Glossary

Short definitions to read Ranking and country pages without mixing company, residence and regime.

CFC: Controlled Foreign Company: rules that may tax foreign-company profits on a local tax resident.
Substance: Real economic activity (decisions, means, risks) aligned with the booking jurisdiction.
Freehold: Full property ownership (vs leasehold / limited rights).
Holding: Company designed to hold participations; tax regimes vary.
Exit tax: Tax on exit (distribution, departure, disposal) depending on jurisdiction.
e-Residency: Digital identity (e.g. Estonia) to run a company remotely. Not a visa or tax residence.
Free zone: Economic zone with its own rules (licences, sometimes reduced CIT), distinct from mainland.
Non-dom: Personal tax status (e.g. Malta, Cyprus) often separate from the local company.
Territoriality: Tax mainly on local-source income; foreign income may be out of scope under conditions.
QFZP: Qualifying Free Zone Person (UAE): free-zone entity that may aim for 0% CT on qualifying profits.
Indicative: Structured estimate or judgement, not verified official fact. Always labelled as such.
Stack: Deliberate alignment of life / business / capital layers (Liberty Stack thesis).
Ranking: Liberty Stack tool (/app) that weights 238 territories by your priorities.