Ask HN: Starting Your Own LLC?

From Stripe’s perspective (as well as your business’s), wouldn’t this application be from a different business though the owner/proprietor is the same?

EDIT: spelling

Here in NY, piercing the corporate veil is a bit easier than in other states. More importantly, if someone attempts to go down that road, you have to spend the time and resources ($$$) to defend your position. In general you're best off just starting in the strongest possible position to start with, and usually that means splitting the decision making responsibility. If you want to avoid all that hassle, just go the SP route.

In my original comment I made the mistake of saying "any" instead of "all"

- Should a subsidiary of a foreign company be an LLC or C Corp? I've read https://stripe.com/atlas/guides/llc-vs-c-corp and if I were to own the company directly, I certainly would go for a C Corp to avoid having to report the company's taxes on my personal U.S. tax returns. But it's not clear to me whether it's better for a subsidiary to be an LLC or C Corp. (I'm leaning towards C Corp, but don't want to miss out on any benefits of having the subsidiary be an LLC.)

- Can I transfer 100% of my U.S. subsidiary's revenue to the foreign parent company, and write off the entirety of that amount as a business expense? So, my U.S. subsidiary's income would be zero, with everything that was repatriated to the parent company subtracted as a fully deductible business expense. Is this okay under U.S. tax law? Or would this be considered tax evasion? (Would the U.S. company even have to file a state or federal income tax return, since its income after business expense deductions is zero?)

(Note: The sole reason I want a U.S. company via Stripe Atlas is because Stripe is the best payment gateway out there. It makes receiving money from customers a lot easier, which is to put lightly, quite important.)

- If I directly own a C Corp, will I ever have to report anything connected to it on my personal U.S. tax returns? (I assume with a subsidiary I never would have to.) Also, will Stripe ask me to disclose my U.S. Social Security number, or would a foreign passport be sufficient? And, does Stripe Atlas transmit any data on company ownership to the federal government? Since temporary work/other visa holders are prohibited from running a startup on the side, there can't be anything (that's discoverable by the Dept of Homeland Security) tying me to the U.S. company. (It's just that people have been deported for selling apps, receiving ad revenue, among other things: https://www.murthy.com/2014/01/28/home-based-businesses-inad...)

- How does succession for intellectual property work for companies? If the company is shut down, can I designate myself as the "inheritor"/beneficiary of all the property that the company held prior to its dissolution?

- Can I convert a subsidiary into a normal company that is directly owned by me? There is a high probability that I will dissolve the foreign parent company once I get U.S. permanent residency (but that could take a few years).

- Do I need to use the Delaware registered agent that Stripe Atlas offers its customers for $100/year? (I want to use the one offered by VirtualPostMail instead: https://www.virtualpostmail.com/services/registered-agent)

Finally, patio11, is the email address info at stripe dot com the best email to reach out for further questions such as these?

> is the email address info at stripe dot com the best email to reach out for further questions such as these?

I do not work for Stripe, never have, but I can state with near-certainty that the answer to this question is "absolutely not."

Stripe are not going to give you advice on how to violate U.S. immigration law and not get caught. If you are living in the U.S. on a visa that does not allow employment beyond the terms of your visa, you are asking Stripe to give you advice on how to break the law and there's zero chance that any business--especially one so deep into financial services like Stripe are--will be OK with doing that.

If you have to ask questions with a caveat like this:

> there can't be anything (that's discoverable by the Dept of Homeland Security) tying me to the U.S. company.

then you are playing with fire, particularly under this administration, running the risk of being deported and receiving a 10-year ban on reentry at all (to say nothing of destroying your chances at ever getting a work permit again) and I strongly suggest you reconsider what it is you are considering doing.