An Anstalt () or Anstalt partnership is a type of incorporated organisation in

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

Characteristics

An Anstalt is a hybrid between a

company limited by shares A private company limited by shares is a class of private limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, Scotland, certain Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland. It has shareho ...

and a foundation.Going Offshore : Liechtenstein "ANSTALT" (Establishment)
An Anstalt is an entity, which has no members, participants or

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the ...

s. It differs from a company in that it has no duty to return

profit Profit may refer to: Business and law * Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market * Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit * Profit (real property), a nonpossessory inter ...

and differs from a

trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust (law), a legal relationship in which one person holds property for another's benefit * Trust (bu ...

in that it has no obligation to a

beneficiary A beneficiary in the broadest sense is a natural person or other legal entity who receives money or other benefits from a benefactor. For example, the beneficiary of a life insurance policy is the person who receives the payment of the amount of ...

. Anstalt do have, however, a holder of the founder's rights. The founder can be either a

legal person In law, a legal person is any person or legal entity that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, lawsuit, sue and be sued, ownership, own property, and so on. The reason for the term "''le ...

or a

natural person In jurisprudence, a natural person (also physical person in some Commonwealth countries, or natural entity) is a person (in legal meaning, i.e., one who has its own legal personality) that is an individual human being, distinguished from the br ...

, need not be resident in the host country and Anstalt must have a minimum capital of CHF 30 000 (approximately US$33 800). There is also no need for the founders 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 (such as holding passive investments), has made them popular with foreign companies who use them as a

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

for overseas subsidiaries when trying to minimise tax in their home jurisdictions. That is, Anstalt are a safe and 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

, where they are considered to be a

Public Law Public law is the part of law that governs relations and affairs between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that ...

Institution, though they are not able to be listed on the

Stock Exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for ...

Differences and uniqueness

Anstalt differ from the related entities called

stiftung A Stiftung () (properly ''Stiftung'', pl. ''Stiftungen'') is an institution or foundation that, with the aid of a property, pursues a purpose determined by the founder. A ''Stiftung foundation'' exists to give effect to the stated, non-commercial ...

in that Anstalt can conduct all kinds of business activities. Anstalt are seen as different from

Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (; ) is a type of Juridical person, legal entity in German-speaking countries. It is equivalent to a (Sàrl) in the Romandy, French-speaking region of Switzerland and to a (Sagl) in the Ticino, Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. It is a ...

, a corporate type found in many

German-speaking German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It is a ...

countries, which do feature members and participants. Anstalt are a civil law creation and no direct

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

analogue exists. Common law courts have tended to treat Anstalt that are "limited by shares", as a company, and those without shares (the majority) are sometimes (though not always) treated as a

constructive trust In trust law, a constructive trust is an equitable remedy imposed by a court to benefit a party that has been wrongfully deprived of its rights due to either a person obtaining or holding a legal property right which they should not possess ...

. The term "anstalt" is also used in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

, where it has a different meaning. In Swedish, for instance, "anstalt" refers to an "institution", especially to one of societal character (e.g. a prison or a health care institution).

Numbers of Anstalt

Etymology

The name Anstalt means "Institution" or "Establishment". which comes from the

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

Anstalt and means to set up '' ublicpurpose for a particular purpose and the building which houses it.'' Institution, the Word type: noun, feminine
at Duden.de.

References