Macau SAR

Choice of business entity

A foreign company conducting business (except for short-term projects) in Macau SAR is obligated to set up a legal establishment, which can be in the form of a company or a branch.

There are generally two types of Macau companies: companies limited by shares and companies limited by quotas. The capital and corporate governance requirements for a company limited by shares are higher than a company limited by quotas, and, in general, a company limited by quotas is used by investors that are not in regulated industries.

Exchange of information

Law 1/2022 is the legislation that governs the exchange of information by Macau SAR with other tax jurisdictions within the scope of bilateral and multilateral tax treaties or arrangements.

The following tables summarise the tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs) and DTAs that Macau SAR has signed, and the TIEAs and DTAs that are in negotiation:

TIEAs have been signed by Macau SAR with the following countries:

TIEAs are in negotiation with the following countries:

• Germany
• New Zealand

DTAs have been signed by Macau SAR with the following countries:

In addition, the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters has entered into force for Macau SAR since 1 September 2018, and the Macau government has signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information.

As the information of a Macau taxpayer is becoming more transparent under comprehensive DTAs, TIEAs, and multilateral agreements, it is important for Macau entities with cross-border transactions to perform periodic tax health checks to ensure that tax planning arrangements, if any, that have been put in place in the past, remain technically defensible. 

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)

On 14 December 2016, Macau SAR and the United States (US) signed an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) that will facilitate compliance with the US FATCA by financial institutions in Macau SAR. FATCA is an anti-tax evasion regime enacted by the United States to detect US taxpayers who use accounts with non-US financial institutions to conceal income and assets from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IGA signed between Macau SAR and the United States is Model 2, which requires financial institutions in Macau SAR to report the relevant account information of US taxpayers to the US IRS directly, supplemented by group requests made by the US IRS, on a need basis, for exchange of information on relevant US taxpayers at a government level. Under the IGA, financial institutions in Macau SAR need to register and conclude separate individual agreements with the US IRS. Under the agreements, these institutions shall seek the consent of their account holders who are US taxpayers for reporting their account information to the US IRS annually. The IGA covers exemptions for financial institutions or products that present low risks for tax evasion by US taxpayers.