Its cheaper because when you hire lawyers they are more familiar and things have already been sorted out mostly. If you're not dealing with lots of $$$ then you don't need Delaware.
Is Delaware the cheapest place to incorporate?
31–40 of 130 posts
Re: Is Delaware the cheapest place to incorporate?
#32There are many Open Source Software foundations that specialize in stewarding open source intellectual property and also open governance. Linux Foundation, Apache Software Foundation, [...]
Very few software licenses accept liability, including open source software licenses. Is that conscionable? Service Level Agreements (99% uptime and ZenDesk email-in customer support or better etc) cost money.
E.g. LegalZoom (no affiliation) has affiliate attorneys in many states, including Delaware.
It may or may not be common for open source software projects to register their trademark and/or DBA (Doing Business As) in each state: of operation, of labor law applicability (especially if there are remote workers).
GitHub (now Microsoft owned) supports FUNDING.yml files to display sponsor buttons for projects: https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/managing-your-reposi...
"Sponsors is expanding" (2023-10) https://github.blog/2023-10-03-sponsors-is-expanding/ :
> GitHub Sponsors now supports 103 regions!
E.g. WebMonetization.org supports the W3C Interledger spec (ILP Protocol), which can connect traditional and digital asset ledgers. GitHub supports a number of ~payments/donations providers but not yet any w/ Interledger FWICS?
> Did you know? We recently launched the ability for self-serve enterprise customers to allow member organizations to easily create sponsorships. Today, more than nine in 10 companies use open source software in at least some capacity. Knowing this, we enhanced our invoice process for organizations, making it easier for organizations to sign up and request invoicing as a payment method for sponsorships.
> Additionally, we are making it easier for self-serve enterprise customers to grant their member organization permission to create sponsorships
From the GH Sponsors FAQ re a Matching Fund https://github.blog/2019-06-12-faq-with-the-github-sponsors-... :
> Can’t people just steal money from the matching fund?: We have a rigorous vetting process for the sponsored developers who receive the match. If you happened to see the application form at github.com/sponsors, you’ll notice we ask a lot of questions that support this process. We’re also introducing more measures—including an extensive identity verification and antifraud program in partnership with Stripe—as we grow the program this summer.
Re: Is Delaware the cheapest place to incorporate?
#33You may want to start a Delaware C-Corp if others are investing money. That is the standard. But it is far from the cheapest way to "start a company" in the United States. Usually, it is easiest to start a "limited liability company." Smaller states compete for the lowest LLC cost. For example, Arizona, Mississippi and Missouri all charge $50 for an LLC, with no recurring fees. Kentucky charges $40, but requires a $1…
Listen to this guy. "The business will be mostly open source and likely to have low to no revenue." No revenue would be interesting for a UK company. Just fill a dormant status. Delaware is not a bad option. "What is the recommendation for a company to manage an open source project?" Start without a company? Investments (Domain, Server) could also be tax deductible from your current income. https://incorp.com/ is gen…
> No revenue would be interesting for a UK company.
Considering atrocious taxes and a broken hmrc i would not advice anyone to register a uk company.
Re: Is Delaware the cheapest place to incorporate?
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
Listen to this guy. "The business will be mostly open source and likely to have low to no revenue." No revenue would be interesting for a UK company. Just fill a dormant status. Delaware is not a bad option. "What is the recommendation for a company to manage an open source project?" Start without a company? Investments (Domain, Server) could also be tax deductible from your current income. https://incorp.com/ is gen…
> No revenue would be interesting for a UK company. Considering atrocious taxes and a broken hmrc i would not advice anyone to register a uk company.
You must be obviously a British citizen.
Please be advises, compared to the rest of the core EU your taxes are pretty decent (lets not talk about HU, BG etc.)
And what most angel-sax people are not aware of: Everybody can open a company in the UK or US with a few mouse clicks. Try this in some other EU countries :-) (e.g. Germany).
And as a non UK/US resident, HMRC is not realy relevant to you.
Re: Is Delaware the cheapest place to incorporate?
#35almost nobody needs Delaware the reality is that there are 49 other states, half a dozen territories, and hundreds of semi-autonomous reservations a handful of which are also known to have their incorporation statutes they haven't all stayed still over the past 30 years while Delaware’s marketing engine keeps going, they compete directly anybody with reading comprehension can find one more favorable and cheaper than…
You are not wrong, but not necessarily right either. Delaware is used so commonly for this that they have a lot more details worked out where you may need a court trial for something weird. If anything goes wrong a lot more lawyers will know how Delaware laws work. There will be a lot more services that can do little things for you. You will find accountants who know Delaware rules (if you live in a state you will find accountants who know that state's rules, but good luck finding one who knows the rules for a different state - unless that state is Delaware).
