Do you really need for the legal process to be completed before invoicing? In France you can do it as soon as you started the process.
At least for reverse charge you'll need a VAT ID.
Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
371–380 of 789 posts
Re: Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
#372Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think this is a false dichotomy. Consumer return policies, customer service, etc. tend to be much better in the US than in the EU. I would characterize it rather that the US is pro-business and pro-consumer, but somewhat anti-average worker.
> Consumer return policies, customer service, etc. tend to be much better in the US than in the EU. Maybe the ones voluntarily offered by companies, but not the legal ones.
Not sure if that matters much. Only the actual end result does.
The better policies given by US companies is also likely driven by competition, so by definition they wouldn't be something that a government regulation could accomplish (other than to incentivize more competition.)
Re: Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
#373Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think this is a false dichotomy. Consumer return policies, customer service, etc. tend to be much better in the US than in the EU. I would characterize it rather that the US is pro-business and pro-consumer, but somewhat anti-average worker.
Is that so? In Germany for example, you have a legal right to return anything you purchased via a remote means of communication - so e.g., the internet, or a phone call - free of charge, within two weeks, and it must be simple to do so; if a vendor tries to obfuscate how to cancel a purchase contract, you can simply write them an email.
yeah most US companies have return policies of 30 days or more, no questions asked.
Re: Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
#374The saddest thing is that bureaucracy will stay, grow and flourish until the point of breakdown, when the system is not able to pay bureaucrats their salaries. Or maybe even until they can't physically get to work (read with accent: "that I need to do even if I don't get paid")
At least on this specific issue, the EU is trying to simplify things by introducing "EU Inc" as a new corporate form. But it'll take several years more to arrive.
Re: Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
#375Earlier quoted context omitted.
You probably would've needed to get an address there somehow, yes. There's services that do that for you, the non-shady ones being provided by lawyers and notaries. [ed.: a tiny office in Leipzig is pretty cheap too, but you'd need to ensure mail doesn't pile up there unchecked.] Unfortunately I'm not joking about this entire thing. Berlin's underfunded, overstressed bureaucracy is to be avoided like the plague. [ed.…
You need to demonstrate real substance (such as actually managing/working from there e.g in your case Leipzig ) . If you can't prove real substance they will just shift it back to berlin and you could be also held liable for tax evasion (if there is a lower gewerbehebel )
It's perfectly fine if they - or you - shift it back to Berlin… after you're done with all the initial setup.
But also, yes, this is one of the reasons you can hire lawyer's offices to do this, they know how to spin it such that they're regarded as administrating the company in their location (which is arguably true at that point).
And just to note, there's the concept of "field offices" (Betriebsstätte) which would need to be set up. That does still involve Berlin bureaucracy, but only for a Gewerbeanmeldung.
(Really: ask a lawyer. I hope nobody is taking legal advice from a HN thread.)
Re: Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
#376[dead]
Re: Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
#377Start a limited liability company in Latvia or Estonia. It will take you 1 business day, you can do it remotely, and, because of EU laws, you can do business everywhere in EU. Basically nothing you can do with Gmbh that you cannot do with Latvian or Estonian equivalent https://www.vid.gov.lv/en/first-steps-entrepreneurs
The tax office can decide that the company is, in fact, a German company if the founder lives and operates in Germany. Now the company paperwork has to be done in two countries. I don't know what the tax implications are.
Applies to all EU countries btw, you can't just choose a different jurisdiction for your new company risk-free.
Re: Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
#378Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can't you just incorporate a Wyoming LLC (zero corporate tax + federal tax because you're non-resident in the US) then just open a Wise account? Wyoming LLC gives passthrough taxation, and because you're in Germany, you'll be subject to German corporate and personal taxes alone, I presume? Edit: changed from just personal tax to personal+corporate
What should the US LLC do ? It will end up being treated like a GMBH in Germany (keyword : Typenvergleich ) and you will have to do all the bureaucracy in the us + Germany and end up paying the same taxes
The point I thought was a plus was that you'd be paying German taxes without all the German bureaucracy? Because there's definitely no bureaucracy for a Wyoming LLC except for a couple of IRS forms annually.
Re: Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
#379[ outside of Germany ]
Re: Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
#380Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the UK it used to be one form and a fee of £25 or something like that. I think, nowadays, that's probably just done online as well.
But I understand the admin has gone up significantly. Though I presume AI is pretty good at generating the boiler plate bureaucratic work (privacy policy, anti slavery statements, etc).
You don't need that stuff for setting up a company, I've only come across those if we are going through due diligence with a (B2B) client.