The Canary Islands – The forum entitled The Canary Islands: a unique location in the EU for investment and growth, is the framework where the Canary Islands tax advantages have been presented.
The Canary Islands Special Zone (ZEC) presented its tax advantages to investors from the strategic sectors of technology and renewable energies in the Lincoln Centre in London. These advantages are a true added value to the opportunities in the Canary Islands as it is tricontinental business base for international business operations within the framework of the European Union.
At this business and investment forum entitled The Canary Islands: a unique location in the EU for investment and growth, which was organised by the ZEC, representatives of the Canary Islands Government and the London School of Economics (LSE) also took part, and those attending received information regarding the multiple tax advantages the Canaries offer to companies in the United Kingdom (UK) that are looking for alternatives to invest or relocate in view of the Brexit. This market strengthens the Canary Islands’ position as a highly competitive region because of its fiscal and economic environment for investors, companies and multinationals who value the profits made from settling in the Islands. Indeed, the Canaries are a strong region thanks to their tax regime, the quality of life they offer and their strategic geographical position to expand in markets worldwide, and particularly in the markets of West Africa. Furthermore, the UK and the Canary Islands have always had strong social and economic ties.
This market strengthens the Canary Islands’ position as a highly competitive region because of its fiscal and economic environment for investors, companies and multinationals who value the profits made from settling in the Islands. Indeed, the Canaries are a strong region thanks to their tax regime, the quality of life they offer and their strategic geographical position to expand in markets worldwide, and particularly in the markets of West Africa. Furthermore, the UK and the Canary Islands have always had strong social and economic ties.
An excellent location and a privileged door opening to Europe
A key aspect of the debate was the opportunity that the Canary Islands offer to UK businesses, within certain sectors, to remain in the EU market. Only the tourism, construction, finance and retail sectors are excluded from these tax benefits. One of the main attractions of the Canary Islands is its generous tax regime created with the objective of encouraging foreign direct investment. It was emphasized that all the advantages of this aid to the operating of businesses are applicable to companies settled in the Canary Islands and who have an economic activity there. In exchange for this reduced taxation, these companies must contribute to diversify the economic activity of the zone. The other two main conditions are job creation and investment made in the islands.
The director of the ZEC, Olga Martín, detailed some of the tax policies of the Canaries which are decisive for foreign investors. She explained: “Companies can not only benefit from a corporate tax rate at 4%, which is much lower than the average 20% in the rest of the EU, but investments in research and technology can get a deduction of 35 to 55% too, and in the case of the film industry, it can reach up to 45%”.
With regard to the British market, a door is now opening to growth opportunities in order to get new investment projects from companies located in the UK who wish to keep their activity within the member states, taking advantage of the competitive advantages offered by the low taxation of an incentive that guarantees full legal certainty, the distribution of dividends without withholding at the source and the maximum accumulation of aid authorised by the EU, among its many attractions. All these aspects simply help to be more competitive.
With this forum, the ZEC has closed its programme of actions scheduled for 2019. These actions are regulated by the 2014-2020 Promotion Plan. This document, which has been approved by the Governing Council, assesses on a yearly basis the countries and sectors where action must be taken. International action carried out this year has mostly been directed to markets with potential such as London, the USA, Germany, Sweden, France, Poland and Denmark. Likewise, it has included specific initiatives to reverse and sector missions in order to consolidate business ecosystems in the fields of information and communication technologies (ICT), technology and innovation, outsourcing and business services, renewable energy, naval industry-related activities and services linked to activities that support tourism, among others.