united-states, llc, payment, corporationI am wondering what the correct entity, if one exists, that should be formed in order to create an online business and register all of the required servcies, while still maintaining some piece of privacy. I am not looking to fool anybody, and I intend on being reachable via legal channels if necessary, but I don’t want all of my information going into a bunch of databases and having someone show up at my front door. I would like some layer between my business and myself… as thick a layer as possible. I must be able to maintain legal control over the busines and its assets, while not having to use my personal information for everything. Basically, I want to have my cake and eat it too.
So far, my question has led me to think that the best option is forming some sort of corporate entity in order to obtain an EIN, to use in place of a SSN, and use the corporate entity information in place of my personal information. I will need to perform the following tasks with this entity:
Getting a payment processor seems like it will the biggest challenge… The highly recommended STRIPE TOS almost made me vomit:
To verify your identity, we will require additional information including your business EIN or Tax ID, social security number, and date of birth. We may also ask for additional information to help verify your identity and assess your business risk including business invoices, a driver’s license or other government issued identification, or a business license. We may ask you for financial statements. We may request for your permission to do a physical inspection at your place of business and to examine books and records that pertain to your compliance with this Agreement. Your failure to comply with any of these requests within five (5) days may result in suspension or termination of your Stripe Account.
…After we have collected and verified all your information, Stripe will review your account and determine if you are eligible to use the Service. Stripe may also share your information with our payment processors (such as Wells Fargo), each of which may also make a determination regarding your eligibility. We will notify you once your account has been either approved or deemed ineligible for use of the Service.
So, I’m handing over all of my data and it may very well be all for nothing. Also, I’m handing over my personal information to whomever STRIPE pleases.
EDIT 1:
I get the feeling some of the answers reflect a perception that my goal is to be anonymous. I know this sounds suspicious, but this is not the case for two very good reasons: if it were, I would not be able to legally claim my assets nor would I be able to legally claim money due to my business in court. That being said, the point of this is that my personal address does not show up in any records… I don’t see why this can’t be possible. PO Boxes and most Commercial Mail Receving Agencies (CMRA) cannot be used to register services, so the biggest problem for a non-brick’n’mortar shop, a small online business for example, is that the address of the company is their home. Perhaps I should have asked how to register a business and services without using a personal address, but the larger question includes the SSN which is required on a lot of applications these days. Why can’t I seem to find a way to register a domain, phone, etc. as:
BUSIENSS ABC
BUSINESS ID
BUSINESS ADDRESS
instead of
MY NAME
MY SSN
MY PERSONAL ADDRESS
???
… also, not to push my luck, but an order of events is important here so that something needed for Step 1 is not achieved until Step 2. Example: Non-personal mailing address -> Self-Proprietorship -> Domain Registration.
As for notions of paranoia, I don’t think its unfair for me to deal with my potential clients from behind a counter as opposed to at my front door. Unlikely as it seems that someone would show up on my doorstep, bad things like that happen all the time (if you read the news). And sure, if someone wants to find you then they will eventually find you, but it defies reason not to take a few precautions.
While Stripe are basically covering their assets, they may not actually request much of this information. In any case, if not to them - you’ll provide it to any other merchant account processor you’d be using. Chose the one you trust most and go with it.
As to the rest… If you’re a sole proprietor - you’ll have no privacy in the United States. It is illegal, in fact, to conceal your identity when doing business, almost anywhere in the US. Most areas require you to apply for a business license which is a public record, and includes your name and place of business.
If you incorporate or create an LLC - you can apply for a business license in the name of that entity, so at least there’s a layer between your person and your business. Depending on the States where you’re doing business, you may or may not be required to disclose the personal information with regards to your LLC/Corporation. For example, if you live in Nevada - you don’t need to, but if you live in California - you do.
You will always have to register your entity in the State where you live, since you’d be doing business there. So registering in Nevada won’t help you if you’re in California.
One way to overcome that would be by creating an “anonymous trust”, and naming it as the LLC member and manager, but you’ll have to provide the name of the person in charge in many cases.
Talk to an attorney licensed in your State about these and other options, but for most parts - you can get away with entity name and a PMB instead of your private information. However in some cases you’ll have to give away your personal information (e.g.: when dealing with financial services).
For the merchant account, talk to a representative from your bank. They already have all your personal information, so you may not be increasing your exposure by forming additional relationships with them. In this case, I’m not talking about investigative exposure. Someone trying to discover who you are through the layers of corporation obscurement, won’t be hampered by your choice of bank. Rather I’m talking about bureaucratic exposure. By working through your existing bank relationship, fewer additional people will have to be granted new access to your information.
Ultimately, littleadv is right. There is little that can be done in the U.S. to conceal your controlling involvement in your corporation. A dilligent investigator will be able to see through to you no matter how many agents empower and how many holding company’s you create.
Personally, I think that is a good thing! From the customer’s stand point of view, too much anonynimity can be a very bad thing.
As littleadv suggested, talk to a lawyer.
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