No. of Czech firms controlled from tax haves grows to 13,168

Prague, April 10 (CTK) – The number of Czech companies with owners based in destinations regarded as tax havens grew to 13,168 at the end of March, up by 68 from the end of last year, according to information from consulting company Bisnode.
According to Bisnode, interest in tax havens will grow this year due to the ban on bearer shares in the Czech Republic.
“Entrepreneurs for whom it is extremely important to secure the anonymity of their ownership structure will make bigger use of foreign firms in their business activities,” Bisnode analyst Petra Stepanova said.
Under a new law that took effect as of January this year, joint-stock companies in the Czech Republic are not allowed to issue bearer shares any longer.
According to statistics from March, over 12,000 companies in the Czech republic, which is almost one half of all joint-stock companies in the country, still have bearer shares.
The most popular tax haven destinations for Czech entrepreneurs are the Seychelles, Panama and Cyprus. In the Seychelles, 43 new companies got registered in the first quarter of this year.
Despite a certain outflow, about one third of companies with owners in tax havens is based in the Netherlands.