Tax-breaks proposed to help startups

The Ministry of Finance has introduced a bill to change various tax regulations in regards to startups in Iceland. We’ve previously written about these changes, and it’s good news that the Ministry has followed promises with actions. Too bad about the timing though.

The highlights of the bill are the following:

  1. The ministry proposes a change in taxation of both stock-options and convertible bonds. Both of these financial instruments will be taxed at the realisation of profit, rather than at the date of exercise.
  2. A tax-break for foreign specialists is proposed, in effect giving foreigners that move to Iceland (and fulfil several criteria) a 25% tax break – i.e. only 75% of their income will be taxed.
  3. A tax-break for equity investments in small companies for individuals – tax-breaks for angel investors.
  4. Increased tax-refund for company R&D investments.

I’ll follow developments of the bill in the parliament and report accordingly.

Photo by mightymightymatze

Norðurskautið covers the Icelandic Startup and Tech scene. Follow us on Twitter or sign up for our mailing list to keep up to date. You can also join our Slack community – http://bit.ly/slack-is

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