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Ask HN: What is the best jurisdiction for internationally distributed teams?

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Re: Ask HN: What is the best jurisdiction for internationally distributed teams?

#41

Post by [deleted] »

ageitgey wrote: post #37
SkyAndSand wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am actually not trying to optimize for taxes but rather for low overhead and not spending too much time managing the company but rather building a great product.

In my experience, things aren't that simple. For example, if you start a company in Country A but you are the main decision maker and live in Country B, then Country B may try to claim primary taxation of the company based on the fact that they consider the company being 'effectively run' from inside their borders despite your incorporation. And you aren't going to read about this kind of stuff on forums because it i…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What is the best jurisdiction for internationally distributed teams?

#42

Post by lmeyerov »

SkyAndSand wrote: post #30
lmeyerov wrote: post #27

What I keep finding non obvious is equity. And especially ideally keeping US side a Delaware C. How to issue international options and shares?

Good point, added that to the list of requirements in the original post. I am asking myself the same question.

Also: hiring (PEO?) & firing (at-will).

We do global remote contractors for those reasons + unclear equity, but would like to do more. Per-state US registrations / benefits / payroll are getting easy enough so minor overhead, equity is clear, and all states at-will. But getting that international is unclear.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best jurisdiction for internationally distributed teams?

#44

Post by TedDoesntTalk »

bombcar wrote: post #5

You’re likely going to have to establish “business entities” in each county - but if you’re working with VC/other firms I’d say defaulting to US - California would be the most known.

This is terrible advice. All of it, not just the California part.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best jurisdiction for internationally distributed teams?

#45

Post by cjbgkagh »

SkyAndSand wrote: post #3
oxff wrote: post #2

Tax shelters would be my initial guess.

I should clarify that the goal is not tax optimization but rather being able to focus on getting product market fit instead of spending time "managing" the company.

Typically low “managing” overheads is an additional perk of the tax havens.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best jurisdiction for internationally distributed teams?

#46

Post by oxff »

cjbgkagh wrote: post #45
SkyAndSand wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I should clarify that the goal is not tax optimization but rather being able to focus on getting product market fit instead of spending time "managing" the company.

Typically low “managing” overheads is an additional perk of the tax havens.

This is what I had in mind too.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best jurisdiction for internationally distributed teams?

#47

Post by thrill »

There's a reason the Cayman Islands have two-thirds of the world's hedge funds incorporated there. It has a long and stable financial history and has stated that any structural financial changes will be grandfathered where legally possible. That sort of stability is worth the $100/month it takes to keep an international business there.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best jurisdiction for internationally distributed teams?

#48

Post by SkyAndSand »

thrill wrote: post #47

There's a reason the Cayman Islands have two-thirds of the world's hedge funds incorporated there. It has a long and stable financial history and has stated that any structural financial changes will be grandfathered where legally possible. That sort of stability is worth the $100/month it takes to keep an international business there.

I see your point, but do you actually know any big, international startups that are incorporated there? I only know if Brave (the browser).

Re: Ask HN: What is the best jurisdiction for internationally distributed teams?

#49

Post by nine_k »

ageitgey wrote: post #37
SkyAndSand wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am actually not trying to optimize for taxes but rather for low overhead and not spending too much time managing the company but rather building a great product.

In my experience, things aren't that simple. For example, if you start a company in Country A but you are the main decision maker and live in Country B, then Country B may try to claim primary taxation of the company based on the fact that they consider the company being 'effectively run' from inside their borders despite your incorporation. And you aren't going to read about this kind of stuff on forums because it i…

As the post states, the idea is to hire / contract a number of people around the world. I don't think it would be easy to argue that that the company effectively operates from country A if most of the work is done by people in countries B..Z.

IANAL, of course.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best jurisdiction for internationally distributed teams?

#50

Post by runnerup »

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #39
gumby wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Delaware tax is pretty low. Stick to Delaware as it’s corporate law is well known to everyone. The state of incorporation has nothing to do with where you might operate. Keep it simple. Note that I am part of an LLP that a group of us use for investing and consulting projects and it’s a Wyoming corporation with company office in Kentucky and no legal presence in California. These kinds of specialized entities are…

There’s nothing specialized about incorporating in Wyoming. And it takes minutes without a lawyer. The amount of paperwork is ridiculously low compared to Delaware. Last I recall Delaware has a minimum $500/year registration fee, more depending on outstanding shares. Not Wyoming.

You'll also need to consider "alien entity" fees/taxes if you want your "Delaware" corporation to operate in another state, e.g. Texas.
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