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Why you might not want to incorporate in the USA

thenitai.com

281–290 of 358 posts

Re: Why you might not want to incorporate in the USA

#281
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went to NYC/Philly/NJ last summer.. T-Mobile barely exists out of the city itself, and yeah, speeds are abysmal. $50 for a sim card too... Anecdotally I went to the Swedish countryside in january; where I got 16Mb/s over 3g. (and it was free because: EU roaming is free on my carrier)

What carrier offers free EU roaming?

3 (Hutchinson)

also free 4G with no data caps.. they might be slower than the others but they own their own cell towers and offer the best deals.

Re: Why you might not want to incorporate in the USA

#282

I am an international tax lawyer and this stuff is my day job. Consider this comment an AMA. For smaller companies, the bureaucratic cost of international tax systems is insane. For US citizens abroad ... I will just say that my biggest area of growth is helping people shed their US citizenship and tax paperwork/penalties is the number 1 reason. Anyway. If you are in a position like The One and Only Netai -- or don't…

> AMA I'm a US citizen but am absolutely tired of dealing with IRS paperwork over the course of several businesses; where would you suggest I obtain citizenship (EU preferred).

If you have €650,000 to spare, Malta will sell you an EU citizenship...

If you want to do it without a big pile of capital, the easiest route is probably to get a job offer from a company that will sponsor you as a skilled immigrant, and live/work for enough years to qualify to apply for citizenship (as well as doing whatever else might be required, such as passing a language exam). Sweden is one of the easier countries, with about a 9-year path to citizenship (4 years to permanent residency, plus 5 years to citizenship), no exams. Period can be shortened if you live with a significant other who's a Swedish citizen.

If you want to be self-employed and run your own business, this route is generally much harder, especially if you aren't moving with an already-successful business. Many countries assume by default that "self-employed immigrant" means "doesn't have a job or want to get one" and/or "probably will sell drugs for a living", and treat the category more skeptically. But you can go self-employed once you get permanent residency.

Re: Why you might not want to incorporate in the USA

#283
post #85

So where's the optimal location to setup a no-physical-location-required business? I've heard Hong Kong, Singapore, Delaware...any thoughts?

Mauritius: the best place to do business in all of Africa. Good connectivity, great tax rates, no corporate gains tax, awesome beaches. http://www.investmauritius.com/

Interesting option. However, the "invest mauritius" website isn't even loading for me, which perhaps isn't a good sign for this "good" connectivity...

Re: Why you might not want to incorporate in the USA

#284
post #113
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I really don't understand this fetishization of the US for business. The USA is a huge market. > If you want to be sued into utter oblivion and live on the streets with a nonexistent social safety net I guess it's all right. Oh come on. This is ridiculous even for hyperbole.

There's some truth to it. Patent trolls are doing alot of the former (you don't hear from most of their victims, by design), and the latter is undisputably true unless you're over the age when social security payments and medicare coverage kick in.

It's true that the US ranks fairly low for social safety net, but it's incorrect to claim that this implies that you will be living on the street.

Re: Why you might not want to incorporate in the USA

#285
post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the latter is undisputably true unless you're over the age Medicaid and unemployment do not depend on age. ACA provides healthcare insurance subsidies based on income, not age. SNAP and other programs exist as well. The US safety net is perhaps inadequate, but not "undisputably" "nonexistent".

Did you see the thread about the 35yo dying of cancer currently ongoing.

Cancer kills incredibly rich people who have virtually unlimited resources.

Re: Why you might not want to incorporate in the USA

#286
post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Capital. Capital. Capital. The US has investors, angels and funds that are willing to take chances and put money into startups. You simply don't have that here in Europe.

Exactly, one of the (major or even only?) reason to be in the US.

What about the geography? Obviously, it's subjective, and I wouldn't claim that the USA has the best geography in the world, but it's pretty freaking varied and awesome if you like the outdoors.

Re: Why you might not want to incorporate in the USA

#287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi, I just wanted to know if all companies not in the US have to go through the same process? For example, if I owned a company in Canada and wanted to incorporate in the US would I face the same difficulties as the company in the blog post?

The answer is yes. You will face some variation on the problems that OP described in his post. The level of paperwork and pain you will face depends on (1) where you are "doing business" (and that is a nuanced phrase); (2) what type of business you are doing; and (3) the humans who are doing the work -- U.S. residents or nonresidents. The problems arise from the multiple government entities that have the ability to i…

Thanks, your response really helped me understand taxation in the US.

Re: Why you might not want to incorporate in the USA

#288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, it is nowhere near so simple in the US, and they have no regard for expats. The US treats its expats worse than any other country in the world. The forms are atrocious. And I could go on about being taxed heavily for services I don't use. As a U.S. expat, I haven't noticed this. The forms aren't as easy as the Danish forms (which are fully automatic and done for you), but not too complex in my situatio…

You are one of the lucky few. :-) Be sure not to invest your savings in mutual funds. Form 8621. Be sure to avoid the local equivalent of an IRA if you want to do retirement savings. The IRS might not think it is a tax-free pension. And they might think that employer contributions are taxable income to you. Don't own stock in a foreign corporation. Don't become an officer with signature power over the corporation's b…

Ah yeah that's true, I could see it being a bigger issue even as a regular salaried employee if I had really moved a lot of stuff to Denmark. As more of an expat than a committed immigrant, I have all my financial stuff in the U.S. still: I contribute to an American Roth IRA, my mutual funds are American ones held with a U.S. brokerage, etc. So all I really do financially in Denmark is pull a salary.

Come to think of it, violating Danish tax law is probably the biggest likely issue as a result. E.g. income in the Roth IRA doesn't generate 1099s, because it's not a taxable account. But is that taxable income to a Danish resident? Maybe!

Re: Why you might not want to incorporate in the USA

#289

I am an international tax lawyer and this stuff is my day job. Consider this comment an AMA. For smaller companies, the bureaucratic cost of international tax systems is insane. For US citizens abroad ... I will just say that my biggest area of growth is helping people shed their US citizenship and tax paperwork/penalties is the number 1 reason. Anyway. If you are in a position like The One and Only Netai -- or don't…

If I'm in the US and I want to start a corporation, would it be wiser to incorporate in another country?

Would this invite additional scrutiny from the IRS or other governmental institutions?

Re: Why you might not want to incorporate in the USA

#290
Riiiight. Because you can do the same in the European Union and get less paperwork, in one language? How do you comply with Spanish and Italian employment requirements, by registering and filing paperwork with Danish employment authorities, in Danish? That's hogwash.
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