71–80 of 208 posts
Ireland seems like an obvious one to look into. English language. Simplified relationship with the EU as a market and source of employees. Used to dealing with US paperwork but not going to cause anyone to get the viral US person disease.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've heard lots of people talking about Estonia but can you name any international remote-first startup that became successful and raised money with an Estonian entity? I don't and this makes me somewhat suspicious :)
I don't know of remote-first companies, but I know of many Estonian companies that have raised a lot of money and been incredibly successful. To name a few: - Bolt - Wise (TransferWise) - Pipedrive I have a long history with e-Residency and know many e-Residents (e-Resident since 2015, 3 companies, member of EERICA.ee). Happy to chat about it. Email in bio.
If you want VCs then it's always the US and should always be a Delaware corp. For non-VC funded companies HK is great, allows for tax minimization, minimal headaches, access to international banks and potential access to Chinese market if that is important for your business.
I recently had to consider this and was quite surprised to discover that the US was the best place. Compared to most countries the US has been a tax haven for a long time, but the 2017 tax change meant that in most cases the US would be a significantly cheaper place to recognize revenue.* Also the mechanics of getting the boring things done is significantly easier, as noted by the Germany post cited in your question.…
> Because of the US FATCA law you may have trouble opening a bank account in some countries (smaller entities simply can’t be bothered with the paperwork the US demands on accounts for “US Persons”, a term which has specific meaning). In practice this just means you have to deal with larger banks. You mean opening a bank account personally or for the company? Because for the company I'd simply use Wise or Mercury and…
Wise has been great for managing my personal payments, but I still have personal bank accounts in a couple of countries where I hold property because it just makes things easier there.
I recently had to consider this and was quite surprised to discover that the US was the best place. Compared to most countries the US has been a tax haven for a long time, but the 2017 tax change meant that in most cases the US would be a significantly cheaper place to recognize revenue.* Also the mechanics of getting the boring things done is significantly easier, as noted by the Germany post cited in your question.…
> Because of the US FATCA law you may have trouble opening a bank account in some countries (smaller entities simply can’t be bothered with the paperwork the US demands on accounts for “US Persons”, a term which has specific meaning). In practice this just means you have to deal with larger banks. You mean opening a bank account personally or for the company? Because for the company I'd simply use Wise or Mercury and…
I think getting a German bank to open a business account for a U.S. startup would be a nightmare at best.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Typically low “managing” overheads is an additional perk of the tax havens.
Yes, but besides Cayman I don’t think investors would really be happy to invest in tax havens. Also you normally run into issues with substance requirements, opening bank accounts, bad reputation of the jurisdictions and of course tax authorities that will immediately question and investigate your setup. From doing a lot of research I get that the general recommendation is to avoid tax havens (at least the obvious, s…
It really depends on how you want to grow. If you’re bootstrapping on profits then tax implications can become very important. You can have a subsidiary in ‘non shady’ jurisdictions for any squeamish customers.
I recently had to consider this and was quite surprised to discover that the US was the best place. Compared to most countries the US has been a tax haven for a long time, but the 2017 tax change meant that in most cases the US would be a significantly cheaper place to recognize revenue.* Also the mechanics of getting the boring things done is significantly easier, as noted by the Germany post cited in your question.…
That only counts for companies with operations in the US. My wife is a US citizen, and my bank - a medium-sized Danish bank - did not care, because they don't operate any business in the US, so they do not need to provide any paperwork for her to US authorities.
This is the actual reason why multinationals move headquarters there.
I’ve founded companies in the UK, US and EU. I’d recommend the UK. The cost of a limited company is £12. It’s formed in a day. Use https://www.ukpostbox.com if you need an address. The legal system is well known and entrepreneur friendly. Accountancy and company admin are simple and relaxed. HMRC is supportive. You can pay dividends on a flexible schedule. There’s a very large ecosystem of financial support, innovati…
The UK is still a relative good countries for starting up, just not as good as it used to be.
Based on your description, your goals are predictability and low or outsource-able overhead. For those goals, the US is the clear choice. By far the largest pool of investors and employees are comfortable with US entities as counterparties. Plenty of companies will incorporate, prepare tax returns, and handle other compliance items (unemployment insurance) for relatively small fees. As far as states, if you don't car…
Most US companies will hire remote "inside the USA" but not outside the USA due to potential foreign tax and legal liabilities. While the USA might be good for the reasons you listed, hiring remote full-time employees can be a legal minefield. If every employee is a contractor then that introduces its own legal issues in the USA.