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I’m Joining Stripe to Work on Atlas

kalzumeus.com

301–310 of 342 posts

Re: I’m Joining Stripe to Work on Atlas

#301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If innovation is motivated by competition, then the government having a monopoly in governmental services means they never need to innovate, unless they receive some competition. Because barriers to emigration are so high, countries don't have to compete with each other for quality of governance, and so it turns out that only the private sector can do it.

If innovation is motivated by competition Your implication is that competition has to be with external agents. It’s perfectly possible to compete with the status quo. The private sector has a profit motive at its core: make more money for shareholders. The public sector also has a profit motive: save more money and be more effective for tax-payers. They’re both examples of efficiency, two sides of the same coin.

I don't think the public sector has the motive you claim they do. I think that in practice, the actual motivation of each department of government on every scale is to draw more funding to their own budget in a massive power struggle for slices of the societal pie. There aren't shareholders in the private sense, but the profit motive is still to grow revenues/power and get them assigned to yourself.

Taxpayers don't want efficient use of funds either. From the point of view of a taxpayer, the most effective use of funds is to have them all benefit yourself. Everyone wants to maximize the piece of the pie that is assigned to them. Politicians use this as an excuse to grow the scope of government, regardless of what side you vote for. As a result, the voting apparatus does not serve to optimize government efficiency.

Re: I’m Joining Stripe to Work on Atlas

#303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If innovation is motivated by competition Your implication is that competition has to be with external agents. It’s perfectly possible to compete with the status quo. The private sector has a profit motive at its core: make more money for shareholders. The public sector also has a profit motive: save more money and be more effective for tax-payers. They’re both examples of efficiency, two sides of the same coin.

I don't think the public sector has the motive you claim they do. I think that in practice, the actual motivation of each department of government on every scale is to draw more funding to their own budget in a massive power struggle for slices of the societal pie. There aren't shareholders in the private sense, but the profit motive is still to grow revenues/power and get them assigned to yourself. Taxpayers don't w…

All I can say is that from within my department, and from a lower-than-senior-civil-servant level, the ground looks very different. It’s not for nothing that we have our design principles[1] that have ‘user needs’ and ‘do less’ as points 1 and 2. We absolutely need to have funding to do that, but specifically at GDS we’re part of the UK Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Group - a primary mission for us is to do more with less on a pan-government scale.

To argue your second point, tax payers want an easy life. If we can cut minutes or hours off your interactions with government year on year then you’ll be happier, regardless of whether your overall burden goes up or down.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/design-principles

Re: I’m Joining Stripe to Work on Atlas

#304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the public sector has the motive you claim they do. I think that in practice, the actual motivation of each department of government on every scale is to draw more funding to their own budget in a massive power struggle for slices of the societal pie. There aren't shareholders in the private sense, but the profit motive is still to grow revenues/power and get them assigned to yourself. Taxpayers don't w…

All I can say is that from within my department, and from a lower-than-senior-civil-servant level, the ground looks very different. It’s not for nothing that we have our design principles[1] that have ‘user needs’ and ‘do less’ as points 1 and 2. We absolutely need to have funding to do that, but specifically at GDS we’re part of the UK Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Group - a primary mission for us is to do…

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Re: I’m Joining Stripe to Work on Atlas

#306

I am enrolling Stripe Atlas and, to me, incorporating in USA will give me access to modern banking services, and platforms, as Stripe, and it seems USA has very lower taxes than Brazil, my country. That's why I am interested. It all seems fascinating, but I am afraid to continue and do the last step of the enrollment. I don't know how is the process to close the company, what the representative agent can do for me, h…

I agree that Brazil has in general high taxes (especially for what you get in return from the government) but don't just assume this is true in every situation.

I'm a gringo "permanently" living in Brazil and from a tax standpoint it was actually better for me to open a Brazilian company. You don't have to pay taxes on dividends you get from Brazilian companies but you do have to pay taxes on dividends from foreign companies. + Depending on your margins opting for the "simples" tax regime may give you lower corporate taxes than a US/EU company

Re: I’m Joining Stripe to Work on Atlas

#307
post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting a business bank account is also trivial and you can do it over the phone. Pretty awesome.

