Consulting company, picking countries

[reystar22]

Hello

I’m looking to start a consulting company for my needs.
I live in Greece and I have Greek tax residency.

I am considering the following countries to form my company:
Romania, for the 1-3% corporate tax + 5% dividends tax
Cyprus 12% corporate tax

any other suggestions?
Cyprus I think would be easier for me to form a company there but the thing is that they are super expensive to setup and maintain

thanks a lot

 

[blizz]

All depends, Cyprus works well and have done so for me for a decade!

What profits do you expect to do in this "consulting firm" ?

 

[CyprusLaw]

Hello

I’m looking to start a consulting company for my needs.
I live in Greece and I have Greek tax residency.

I am considering the following countries to form my company:
Romania, for the 1-3% corporate tax + 5% dividends tax
Cyprus 12% corporate tax

any other suggestions?
Cyprus I think would be easier for me to form a company there but the thing is that they are super expensive to setup and maintain

thanks a lot

We have a lot of Greeks setting up companies in Cyprus, it works really well, costs are not as high as you might anticipate.

 

[Dasilva]

Hello

I’m looking to start a consulting company for my needs.
I live in Greece and I have Greek tax residency.

I am considering the following countries to form my company:
Romania, for the 1-3% corporate tax + 5% dividends tax
Cyprus 12% corporate tax

any other suggestions?
Cyprus I think would be easier for me to form a company there but the thing is that they are super expensive to setup and maintain

thanks a lot

I heard and also see many Greeks doing holdings in Bulgaria as well. Also not a bad option to check ?

 

[Sols]

Why not form a company in Greece? You'll be paying Greek tax rate in the end anyway.

Or do you plan to relocate? In that case, Cyprus is a nice and easy choice. If you relocate and appoint yourself director and don't use nominee shareholders, the costs for incorporation and maintenance can be quite manageable for a small company with not a lot of transactions.

 

[Marios]

Hello

I’m looking to start a consulting company for my needs.
I live in Greece and I have Greek tax residency.

I am considering the following countries to form my company:
Romania, for the 1-3% corporate tax + 5% dividends tax
Cyprus 12% corporate tax

any other suggestions?
Cyprus I think would be easier for me to form a company there but the thing is that they are super expensive to setup and maintain

thanks a lot

Hi, it is equally important to consider the opening of bank account for the jurisdiction that you will select. i.e. to open a bank account now in Cyprus you need to have "substance"

 

[Marzio]

I’m looking to start a consulting company for my needs.
I live in Greece and I have Greek tax residency.

I'd create a greek holding company + a branch/subsidiary in Romania where you will render the service. 1% tax if you hire somebody there (you have to hire somebody anyway to create substance for your branch / subsidiary otherwise Greece will claim that you manage your romanian company from Greece).

Then all the profits will flow tax free to Greece thanks to the parent-subsidiary directive and you'll pay 5% witholding tax on dividends when you pay yourself from your greek holding.

6% total tax and you don't have to move your a*s from Greece!

 

[soomon]

I'd create a greek holding company + a branch/subsidiary in Romania where you will render the service. 1% tax if you hire somebody there (you have to hire somebody anyway to create substance for your branch / subsidiary otherwise Greece will claim that you manage your romanian company from Greece).

Then all the profits will flow tax free to Greece thanks to the parent-subsidiary directive and you'll pay 5% witholding tax on dividends when you pay yourself from your greek holding.

6% total tax and you don't have to move your a*s from Greece!

Wouldn't that trigger CFC rules as he is still in Greece and manages the company from there?

 

[Marzio]

he is still in Greece and manages the company from there?

Obviously he can’t manage the romanian company from Greece. He will have to hire somebody to manage the company (at least on paper).

 

[freegeek]

The only legit way to pay less taxes is by moving. Living in Greece and setting up a company elsewhere is a recipe for trouble. The Romanian micro company is attractive but you better move to Romania or the Greece tax authorities will probably have some questions about tax avoidance.

 

[uplana]

As mentioned here already, relocating may be your best options if you want to avoid troubles and headache.

There may be other options depending on lots of information missing here and which I would rather discuss with some professional then on a public forum.

 

[reystar22]

Why not form a company in Greece? You'll be paying Greek tax rate in the end anyway.

Or do you plan to relocate? In that case, Cyprus is a nice and easy choice. If you relocate and appoint yourself director and don't use nominee shareholders, the costs for incorporation and maintenance can be quite manageable for a small company with not a lot of transactions.

No I will not be paying corporate tax in Geece obviously. This is the reason I’m forming the company.
I will only pay dividends in Greece and this only if the country that my business will be registered doesn’t have a dividends tax of less than 5%

I provide consulting services outside Greece, makes no sense paying corporate tax of a company I own that’s located outside Greece ‍

 

[reystar22]

As mentioned here already, relocating may be your best options if you want to avoid troubles and headache.

There may be other options depending on lots of information missing here and which I would rather discuss with some professional then on a public forum.

I can not relocate. I can not leave. I already have 3 real local shops in Greece.

relocating can be an option if I don’t have to stay to another country, if that’s the case yes, I can relocate

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

Wouldn't that trigger CFC rules as he is still in Greece and manages the company from there?

CFC rules have nothing to do with where a company is managed from.

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

Greece has very strict rules:

Greece - Corporate - Corporate residence

Detailed description of corporate residence rules in Greece

taxsummaries.pwc.com

Simply registering your company in another country isn't going to cut it. You need to work with a good Greek tax lawyer and it will cost a good deal of money.

 

[Sols]

No I will not be paying corporate tax in Geece obviously. This is the reason I’m forming the company.
I will only pay dividends in Greece and this only if the country that my business will be registered doesn’t have a dividends tax of less than 5%

I provide consulting services outside Greece, makes no sense paying corporate tax of a company I own that’s located outside Greece ‍

OK, but that's not what the law says. The law says that if you operate and manage a company from Greece, it becomes a Greek company for tax purposes.

You only get around this if the company has employees or some other form of meaningful economic substance elsewhere, and if your involvement is only as a shareholder. If you exercise effective management over the company, it becomes Greek.

 

[sergedc]

Why no one mention:
1. Ireland, with 12.5% corporate tax, but for first 3 years, not tax on first EUR 340k of profit. No audit.
2. HK, 0% corporate tax on any business done outside HK, no dividend tax. Audit required (count $1000 cost / year).
?

Also for Romania, the 1-3% is not for companies that have more than 20% of their business from consulting. So it does not seems appropriate.