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Newsletter | Articles Focus on St Lucia The island, with its fine natural harbour at Castries, the capital, was contested between England and France throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries and changed possession 14 times. It was finally ceded to the UK in 1814. Self-government was granted in 1967 and independence in 1979. It is a fully independent sovereign state, run as a parliamentary democracy on UK lines. The Queen is still Head of State and appoints a Governor-General. The volcanic and partly mountainous island has an area of some 600 sq. km. And a population of 160,000. Tourism and horticulture have been the mainstays of the economy, but an attempt is now being made to develop alternative sources of income, of which the new offshore finance industry is a part. The Island has a clean bill of health as an offshore centre and in neither blacklisted by the OECD nor the FATF. It provides a stable economic environment. Whilst the IBC is the main corporate structure, in line with current standards, bearer shares are not available. With an annual fee of $300 and only one director and one shareholder required, St Lucia looks like a viable Caribbean alternative. IBCs can opt to pay tax at 1% of profits and gains or to be tax-exempt. Legislation has been recently revised and brought up to current standards - Amendments to the International Business Companies Act 1999 and the International Mutual Funds Act 1999 became law on 19 September 2002. The new International Trust Act 2002 which replaces the International Trusts Act 1999, was brought into force on 4th September 2002. Further developments will be the introduction of LLC legislation and legislation dealing with protected cell companies. St. Lucia has taken the business of Financial Services seriously, and aims to be the jurisdiction of choice for International Business Companies, International Banking, International Trusts, International Insurance, and International Mutual Funds. St. Lucia has an unblemished reputation. To preserve the integrity of the jurisdiction, there are certain due diligence requirements, which have to be satisfied in order to complete incorporation. These are standard in any reputable jurisdictions. The government regulator, the Director of Financial Services is charged with the regulation of the industry. The Director is supported in a very dynamic and effective manner by the Registered Agent and Trustee Licensing Act. This act allows the Director to supervise the activities of all registered agents and trustees as well as entities/trusts formed under the international services legislation to ensure that there is no money laundering or related activity. For more information or to order a St Lucia company, please contact sharon.dugdale@ils-world.com. To download the ILS Datasheet on St Lucia, click here. The following laws are available for download: International Business Companies Act International Business Companies Amendment Act No.14 of 2002 International Business Companies Regulations Registered Agent and Trustee Licensing Act Registered Agent and Trustee Licensing Regulations International Trust Act 2002 International Trust (Forms) Regulations International Trust (Fees) Regulations Money Laundering Prevention