Really? 2.5 years ago still involved going to a bank, signing in blood, and several hours. Most complicated past of the process, would be good to hear it had changed

I started a Ltd a couple of months ago and applied online for a Santander business account, I had my card and account set up within 7 days or so (I was away from home so it could've been quicker). I got a company credit card 2(!) days after applying online to Barclays. No phone calls, no visits to a branch for either.

Re: I’m Joining Stripe to Work on Atlas

#308
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfair comment completely unrelated to Atlas. You better have these questions answered before heading to Atlas.

It is related and there is nothing unfair about it. I'm also not accusing them of anything. They're honest questions which should have relatively straightforward answers.

Thing is, the answers are nowhere near straightforward.

Your first question, about taxes, is particularly complicated. Here are the relevant tax treaties:

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/international-businesses/unit...

While they seek to prevent double taxation (and tax evasion), they are packed with dense legalese full of clauses and subclauses designed to make certain types of income taxable in different places. To navigate that question, you'd need a highly experienced tax accountant/attorney with specific experience in UK/US tax treaties. Moreover, that person would need a strong understanding of what you do, how/where you sell, and how/if/when you plan to pay yourself.

Your second question is even more complicated. First, if you incorporate in a country like the US, your corporation is considered a person in that country and is thus bound by that country's laws. I trust that you did enough research to know that.

Second, recent history has demonstrated that the UK (as a Five Eyes nation) shares intelligence data with the United States. Moreover, recent history has demonstrated that the UK will work at the behest of the US intelligence community. This is governed by years of treaties and high level agreements. Consequently, the first thing you need to wonder is whether your government would just hand everything over, regardless of whether you have a US corporation or not.

Third, if you do incorporate in the US, you would be subject to US law, but US law can generally be fought in a court. The question becomes whether or not you could afford to fight an NSL. Could your business afford a long, highly distracting process where it is you versus a government??

But then, you need to look at yourself. Do you have any secrets that could be used as leverage against you?? If you plan to fight a well funded intelligence agency, you'd need to be prepared for them to fight hard.

I tend to argue that if a well funded intelligence agency truly wants information, they'll get it.

So, while your questions were honest, they were anything but straightforward. And, they aren't actually relevant to Atlas.

Rather, you and a group of experts need to sit down and figure out the costs, potential costs and the benefits of incorporating in the US. If it still makes sense, Atlas is a tool. But Atlas can't help you navigate the complicated relationship between your company, international law, agreements like NATO/other intelligence sharing agreements, EU law and two (possibly three) tax authorities.

And, with all due respect, neither can Hacker News. Every situation is so different that anyone who is qualified to answer those questions wouldn't as they understand how deeply complicated they are.

Re: I’m Joining Stripe to Work on Atlas

#309
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfair comment completely unrelated to Atlas. You better have these questions answered before heading to Atlas.

It is related and there is nothing unfair about it. I'm also not accusing them of anything. They're honest questions which should have relatively straightforward answers.

[deleted]

Re: I’m Joining Stripe to Work on Atlas

#310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are some very different sets of beliefs, practices, and values floating around any craft among people who have the same title. I'll call these "tribes." Tribes are often associated with buzzwords, like "agile." At the highest level of abstraction, practitioners in different tribes do the same job, but the way other tribes do things might be unrecognizable and/or horrifying from your perspective. You want to hir…

Yeah this kind of validates my experiences lately. I recently moved to Europe form Australia, I was a successful tribesman but voluntarily left my tribe because I liked the idea of relocation/traveling. I was awarded an decent paying job in Netherlands but left soon after due to toxic culture which I wanted to protect myself from. I received other offers but non paid well so I tried to find a remote position. I had n…

As an Australian, if you want to get "pedigree", you can work in the USA much more easily than other foreign nationals can -- because of the E3.

The E3 visa is one of the best-kept secrets in the world. It's only granted to Australian citizens. It's why my employers (Pivotal) have around 10 Australians in our NYC office at any given time, because we've actively recruited from Australia ever since the E3 was introduced.

I'm an Australian and I am grateful every day that I am. I grew up in a wonderful country and now I can work for a great company in a vibrant industry in a vibrant city.

Email me (see profile) if you'd like me to pass you into our recruiters. If you want to stay in Sydney, we have an office in Sydney.

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