in other fixed assets useful to the company. The amount of capital gain excluded from the taxable income at the time of the transfer is deducted from the tax basis of the assets acquired in reinvestment for purposes of depreciation and calculation of the capital gain on the subsequent sale of the newly-acquired asset.

Transfer of shares representing at least 20 per cent of the share capital of the issuing company, or held for at least two years at the time of their transfer, as well as, under certain conditions, income derived from exclusive licence of patents, can benefit from this tax deferral mechanism.

Any capital gain recognised by a company that is subject to the ISB upon a partial or full termination of the company's business is 50 per cent exempt, if the termination occurs within five years of the beginning of the company's activity, and 80 per cent exempt, if the termination occurs after five years.

One should be reminded that, other than Monegasque companies deriving income from IP rights, only Monegasque companies realising 25 per cent or more of their turnover outside of Monaco are subject to the ISB.

Tax-free or tax-deferred transactions

A merger involving a Monegasque company may trigger income tax consequences in Monaco, if the company is subject to the ISB.

Pursuant to Article 11-2 of the Ordinance 3,152, capital gains recognised upon a merger (other than capital gains recognised on inventory, if any) of Monegasque corporations may benefit from a favourable regime whereby they are exempt from the ISB, provided that the surviving entity undertakes in the merger agreement to compute any further amortisation and capital gains recognised on the assets acquired from the merged entity as a result of the merger, by reference to the accounting net value these assets had in the books of the merged entity.

Merged Monegasque corporations that are subject to the ISB and that cannot benefit from the favourable regime of mergers will be considered as terminating their business and will be immediately subject to the ISB on any ongoing income and realised or latent capital gains. The capital gains could, however, benefit from the partial exemptions described above relating to sales or transfers of assets.

International considerations

There is no legislation dealing with cross-border mergers. However, the merger of a Monegasque company into a foreign company would be treated as a liquidation of the Monegasque company under Monegasque corporate law and thus, would not benefit from the Monegasque favourable deferral regime on mergers.

As Monaco has a limited tax treaty network, foreign income may often be subject to domestic withholding tax rates rather than reduced treaty rate in the source jurisdiction, in particular on dividends, interest and royalties received from foreign subsidiaries. However, to the extent that the Monegasque beneficiary company is subject to the ISB, this withholding tax would give right to a tax credit that could be offset upon the ISB due in respect of the same income. For obvious reasons dividends benefiting from the participation exemption regime cannot benefit from any credit for foreign withholding tax.

Furthermore, Monaco does not levy any withholding tax on payments of any kind made to non-resident beneficiaries (e.g., dividend, interest, royalties and service fees).

iv Indirect taxesVAT and customs duties

Monaco and France form a custom union and are deemed part of the same territory for VAT and customs duty purposes. VAT rules applicable in Monaco are mostly the same as the ones applicable in France. As a result, the e-Commerce VAT Package, derived from Directive 2017/2455, which has already been transposed in France, will similarly apply to Monaco and should be fully implemented as of 1 July 2021.

Registration duties applicable on companies

Subscriptions to the share capital of Monegasque companies are subject to a 1 per cent registration duty. Subscriptions to the share capital of SAMs are subject to a further 0.5 per cent stamp duty and give rise to notary fees at the rate of 0.9 per cent. Therefore, the total costs for a share capital subscription in a corporation amounts to 2.4 per cent.

Transfers of shares of Monegasque corporations not owning real estate assets located in Monaco are subject to a 1 per cent registration duty; however, in practice these duties are rarely paid since it is not mandatory to register the transfers within a particular period, with the exception of the transfer of shares of Monegasque civil companies. Transfers of shares of companies owning real estate assets in Monaco are subject to a registration duty of 4.5 per cent or 7.5 per cent (the rate and the taxable base vary depending on the circumstances).

Transfers of real estate assets located in Monaco (assuming the real estate asset is not acquired by an individual or a Monegasque civil company owned by individuals), and transfer of ongoing businesses, are subject to a 7.5 per cent registration duty.