Hi,
I'm extremely new to this whole idea that I could register in a company in another country (preferably one that has a low tax), thus I've some (simple) questions and hope someone could answer them. Read a lot of information about it, but still lost in this whole new world of offshore companies.
Basically, I'm a one woman business - I do FOREX trading (my own money), consult (social media, digital advertisement), a little bit of eCommerce (got a store, but it's very seasonal so that is more like a project) and sell artwork. From a profit stand point, FOREX gives me about 60-70% of all income, the rest is from the other activities. I've a Lithuanian passport but for now (another year) live in South Africa. Still a tax resident in Lithuania. I'm currently in South Africa to finish up a degree, but after that I will probably just travel the world - move to Asia, etc.
From FOREX for now I get payments to Skrill and the rest is to PayPal. However, I imagine that it would need to change for these offshore companies. FOREX would let me do bank transfers and then I would need to find a way how to charge for the rest of the activities. Is there a good alternative (an alternative that is easy to use for the customers)?
Currently I've a company in Lithuania that I use for all the business I conduct and then just give myself a salary (I know that's very inefficient), but taking into consideration that I plan on not living Lithuania anymore , I'm exploring better ways to structure all of this. Also, I don't want to hire an accountant - even though the cost isn't large, I like to keep it "one woman business" and not involve others.
From research I gathered that it would be wise to set up a company in for example Belize or Seychelles and then open a bank account somewhere, preferably, in Europe (SEPA country). However, I'm not sure if it still possible.
Basically, I'm willing to pay premium if the country is without the "bad" PR of an offshore. Like for example UAE (RAK?), Malaysia (Labuan?). I think this will play a role with my art clients - they much rather buy from a UAE company than instead of Seychelles or Belize registered one. I know it's a small detail, but I've a loyal client base and do not want to spook anyone. Also, I come from such a small country that once there's a leak like Panama Papers (I'm certain there will be more leaks), everyone checks out, who is in the list from my country. I don't want to show up in those papers. I much rather pay more for a set up, yearly costs, pay corporate tax and live happily.
My questions are the following:
1) Do you have any recommendations for where to set up? Just two conditions: Not bad "PR" and I would be able to open a bank account in a SEPA country, thus significantly reducing my transaction fees.
2) Depending on the first answer, are there places where I can "write off" as company expenses a lot of my daily expenses? For example, in Lithuania it is quite difficult for me to "write off" as a company expense daily groceries. I was wondering, if there are countries where I can just instead of paying myself a salary, use the company card for everything. This would eliminate the Lithuanian tax authority from asking any questions, because legally I would not be paying myself a salary, thus I wouldn't need to declare or pay any income tax on that. Are there any countries that I could just get away with paying everything with my company card?
I'm extremely new to this whole idea that I could register in a company in another country (preferably one that has a low tax), thus I've some (simple) questions and hope someone could answer them. Read a lot of information about it, but still lost in this whole new world of offshore companies.
Basically, I'm a one woman business - I do FOREX trading (my own money), consult (social media, digital advertisement), a little bit of eCommerce (got a store, but it's very seasonal so that is more like a project) and sell artwork. From a profit stand point, FOREX gives me about 60-70% of all income, the rest is from the other activities. I've a Lithuanian passport but for now (another year) live in South Africa. Still a tax resident in Lithuania. I'm currently in South Africa to finish up a degree, but after that I will probably just travel the world - move to Asia, etc.
From FOREX for now I get payments to Skrill and the rest is to PayPal. However, I imagine that it would need to change for these offshore companies. FOREX would let me do bank transfers and then I would need to find a way how to charge for the rest of the activities. Is there a good alternative (an alternative that is easy to use for the customers)?
Currently I've a company in Lithuania that I use for all the business I conduct and then just give myself a salary (I know that's very inefficient), but taking into consideration that I plan on not living Lithuania anymore , I'm exploring better ways to structure all of this. Also, I don't want to hire an accountant - even though the cost isn't large, I like to keep it "one woman business" and not involve others.
From research I gathered that it would be wise to set up a company in for example Belize or Seychelles and then open a bank account somewhere, preferably, in Europe (SEPA country). However, I'm not sure if it still possible.
Basically, I'm willing to pay premium if the country is without the "bad" PR of an offshore. Like for example UAE (RAK?), Malaysia (Labuan?). I think this will play a role with my art clients - they much rather buy from a UAE company than instead of Seychelles or Belize registered one. I know it's a small detail, but I've a loyal client base and do not want to spook anyone. Also, I come from such a small country that once there's a leak like Panama Papers (I'm certain there will be more leaks), everyone checks out, who is in the list from my country. I don't want to show up in those papers. I much rather pay more for a set up, yearly costs, pay corporate tax and live happily.
My questions are the following:
1) Do you have any recommendations for where to set up? Just two conditions: Not bad "PR" and I would be able to open a bank account in a SEPA country, thus significantly reducing my transaction fees.
2) Depending on the first answer, are there places where I can "write off" as company expenses a lot of my daily expenses? For example, in Lithuania it is quite difficult for me to "write off" as a company expense daily groceries. I was wondering, if there are countries where I can just instead of paying myself a salary, use the company card for everything. This would eliminate the Lithuanian tax authority from asking any questions, because legally I would not be paying myself a salary, thus I wouldn't need to declare or pay any income tax on that. Are there any countries that I could just get away with paying everything with my company card?
