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Ask HN: Where should I incoporate my business

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81–90 of 97 posts

Re: Ask HN: Where should I incoporate my business

#81
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I agree in spirit, there are only a few countries in the world where I'd be comfortable paying taxes and trust that the money won't be embezzled: Basically the Nordics and Switzerland. Maybe also Germany.

Why do you need to be comfortable that it won't be embezzled? All systems have inefficiencies. Is 10% of money wasted due to duplicated bureaucracy different impact than embezzlement? Do you hold charities to the same standard? I'd rather pay tax and have 50% of it be used inefficiently and have theoretical influence in how it's spent

How do you like 50% used for war expenses, torturing political prisoners, purchasing palaces?

Re: Ask HN: Where should I incoporate my business

#82

I strongly advise against incorporating in the US, if you never plan to live in the US. Given you're in Thailand, both Thailand and Singapore are fine; the difference is that a Singaporean company would be seen favorably by pretty much any other company or investors in the world; a Thai company is simply less seen by others, and therefore it might raise eyebrows. You can check out Sleek.sg [0], they help you incorpor…

> I strongly advise against incorporating in the US, if you never plan to live in the US.

Why?

Re: Ask HN: Where should I incoporate my business

#83
post #43
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

License cost is about ~4k per year Total initial costs could be about 10-15k Yes I agree those fees are actually a hidden tax, but it totally depends on your revenue, at some point you can save a lot on corporate and personal taxes.

Don't you still have to pay taxes in your country of citizenship?

Tax based on citizenship is a concept unique to the United States and one African country. It is unheard of in the rest of the world’s tax systems.

Re: Ask HN: Where should I incoporate my business

#84
post #2

If you're living in Thailand, how about Singapore? Corporate tax at 17%. Personal tax capped at 22%. Incorporation cost seems quite cheap, but you might want to ask them directly. They're a startup launchpad for a good reason. Plenty of American and Asian investors & acquirers. The latter is more valuable now as American investors struggle with the economy. Also really good finance infrastructure. Stripe has trouble…

Why Singapore and not, say, Wyoming that has no corporate tax. Personal tax isn't paid if you're not tax resident, and OP seems to be resident in Thailand so will have to follow relevant laws there. If ASEAN free trade's of benefit, perhaps. Or if going for a Singapore ID card then having a profitable business might be worth it. Or access to SE Asia finance. Outside these, Wyoming!

Not needing to pay any taxes seems too good to be true. What's the catch?

Re: Ask HN: Where should I incoporate my business

#85

Taxes pay for society: education, healthcare, infrastructure, defence, culture. You benefit from these, and expect to benefit in the future from them (e.g. expecting to employ someone with a good education). You should pay your share.

The poster is presumably paying tax in Thailand and the United States.

Re: Ask HN: Where should I incoporate my business

#86
SG is good for many reasons... taxes, treatment of intellectual property, development grants, sound banking system, politically stable, and a legal system based on English common law (usually something people want to see in contracts).

Setting up a company is a quick process HOWEVER getting the business to a state where you can transact legally may take a while if you need special licenses.

Also, EDB in Singapore can provide quite a bit of support for SG companies. EDB can set up meetings in foreign countries for you to help drum up business.

A lot of Brits I met in SG also had BVI companies.

Re: Ask HN: Where should I incoporate my business

#87

Thailand didn't used to have CFC laws, but now they do, so you need to talk to a local Thai accountant. Most countries will tax foreign companies that are owned by tax residents in some form -- that's why you can't just run a Belize company when you live in the UK as a run around UK corporation tax. In short: MOST PEOPLE CAN'T (LEGALLY) SAVE MONEY BY INCORPORATING IN A COUNTRY OTHER THAN THE ONE THEY'RE TAX RESIDENT…

Where do you see Thailand has CFC laws? I dont think this is true.

Re: Ask HN: Where should I incoporate my business

#88

Thailand didn't used to have CFC laws, but now they do, so you need to talk to a local Thai accountant. Most countries will tax foreign companies that are owned by tax residents in some form -- that's why you can't just run a Belize company when you live in the UK as a run around UK corporation tax. In short: MOST PEOPLE CAN'T (LEGALLY) SAVE MONEY BY INCORPORATING IN A COUNTRY OTHER THAN THE ONE THEY'RE TAX RESIDENT…

Where do you see Thailand has CFC laws? I dont think this is true.

Guess I’m thinking of the 2018 rules, and how the new Arms Length provisions might affect a closely held company. Looking further though, you’re right, technically no CFC laws at this point

Re: Ask HN: Where should I incoporate my business

#89
try llp(same as llc in usa) but in uk. it would have same benefits as us based llc. It is relatively quick and cheaper to maintain. Moreover until u reach certain threshold , you are lightly regulated. It has good reputation as well and stripe etc. are available for uk biz.

Also note that in USA, you will not be able to deduct software salary or for that mtter any R&D expense as revenue in same year so consider it as well.

Re: Ask HN: Where should I incoporate my business

#90
post #61

I'm surprised no-one's mentioned Estonia so far. I looked into it a while back, and it all seemed very easy to set up. You just needed to get an e-Resident ID (which was pretty simple) and there were cheap local companies to handle all the paperwork for you. Corporation tax was low, and importantly was only charged if you paid dividends: profits retained for future investment were not taxed. Perhaps I misunderstood t…

Couple of years old, but some reasons not to incorporate in Estonia: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16752054

> Couple of years old . . .

Almost six years old.

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