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Ask HN: Where to Register a Company When Being a Traveling Digital Nomad?

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Re: Ask HN: Where to Register a Company When Being a Traveling Digital Nomad?

#51

Post by chrishynes »

desdiv wrote: post #23
silver1 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everybody talks about Delaware corp (as they've matured business laws) ..but very few knowt hat when it comes to taxes then Nevada and Wyoming are the best .... however recently I've heard that if you're selling stuff on Amazon or any other e-commerce store then taxes are different depending upon where you're located ... and you may not even be eligible for selling in few states - I wish someone can explain this in a…

There's zero difference tax-wise between a Nevada corporation, a Wyoming corporation, and a Delaware corporation when they're operating outside their state of incorporation. In all three cases they pay no state taxes in their state of incorporation.

Wyoming has less fees and yearly paperwork than Delaware.

Re: Ask HN: Where to Register a Company When Being a Traveling Digital Nomad?

#52

Post by walterbell »

616c wrote: post #33
level09 wrote: post #16

Dubai is the place, Tax free, as low as ~4000 Euros/year for a single person (FZE) company. Nothing else is required (office/staff), virtual services are provided at additional fees (secretary etc ..)

Some friends and I have been discussing this. There is a current regime in the UAE (not just Dubai) that has established a free trade zone that costs approximately several thousand USD to incorporate and set up shop, including basement prices for established visa(s) for you and a small group of employees. I have received an email. If I have time later I will dig around to find the link to an official website from UAE…

Some zones can be as small as an office park, with different rules for each zone, e.g. medical companies vs. software companies.

The Middle East in general has Internet firewalls, e.g. VOIP is often packet filtered. Might be worth checking on those policies within the zone.

Some tax-free jurisdictions generate money from bureacracy and fees, which impose substantial time overhead, since penalties for noncompliance can be.. unexpected.

Re: Ask HN: Where to Register a Company When Being a Traveling Digital Nomad?

#53

Post by walterbell »

driznar wrote: post #37
tiernano wrote: post #3

Ireland? CRO[1] gives details about registering a company and the requirements, and the New Companies Bill of 2014[2] will make things easier for smaller companies. [1]: https://www.cro.ie/Registration/Overview [2]: https://www.cro.ie/New-Act-2014/Overview

I was told by a guy who used to contract in Ireland, that there's a heavy crack-down on contractors working through their own Ltd's happening in Ireland, since they want you to pay taxes as a normal employee. Something worth considering, since it could also apply to foreign-generated income.

Would that apply to group of contractors?

Re: Ask HN: Where to Register a Company When Being a Traveling Digital Nomad?

#54

Post by walterbell »

jwilliams wrote: post #46

Whilst Singapore comes up a lot as a company HQ - it's often not due to company taxes (which are _rarely_ as straightforward as you pay x%, no matter the domicile). The big draw to Singapore is usually for the individuals - Singapore has no Capital Gains Tax ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_gains_tax#Singapore ). At a personal level, if you're flipping a multi-million dollar business that's a big deal. As other…

Are there precedents where the Singapore company holds IP and licenses that IP to foreign companies which hire and pay employees? Could a Singapore company grant stock options to foreign employees?

Re: Ask HN: Where to Register a Company When Being a Traveling Digital Nomad?

#55

Post by jwilliams »

walterbell wrote: post #54
jwilliams wrote: post #46

Whilst Singapore comes up a lot as a company HQ - it's often not due to company taxes (which are _rarely_ as straightforward as you pay x%, no matter the domicile). The big draw to Singapore is usually for the individuals - Singapore has no Capital Gains Tax ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_gains_tax#Singapore ). At a personal level, if you're flipping a multi-million dollar business that's a big deal. As other…

Are there precedents where the Singapore company holds IP and licenses that IP to foreign companies which hire and pay employees? Could a Singapore company grant stock options to foreign employees?

I don't know specifically wrt to Singapore, but this is a common structure.

It used to be called a "Dutch Sandwich", but now called the Double Irish: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Irish_arrangement

Re: Ask HN: Where to Register a Company When Being a Traveling Digital Nomad?

#56

Post by mrtron »

kermorvan wrote: post #47
jMyles wrote: post #9

I haven't checked on the state of e-Estonia in a few months, but I think they're trying to be the place for this sort of thing? They're rolling out the services later this year I believe. https://e-estonia.com/e-residents/opportunities/

The idea has merit, but it's not quite there yet. For one thing, you will have to physically visit a police department in Estonia in order to get your E-residency card - TWICE. Once to file an application and then it will take up to 14 days for them to perform a background check. After which you will again have to physically appear at a police station in Estonia. In the future this can supposedly be done through Esto…

They are changing the rules so you do not need to physically be there. I believe that is already in place.

Re: Ask HN: Where to Register a Company When Being a Traveling Digital Nomad?

#57

Post by walterbell »

jwilliams wrote: post #55
walterbell wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there precedents where the Singapore company holds IP and licenses that IP to foreign companies which hire and pay employees? Could a Singapore company grant stock options to foreign employees?

I don't know specifically wrt to Singapore, but this is a common structure. It used to be called a "Dutch Sandwich", but now called the Double Irish: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Irish_arrangement

That now appears to be closed to new companies in Ireland.

Re: Ask HN: Where to Register a Company When Being a Traveling Digital Nomad?

#59

Post by qengho »

Panama offers a super easy residence visa to citizens of 48 "friendly" countries. If your primary country of residence is Panama, you don't have to pay taxes on non-Panama-sourced income (as long as your country of citizenship doesn't tax you on your worldwide income as a non-resident). Panama corporations also don't pay taxes on non-Panama-sourced income.

From Panama City it's a 2.5 hour flight to Miami, 5 hours to New York / Toronto, about 7 hours to LA / Vegas, 10 hours to Amsterdam. Copa airlines has its base in Panama city and operates direct flights to many US and South American destinations.

A lot of people in Panama speak English so it's fairly easy to get by even if you don't know much Spanish. I found people in Panama City to be very friendly and helpful. Panama City also has great infrastructure, Internet, roads, apartments..

If you're a citizen of one of the 48 "friendly" countries you can be a legal permanent resident in Panama is a matter of months for under $5000.

And if your profession / business is global and online, you can likely break free of highway-robbery tax rates and the mind-numbing, time-wasting accounting / reporting requirements of your home country by moving to Panama.

Unfortunately for US citizens, they're still on the hook for US taxes even if non-resident in the US. But for citizens of 47 other countries, Panama is just about the #1 easiest and most practical residence option on the planet at the moment.

Search for "Panama Friendly Nations Visa".

Re: Ask HN: Where to Register a Company When Being a Traveling Digital Nomad?

#60

Post by mangeletti »

The answer is not, "um, it depends on X", which usually indicate a lack of understanding of the problem as well as a lack of knowledge about the solution. People, especially tech nerds which tend to have ego issues, need to learn to just say "I don't know", or to simply not answer a question that they don't know the answer to. It doesn't depend on anything. The best place to register a business for international travel is the same as the best place to avoid having to pay taxes on your income, while maintaining impunity. The Cayman Islands, for instance, make for an interesting conversation. The only real problem that you have to be okay with breaking a few laws. For instance, if you are traveling in countries that require you to pay income tax for income earned while in their country, and you are working for an American company of the contractor, etc., technically you need to pay taxes there, but most people in the situation would not. If you are okay with breaking those types of laws, then your best bet is just to find a place that is willing to hide your information, hence the Cayman Islands. Now, the Cayman Islands won't work for everyone, because you have to have a significant investment to found a company there, but you can do this and other places with little or no investment, such a Belize, or any number of tax havens.
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