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why invest in Madeira?
| Madeira is a business centre that is hugely successful in attracting foreign investment. The reasons for this are: |
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| The region's economy has become a case study due to its success. Gross value added has grown by more than 200% in the last ten years and GDP has grown an average of 10.7% per year during the last five years. Madeira is the region of the Iberian Peninsula recording the highest GDP growth rate. |
Per capita income has been above the national average since 1997, and the gap has tended to increase each year. |
The International Business Centre of Madeira, which represents 21% of the economy, has greatly contributed to this success story. |
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| Madeira is an autonomous region of Portugal, which is a member state of the European Union and the OECD. Madeira is, thus, an integral part of the European Union, which provides it with the following advantages: |
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the guarantee of operating in a credible centre, supported by the 27 member states and not in a tax haven, a fact that ensures that Madeira is not on international blacklists; |
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all principles of the Treaty on European Union are applicable to Madeira companies and their investors, namely the principle of freedom to establishment and to provide services.
The European Court of Justice's ruling on the Cadbury Schweppes case strengthened this principle, since this Court confirmed that a company can be located in a specific Member State solely for tax purposes; |
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Madeira's companies are automatically ascribed a VAT number, which provides access to the intra-Community market without any type of restrictions; |
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Madeira is part of the European Monetary System (euro), a fact that provides for reduced operating costs and eliminates exchange rate risk; |
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all Community directives are applicable to Madeira, guaranteeing a well regulated and modern legal system that protects investors' interests. |
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| Entities operating within the scope of the International Business Centre of Madeira benefit from the European Union's most advantageous tax system, in terms of both direct taxation (0 to 5% rate of tax on profits) as well as indirect taxation (14% VAT, which is the European Union's lowest rate). |
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| Portugal has introduced legislation in the last few years aimed at reducing red tape and simplifying procedures in a wide range of areas, such as the legal, statistics, tax and licensing fields, as well as a host of others. |
A significant example of this is the fact that since June 2006 it has been possible to perform most legal procedures for companies by private document, without the need for a notary public to intervene. Other significant examples include the formation of a company via the internet and the fact that a capital decrease does not require the approval of a law court. |
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| In recent years Madeira's infrastructures have undergone substantial investment, creating modern and efficient infrastructures that make the people of Madeira proud. These infrastructures have been the motor behind the archipelago's development. Examples include the modern road network, the new commercial port beside Madeira's Industrial Free Zone and the modern communications network with high-quality bandwidth and levels of connectivity. Madeira, due to its geographical position, is a node for a number of underwater cables connecting the continent of Europe to America and Africa. This fact guarantees the necessary bandwidth and connectivity with the rest of the world. |
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even though there are no restrictions on the import of non-resident labour, Madeira has both skilled and unskilled labour, speaking multiple languages and available at relatively low cost; |
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political and social stability; |
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low operating costs compared to other European jurisdictions, particularly in relation to wage levels, telecommunications, facilities, energy and many others; |
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suppliers of highly specialised and efficient professional services, with the capability of catalysing the successful implementation and management of investment projects in Madeira; |
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geographical location, in the same time zone as London; |
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security, living quality, mild climate, natural beauty and all the other characteristics that make Madeira a world-renowned tourist destination. |
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