Anstalt


An Anstalt or Anstalt partnership is a type of incorporated organisation.

Characteristics

An Anstalt is a hybrid between a company limited by shares and a foundation. An Anstalt is an entity, which has no members, participants or shareholders. It differs from a company in that it has no duty to return profit and differs from a trust in that it has no obligation to a beneficiary. Anstalt do have, however, a holder of the founder’s rights. The founder can be either a legal person or a natural person, need not be resident in the host country and Anstalt must have a minimum capital of CHF 30 000. There is also no need for the founder identity to be notified to the registration office.
These features, and the founders rights, and because an Anstalt can conduct many kinds of business, including non-trading activities, has made them popular with foreign companies who use them as a holding company for overseas subsidiaries when trying to minimise tax in their home jurisdictions. That is Anstalt are a safe/easy place to park assets at tax time.

Types

There are two types of Anstalt; commercial and non-commercial, and they feature prominently in the finance system of Liechtenstein, where they are considered to be a Public Law Institution, though they are not able to be listed on the Stock Exchange.

Differences and uniqueness

Anstalt differ from the related entities called stiftung in that Anstalt can conduct all kinds of business activities. Anstalt are seen as different to Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, a corporate type found in many German-speaking countries, which do feature members and participants.
Anstalt are a civil law creation and no direct common law analogue exists. Common law courts have tended to treat Anstalt that are “limited by shares”, as a company, and those without shares are sometimes treated as a constructive trust.

Numbers of Anstalt

Etymology

The name Anstalt means "Institution" or "Establishment". which comes from the Middle High German Anstalt and means to set up purpose for a particular purpose and the building which houses it.