Establishing a Company in Israel
Israel is one of the world’s most progressive and technologically advanced nations. Over the past 20 years, high levels of entrepreneurship, especially in the technology and health sectors, have gained Israel the pseudonym “Startup Nation”. Founded in 1948, modern day Israel is a democratic, sovereign and independent country, sharing borders with Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. In addition to the high-tech sector, Israel boasts many other highly advanced business sectors, such as fintech, pharmaceuticals, green energy, water desalination, agriculture and security. This provides corporations and entrepreneurs, thinking of forming companies in Israel, with a doorway to a multitude of business opportunities, both locally and globally. It also offers advantages for conducting business in highly attractive, select international markets such as: technology, health and medicine, security and agriculture; in which the label "Made in Israel" engenders a sense of exclusivity, sophistication and quality.
- The state of Israel and a number of philanthropic organizations offer all Jewish persons aged 18 – 26 living in the Diaspora a complimentary 10-day trip to Israel at no cost to them. The goal of the
- project, known as "Birthright" or "Taglit", is to tighten the bonds between the Jewish Diaspora and Israel and to encourage "Aliyah" (immigration of Jews to Israel).
- Israel is the only country in the world leading a mandatory military service for women.
- Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, is known for its unsurpassed wealth of history, spirituality and political activity. The city represents 7,000 years of habitation, siege, conquest and liberation and is considered one of the most active ancient cities on the planet.
Israel has established and maintains a free market economy that benefits from leading-edge technologies. Israel is small geographically and has scarce natural resources. With that, Israel, a standing member of the OECD, is considered the most developed and progressive nation in Southwest Asia and the Middle East, from both economic and technological perspectives. Similarly, Israel stands out for the high-quality of its academic population. Entrepreneurs wishing to establish companies in Israel benefit from the advanced technology and banking infrastructure, proximity to active and ever progressing high-tech centers and access to a well educated, top quality workforce.
Israel's GDP is some $350 billion (PPP) and its GDP per capita is $37,800, ranked 23rd in the world. As of 2019, the Israeli economy is largely based on its inherent human capital and its high-tech industries in the fields of technology, medicine, security and agriculture. Commercial data shows that Israel is the world's largest center of trade in polished diamonds and that it holds the position of fourth largest exporter of weapon systems, in terms of scope of export. Historically, Israel’s economy was modeled according to a social-democratic paradigm, however, over the years, it has gradually shifted towards a capitalistic model centered around bolstering the business sector and shrinking the public sector.
Mellius offers its clients the option to register and establish companies in Israel, as best fits the needs of their business activities.
General
Type of company |
Limited Company (Ltd.) |
Relevant Companies Law |
Companies Law, 1999 |
Offices |
Law requires companies to provide a local office address |
Language of original incorporation documents |
Hebrew |
Finance and Taxation
Currency |
New Shekel (NIS) |
Corporate tax rate |
23% - for all companies 6%-16% - for technology companies (in agreement with the tax authority) |
Standard share capital |
No minimum share capital requirement |
Office Holders
Company Secretary (Secretary) |
|
Obligation to appoint company secretary |
Not required |
Obligation to appoint local secretary |
Not required |
Type of entity that may function as company secretary |
Irrelevant |
Director |
|
Obligation to appoint company director |
Required |
Obligation to appoint local company director |
Not required |
Minimum number of directors |
1 |
Type of entity that may serve as company director |
Individual and/or company |
Shareholders |
|
Obligation to register shareholders |
Required |
Obligation to register local shareholders |
Not required |
Minimum number of shareholders |
1 |
Type of entity that may register as shareholder |
Individual and/or company |
Type of shares |
Registered shares |
Accessibility of Information
Company registrar |
Information regarding shareholders is publicly accessible |
Annual Assembly and Reporting
Obligation to hold annual assembly |
Required |
Obligation to prepare financial reports |
Required |
Obligation to submit financial reports |
Required |
Accept
