Company registration in Alberta

Alberta is one of the Canadian provinces that introduces a favorable environment for starting and doing business both locally and worldwide. It especially encourages the establishment of small and middle-sized enterprises, R&D works and makes different incentives available to entrepreneurs who incorporate business provincially. If you wish to establish your business in Alberta too, this can be arranged in one of the next forms.

Major Forms of Legal and Business Presence

If you wish to start and do business from Alberta, the following registration options are available for this purpose:

• Corporation – an entity that is legally separated from its founders. It is not attributed to a large business only. Small and medium-sized enterprises also may be a corporation, even with one founder. This entity is allowed to offer its shares to the general public and raise financing in this way. Shareholders of such an entity don’t bear any liability in excess of their contributions (value of shares subscribed). This form requires compliance with certain strict but not bureaucratized requirements to maintenance and reporting.
• General Partnership – a form of doing business that unites two or more partners who jointly conduct business and bear liability for the results of its operation. Such partners jointly manage their common commercial activity. Their personal property may also be called in case of potential losses.
• Limited Partnership – in this case, two or more persons are united for joint doing business provided that among them there are (i) one or more general partners who bear unlimited liability for the results of such joint operation, and (ii) one or more limited partners who don’t risk to lose in excess of the funds contributed to such a business formation.

Registration Requirements and Steps

If you wish to create a company in Alberta, this process may require passing the next registration steps:

1. Clarifying your business priorities that will be realized through a local enterprise.
2. Choosing and checking a business name for a future entity.
3. Collecting details about the company's founders, beneficiaries, and officials.
4. Arranging the registered business address for an enterprise.
5. Drafting and formalizing statutory and other registration documents.
6. Submitting the set of the registration documents for the registration.
7. Registration for tax and social security purposes.
8. Opening a corporate bank account.
9. Getting special licenses and permits (required for certain types of regulated activities).

Legal and Regulatory Framework

The local legal framework is considered to be very advantageous for starting and doing business. It doesn't take a lot of time to start a new business and its further maintenance is not associated with burdensome bureaucratic formalities. Principal legal acts in the area of doing business are the Companies Act, the Business Corporations Act, the Partnership Act, and the Securities Act.

Taxation in Alberta

If you wish to create a company in Alberta, it is advisable to consider the following tax highlights:

• Corporate income tax rate – 8%;
• Personal income tax – rates may vary from 10% to 15% depending on the value of income;
• Goods and services tax rate – 5%;
• Withholding tax – taxation mode is determined by the type of income;
• Capital gains tax – taxation mode is determined by the type of income.

Advantages of the Jurisdiction

If you wish to form a company in Alberta, the following advantages of the jurisdiction may become available to you:

• diversified and beneficial tax system;
• ease of company incorporation and low related costs;
• high credibility of the business status of a local company;
• good assets protection;
• easy process of raising and transferring funds.