Startups Stack Exchange Archive

What major things to consider when starting a company overseas without being physically present?

I have a requirement to set up a business entity somewhere overseas, with the following criteria

  1. I won’t be physically present most of the time: I’ll be running this company electronically (visiting only once or twice per year) until it grows to a sustainable size at which point I’ll consider hiring staff and possibly moving myself

  2. It must not be a so-called “tax haven” (there needs to be proper tax structures in place or it will cause problems for us locally)

So, with that in mind…

One of the problems I’m trying to solve relates to the very common challenge that entities in certain countries can’t register as Google Merchants (https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/table/3539140?hl=en).

The other is that we need the company to operate under a more modern legal structure (such as under the EU, US, Oceanic, etc.)

I’ve looked into a number of options already, but laws keep on getting adjusted and updated to curb abuse - which is perfectly understandable - but unfortunately has the effect of blocking businesses wanting to set up foreign offices in a more cautious manner (i.e. by not hiring extra staff until it can be justified)

I’ve seen some other questions on this topic on SO, but they seem to relate more to “tax restructuring”, which is not a consideration in our case

Everybody wins.

Answer 7873

This premise is incorrect:

It must not be a so-called “tax haven” (there needs to be proper tax structures in place or it will cause problems for us locally)

If you’re the sole proprietor of a company, the only reasonable country to incorporate in is where you live. If you’ve partners, the list of reasonable countries expands to any place where one of the partners is living.

Anything short of that is virtually guaranteed to attract a taxman’s attention down the road - yours or your corporation’s or both. When it does, they’ll assume you’re yet another tax evader and treat you as such. You’ll get a very painful tax audit at that point.

Further reading:

Answer 7871

There are hundreds of businesses and individuals in the US and probably the rest of the world that would love to be your remote partner. I have met many business partners through meet-ups and personal contacts. I know that is a little tough to do remotely, but is your best option.

I’m not sure if I am supposed to do this but I don’t see any other way to contact you. If you will contact me at kdari.com, I will help you find a partner.


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