Cheapest PE solution?

[inector]

This is not about a country, but rather an approach to satisfy PE.

Instead of having a full-time employee & office, there is gotta be a better way, right?

What about a shared office space (cheap everywhere), with a (exclusive) nominee / part-time worker?

 

[daniels27]

Yes. You can do all of this. It ultimately is subject to the tax guy coming to audit you. He will then see whether it is sufficient or not. They do not just look if you have an office with a dude there. They also ask the guy questions and asses whether he is answering the questions like a manager of the company. Also, it is a question of what the company does. If you are selling digital goods, a computer may be sufficient PE. If you are producing computers, they will be looking for more.

It really depends on the country, who and how they assess it.

 

[Forester]

This is not about a country, but rather an approach to satisfy PE.

Instead of having a full-time employee & office, there is gotta be a better way, right?

What about a shared office space (cheap everywhere), with a (exclusive) nominee / part-time worker?

Unfortunately, it really depends on the country whether taxmen, another officials, banks, etc. accept this or that as a PE...
EDIT: Sorry, I did not reload the page before posting an answer. @daniels27 's answer is of course sufficient and definitely more exhaustive than mine.