Is the above worth the costs? I cannot answer that. There are many it depends. however everyone should be aware that Delaware provides a lot of value for the money, and a lot of that is hidden second order things. Those things may or may not matter.
Re: Is Delaware the cheapest place to incorporate?
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
> No revenue would be interesting for a UK company. Considering atrocious taxes and a broken hmrc i would not advice anyone to register a uk company.
You must be obviously a British citizen. Please be advises, compared to the rest of the core EU your taxes are pretty decent (lets not talk about HU, BG etc.) And what most angel-sax people are not aware of: Everybody can open a company in the UK or US with a few mouse clicks. Try this in some other EU countries :-) (e.g. Germany). And as a non UK/US resident, HMRC is not realy relevant to you.
The issue is with paying high taxes and getting services of a quality comparable to hu, bg and so on. Things are really that bad in the UK (albeit more friendly and relaxed). You can indeed create a company in a few clicks, but the system has so many small issues here and there that it becomes frustrating real fast.
Post brexit uk is seriously under skilled (the media calls it under staffed, but we all know whats really happening).
Re: Is Delaware the cheapest place to incorporate?
#37almost nobody needs Delaware the reality is that there are 49 other states, half a dozen territories, and hundreds of semi-autonomous reservations a handful of which are also known to have their incorporation statutes they haven't all stayed still over the past 30 years while Delaware’s marketing engine keeps going, they compete directly anybody with reading comprehension can find one more favorable and cheaper than…
> I personally find Wyoming to be better faster and cheaper than (...) I hear that some states (or all?) require you to have someone physically in the state (and naturally some companies offer this as a service, and charge). Is that right? or are there some states without this requirement?
Most do, but this often means a physical address. In Delaware there are companies that will provide you a physical address and forward any mail you get to that address to wherever you want to get mail. While this can be done in other states, this is much less common and so if you look for someone you may discover everyone refuses because they assume you are trying to commit fraud (it isn't fraud, but if you don't worry about that you need to readjust your moral)
Re: Is Delaware the cheapest place to incorporate?
#38I'm an attorney.
Delaware is definitely not the cheapest or even in contention for the cheapest.
Still, if you want to raise capital, the correct answer is DE C Corp. If you're not looking for external funding, any state will do. If you care about anonymity, do Nevada or Wyoming. If you don't care about anonymity, Colorado is actually a very good choice. Very simple, intuitive online filing system that accepts filings instantaneously. Filing fees as cheap as anywhere in the country. No need for an attorney (or LegalZoom or some other random service) unless you just don't feel like dealing with it.
Costs will likely be $50 to file, Registered Agent (as cheap as $30 per annum), and $10 periodic report fee annually every year you're in business. Colorado is even nice enough to send plenty of reminders on when to file that report if you give them an email address.
Since you're a US citizen, my instinct would be LLC taxed as an S corp. But confirm with your accountant!
Good luck!
Re: Is Delaware the cheapest place to incorporate?
#39I'm an attorney. Delaware is definitely not the cheapest or even in contention for the cheapest. Still, if you want to raise capital, the correct answer is DE C Corp. If you're not looking for external funding, any state will do. If you care about anonymity, do Nevada or Wyoming. If you don't care about anonymity, Colorado is actually a very good choice. Very simple, intuitive online filing system that accepts filing…
Why is the correct answer a DE C Corp if you're looking to raise?
Re: Is Delaware the cheapest place to incorporate?
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
You must be obviously a British citizen. Please be advises, compared to the rest of the core EU your taxes are pretty decent (lets not talk about HU, BG etc.) And what most angel-sax people are not aware of: Everybody can open a company in the UK or US with a few mouse clicks. Try this in some other EU countries :-) (e.g. Germany). And as a non UK/US resident, HMRC is not realy relevant to you.
The issue is with paying high taxes and getting services of a quality comparable to hu, bg and so on. Things are really that bad in the UK (albeit more friendly and relaxed). You can indeed create a company in a few clicks, but the system has so many small issues here and there that it becomes frustrating real fast. Post brexit uk is seriously under skilled (the media calls it under staffed, but we all know whats rea…
Well, in HU and BG you pay around 10% company taxes.
HU has low income taxes too but for a big salary, social security, retirement payments etc. is also pretty high.
"but the system has so many small issues here"
You can always abandon a company. Especially as a foreigner and online? Forget about it.
I have no experience with the HMRC and I am sure every British person hopes for a better service. But please keep in mind that AFAIK life expectancy is still higher than in the US.