This is a huge game changer.
Agreed!
Stripe Atlas
391–400 of 402 posts
Re: Stripe Atlas
#392Earlier quoted context omitted.
Atlas is not directed at fin-tech companies. SVB is more startup-friendly than WF.
reviseddamage: You were questioning why Atlas went with SVB and noted that SVB doesn't bank fin-tech in general. There's no reason Stripe's selection of a payfac provider should (strongly) influence it's selection of a corporate/startup banking bizdev partner. Atlas is linking companies up to regular corporate banking services.
That is also not what I was implying. Banking shell companies is a very high risk activity frowned upon by the OCC as most of the time they are mismanaged. Only larger banks have the flexibility and the bandwidth, and the contingency to manage them. It would seem only likely the the bank that is already banking Stripe, would be the likely one to also bank the shell co's that would be processing through Stripe. Easier on the bank to have oversight and line of sight of the business activities. SVB on the other hand without having other oversight on Stripe, really no vested interest in Stripe's success, and much smaller bandwidth and risk management resources is the banking partner for the shell co's, that is strange, which is what I noted. It is not a normal and natural event, hence my original question.
Re: Stripe Atlas
#393[deleted]
Re: Stripe Atlas
#394Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm still a little confused on whether or not this is better than incorporating in your own country. Is this more geared to accelerator startups who are thinking of moving to the US? Certainly US incorporation is not required (or even all that helpful?) in establishing a US presence?
Great question! I've learned a lot about this as I've gotten to hear from entrepreneurs that tried to setup in their own country, but ultimately came to the US. The video on our site gives some glimpse into the problems these entrepreneurs run into: https://stripe.com/atlas#stories The gist is that certain countries have a better business and banking infrastructure than others for entrepreneurs looking to establish a…
Are these first invites directed only to innovative startups, or web development agencies, with long term US customers, can apply now too?
Re: Stripe Atlas
#395Earlier quoted context omitted.
This only really works for people that aren't already setup as a company though. You can't just open a new company in another country and expect to start moving your revenue to it, it just doesn't work like that. For instance, I'm registered in the UK and would have a tough time telling HMRC 'oh that's my US company, nothing to do with you'. It's a completely different problem if you already run a business and want t…
>You can't just open a new company in another country and expect to start moving your revenue to it, it just doesn't work like that. It kind of does work like that? Granted, it depends on how you structure it. I confess I'm not privy to how taxes work in the UK, and that further I'm not an accountant but: I too am responsible for a US and non US corp. You may have to declare your US corp as an asset in the UK, for al…
Nope, nope, nope.
If it was just about registering a company somewhere else and your home tax authorities had no jurisdiction, every company in the world, small or big would be incorporated in tax havens like the British Virgin Islands only.
If a company is controlled from the UK, you can bet your bottom dollar that the UK tax authorities have jurisdiction. Only a very small minority, mostly less well-developed countries allow you to incorporate elsewhere without having to pay tax and report where you are.
Corporate tax residence internationally tends not to be a matter of where a company is registered, but from where it is effectively controlled. This is a matter of fact, not a matter of paperwork, so you can't get around it by just appointing a buddy to sign papers who lives in the right country.
Not only that, incorporating elsewhere opens a world of complexity, pain and double taxation. A simple example: A US LLC with more than one owner is usually taxed as a partnership - eg, US tax is due at individual marginal rates. The UK on the other hand treats US LLCs as "opaque", which means they'd want to tax it as a corporation (there are legal cases to this fact). So a UK resident LLC owner could end up having to pay up to 39.6% tax in the US, then 20% AGAIN on the very same income in the UK, before having extracted a single cent from the company. Then if they extract money from it, there's an additional up to 38.1% dividend tax, for a whopping 90% marginal tax rate.
Now, double taxation treaties _may_ come to the rescue, but I wouldn't bet on it being without a fight through the courts to prove they apply.
Re: Stripe Atlas
#396Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm in Colorado and it costs only $50 to file for an LLC online. Where is it costing you $250?
I'm envious. Here in CA, while it only costs $20 to form an LLC, there is an $800 annual tax thereafter. Delaware has a $300 annual tax on LLCs.
Wyoming's yearly fee is $52.
Re: Stripe Atlas
#397I just checked the prohibited businesses https://stripe.com/de/prohibited-businesses I am fine with most of them being prohibited but at some points it's getting quite restricted: 1. Virtual currency that can be monetized, re-sold or converted to physical or digital products or services or otherwise exit the virtual world 4. Sexually-oriented or pornographic products or services 9. Engaging in deceptive marketing pra…
Thanks for posting this. I am curious about the first item:
1. Virtual currency that can be monetized, re-sold or converted to physical or digital products or services or otherwise exit the virtual world
Would this include a digital service for which the user might pre-pay? I.e., the service charges $1 every time one uses it, but for convenience's sake one can pre-pay $20. If one decides not to use the service anymore, one can request and receive an immediate refund.
I can see why a payment provider might wish to prevent such an arrangement, but it isn't clear to me that this rule does prevent it.
Re: Stripe Atlas
#398Earlier quoted context omitted.
>You can't just open a new company in another country and expect to start moving your revenue to it, it just doesn't work like that. It kind of does work like that? Granted, it depends on how you structure it. I confess I'm not privy to how taxes work in the UK, and that further I'm not an accountant but: I too am responsible for a US and non US corp. You may have to declare your US corp as an asset in the UK, for al…
Nope, nope, nope. If it was just about registering a company somewhere else and your home tax authorities had no jurisdiction, every company in the world, small or big would be incorporated in tax havens like the British Virgin Islands only. If a company is controlled from the UK, you can bet your bottom dollar that the UK tax authorities have jurisdiction. Only a very small minority, mostly less well-developed count…
Yeah, LLCs don't appear to be the best method unless you can prove to the gov't how things were taxed (or not). That said, I'm not entirely sure things get that bad. First off, it's not a 90% rate, by those (worst case) numbers, it's a 70.08% rate. Still absolutely terrible, but... I'd take advantage of any advice you can find, both on local and US perspectives before committing to any course of action involving this product. Particularly looking forward to additional blog posts and resources on this, along with stories of best practices that are country-specific :)
Re: Stripe Atlas
#399If Atlas is implemented as promised (probably a safe assumption given the Stripe team), it will afford founders throughout the world a pain-free entry point into the world's most advanced economy, opening the way for key financing, for seamless payments processing, for ease of banking transactions to get people paid and to move funds easily, and for access to advice and guidance from people in the know to address a w…
the world's most advanced economy
Come on, we can do without the rah-rah. US banking and law is extremely backward. Everything I can do in the US, I can do here in China, and we have massive mobile payment penetration. Most of Europe is far more advanced. Even East Timor has the IBAN. You guys are still stuck with bank backend systems mailing "checks", and multi-day ACH. The only reason the rest of us find it hard to get payments is because the credit card monopoly is tantamount to a global protectionist racket and is supported as such by US politics for intelligence purposes, just as SWIFT is.
Re: Stripe Atlas
#400What a clever customer acquisition hack from Stripe by basic document workflow automation: customers pay themselves to get in and become clients(hence, CAC is really small if any), and later pay for every single transaction to Stripe. Brilliant.