Public Limited Company (Spain)
Public Limited Companies (Sociedades Anonimas) are the next type of company in terms of importance and regulation, after the limited liability companies in Spain. Public Limited Companies are commercial in nature, in which the contributions of the partners comprising the share capital. The share capital is divided into shares, and the partners themselves are called shareholders. A public limited company, as a stock company, can be quoted on the Stock Exchange (Stock Market), may issue shares and bonds. It's a type of joint-stock company.
Liability of partners
The partners' liability is limited to capital contribution, this being a minimum of 60,000 euros
Naming
As a requirement of the law, public limited companies must include the words "Sociedad Anonima" or its abbreviation "SA" in the description.
Laws regarding Public Limited Companies / Joint-Stock Companies in Spain
Corporations are governed by the Law of Capital Companies (Ley de Sociedades de Capital), which was revised text approved by Royal Legislative Decree 1/2010 of 2 July.
Government of a public limited company
The elements of government of public limited companies (also called corporate bodies) are two: the General Meeting of Shareholders and the Administrators. Administrators are responsible for the daily management of the company, and its representation, for example they have the ability to manage bank accounts of the company, sign the yearly accounts, convening general meetings, and deposit accounts of the company at the Trade Register.
The Shareholders' Meeting is a meeting of shareholders, and may be ordinary or extraordinary. At these meetings many aspects of the company are decided by majority, such as appointing new managers
Taxes
In general, public limited companies are taxed at 35% of their tax base, however any deductions and allowances may be added.
Formation and incorporation of a public limited company
The process of incorporating a public limited company in Spain begins with the request of a negative name certification (CNN) at the Trade Register (Registro Mercantil), this certification states that there are no other companies with that name.
