This is plain stupid and not an example of hOw bAd GeRmanY is, but how we complain about everything and mostly the problem ourselves.
Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
721–730 of 789 posts
Re: Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
#722Earlier quoted context omitted.
German notaries, unlike anywhere in the world, get a percantage of a done deal. That is just insane.
Why is this insane? "The notary serves as a neutral party ensuring both buyer and seller understand their obligations. In 2026, combined notary and land registry fees typically range from 1.5% to 2% of the property price." This is actually lower than the real estate agent percentage in USA which can be 5 to 6% split between two agents. Also, the GP "The German notary is the highest-paid notary in the world, and the h…
I do not know about this being the case in Germany only; I am in a nearby country and the system is very similar. I also do think it is insane, as the fee is on top of the real estate agent fees, it is specified by the law and unavoidable, and I get a service I do not really need or want and it costs a lot of money.
Re: Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
#723Earlier quoted context omitted.
The word "most" is doing a lot here. Europe guarantees consumer rights by law, while the US relies on companies adopting the practices voluntarily. Most do, but larger companies more universally than smaller, and it's by no means universal.
Don't buy if you don't like company policy, no need to have a law. There is plenty of choice in the US. Some companies even offer 90 days (again, no laws required).
I'd find it tiresome real quick to always have to research before purchasing anything if the vendor will treat me with respect. Having a baseline of what you can expect from any business relation guaranteed by law is pretty great, really.
Re: Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
#724Earlier quoted context omitted.
most large companies, maybe, but small-to-medium-sized businesses can and will tell you to take a hike. there are no consumer protections in the US regarding returns beyond the goodwill of the company
That's why they are dying (those who tell you to take a hike). Why would I buy from a small business without a possibility to return if I can buy from Amazon with guaranteed 30 days? It's your choice. Honestly, I bought enough stuff from small to medium companies and most of them allow returns. If not, it's my choice not to buy. Not everything should be a law, and laws are not free, somebody has to pay (just like for…
> Why would I buy from a small business without a possibility to return if I can buy from Amazon with guaranteed 30 days?
Perhaps because you don't want all retail to be Amazon?
> laws are not free, somebody has to pay
Isn't that a bit hyperbole? That law is written once, and delivers its effects afterwards. In contrast, millions of buyers have to investigate return policies every day without such a law. Is that really a better use of time?
Re: Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
#725Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do not know an EU or Asian country that doesn’t have a similar paperwork misery; I had a company in DE and in many others; you won’t survive in Spain as SL if you are small and follow the rules either. So literally no one does. No different in DE. We never got fined or even reprimanded. Largest fine in DE we got was for charging the wrong VAT for some items and that was not really that bad compared to all the tax b…
Setting up a business in the UK is a breeze. It takes 30 minutes, costs 20 quid and it's all done online. I'd go so far as to say the UK is the friendliest place in the world for small businesses (as long as you don't have a physical location, because business rates are incredibly regressive and backwards) A friend of mine in Iceland literally just set up a UK ltd company today - I'm a shareholder, took 5 minutes to…
Not EU though. But yes, easy, I had one there.
Re: Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
#726It literally takes 1day in Poland.
Re: Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
#727Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do not know an EU or Asian country that doesn’t have a similar paperwork misery; I had a company in DE and in many others; you won’t survive in Spain as SL if you are small and follow the rules either. So literally no one does. No different in DE. We never got fined or even reprimanded. Largest fine in DE we got was for charging the wrong VAT for some items and that was not really that bad compared to all the tax b…
I don't think you've lived in many EU or Asian countries... While incorporation sucks in France, Spain, and Germany, in most North European countries, East European countries, and even in most Balkan countries, it's a breeze (when compared to Germany).
Incorporation might be easy in some places but then getting a bank account for the company is hard if you or some of other shareholders don't live there; then you still have nothing useful and a lot of paperwork to go.
Re: Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
#728> Which leaves the only real question. Why 25,000 at all? It is my company and my risk. If I want to start with nothing, that is my call, not a toll the state collects before it will let me try. But it was his call. As the author has already pointed out, he could have started a sole proprietorship, but he did not want to take on that risk. The 25'000 is because it's not his risk if he starts a GmbH, it's the GmbH's r…
No one of your debtors - ever - will see any of these 25000. If you file for bankruptcy / insolvency, your insolvency manager and the processes of dissolving the company will swallow that money before it sees the light of day.
Yeah, that's what it's there for, to cover risk.
Re: Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
#729Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If you don't like the laws/rules then just leave Germany Or change something. But yeah, I agree that leaving a country that you don't like is a good solution. I did that myself. > There is no justification for tax evasion The basics of philosophy behind taxation state exactly the opposite: it is an obligation of a business to evade as much tax as possible - as long as it is legal.
What you describe is tax avoidance and not evasion. Tax evasion is always illegal.
As I see it, the general philosophy of taxation in old Europe is this: any euro that you take home is a theft of state money. Ideally you should pay 100% of your income and then some. It's okay to receive salary though.
Re: Founding a company in Germany: €9600, 152 days and I still can't send an invoice
#730Earlier quoted context omitted.
Who said anything about getting a visa? The entire point of my idea was about skipping German bureaucracy. The only US bureaucracy is the IRS, and 2 forms for offshore LLCs at that. Getting a visa actually defeats the purpose of the Wyoming LLC, since you'd have to pay federal taxes as a US resident. But with the Wyoming LLC being pass-through with the added benefit of zero liability (same arrangement as OP), you'd o…
You mean German CIT and German PIT I assume. How happy would the US IRS be with that?
The US IRS doesn't tax pass through Wyoming LLCs currently anyways. As long as you file your exemption paperwork properly as a US non-resident, you should be clear in their eyes.
As someone else mentioned, the bigger issue might be filing the German CIT and PIT, which get all the more bureaucratic with this arrangement.