Dear Offshore Corp Talk Forum Members,
I need to setup a business so that I can invoice my customers. I have an online news website, and we receive sponsorship money (10,000€ tickets) from businesses in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and the UK. Annual revenue about 150,000€. We also did a few contracts with Spain last year.
I am a UK citizen, born and raised London, but I am a resident of Liechtenstein.
I can setup a company in Liechtenstein GmbH for 10,000 CHF ~ 10K€, and I need to pay a business license application of 250 CHF, and then open a bank account locally, which I do not think has a minimum amount since I am a resident. I opened an Anstalt here (in Liechtenstein) several years ago with a partner, and I do not recall having a minimum amount required in the bank account in order for them to open the bank account.
I am trying to decide if an Isle of Man company would be better. I do not know anything about Isle of Man, but they seem to not require the 10,000€ grundkapital or "grounding capital" that Liechtenstein GmbHs require. There is no company structure in Liechtenstein that does require grounding capital of at least 10,000€. In addition to this 10,000€, I have to pay a corporate tax of 12.5%, and in order to pay my salary, I need to become an official employee of the company and pay pension and many other small taxes that add up to about 15% of my salary that I pay myself as an employee, and then on top of that, I need to pay personal income tax on that income at the end of the year. Liechtenstein companies also require reporting, so I will have to hire an accountant at an exorbitant hourly rate to do my accounting. I have 3-4 revenue transactions per month, and 3-4 expenditure transactions per month. The final problem is that my German is bad, and I hate the idea of having to deal with all of this bureaucracy in another language. I am sure I will accidentally look over some vital information.
In contrast, if I set up an Isle of Man company, I will have a 0% corporate tax, and if I move around, I can be a stateless person with no tax requirement right? My wife and I and kids are planning to get a caravan to travel about with, so we could do a few years of moving around, we are actually looking forward.
Last year, I had a big problem with a Spanish customer that was forced to withhold 24% of my invoice, because Liechtenstein does not have a tax treaty apparently with the entire E.U.?
I am concerned with an Isle of Man structure that my customers will have difficulty sending payment to my bank account. I need a bank that allows me to hold CHF and euro. I am also concerned that my customers will feel uncomfortable with the Isle of Man structure, as many clients in the German speaking countries will only work with other German speaking country structures.
If I do setup an Isle of Man company, I would like to have a Swiss or Liechtenstein bank account as my bank.
Does anyone have any experience with Isle of Man companies? I see so many companies willing to do a free consultation, and they advertise buying existing structures for 750€, but I guess that the real costs are much higher right? I will need a registered office, registered agent, that will be about 2,000€ per year right? Do I need to hire an accountant to do my accounting like in Liechtenstein or can I do it myself?
Another option I am considering is to 1.) setup GmbH in Liechtenstein so that my customers feel confident they can sue my grundkapital in a bad case, and then 2.) set up Cyprus or Isle of Mann company to hold the IP of the brand and then charge my Liechtenstein company a licensing fee for the brand and wipe away the profits.
I greatly appreciate your feedback.
I need to setup a business so that I can invoice my customers. I have an online news website, and we receive sponsorship money (10,000€ tickets) from businesses in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and the UK. Annual revenue about 150,000€. We also did a few contracts with Spain last year.
I am a UK citizen, born and raised London, but I am a resident of Liechtenstein.
I can setup a company in Liechtenstein GmbH for 10,000 CHF ~ 10K€, and I need to pay a business license application of 250 CHF, and then open a bank account locally, which I do not think has a minimum amount since I am a resident. I opened an Anstalt here (in Liechtenstein) several years ago with a partner, and I do not recall having a minimum amount required in the bank account in order for them to open the bank account.
I am trying to decide if an Isle of Man company would be better. I do not know anything about Isle of Man, but they seem to not require the 10,000€ grundkapital or "grounding capital" that Liechtenstein GmbHs require. There is no company structure in Liechtenstein that does require grounding capital of at least 10,000€. In addition to this 10,000€, I have to pay a corporate tax of 12.5%, and in order to pay my salary, I need to become an official employee of the company and pay pension and many other small taxes that add up to about 15% of my salary that I pay myself as an employee, and then on top of that, I need to pay personal income tax on that income at the end of the year. Liechtenstein companies also require reporting, so I will have to hire an accountant at an exorbitant hourly rate to do my accounting. I have 3-4 revenue transactions per month, and 3-4 expenditure transactions per month. The final problem is that my German is bad, and I hate the idea of having to deal with all of this bureaucracy in another language. I am sure I will accidentally look over some vital information.
In contrast, if I set up an Isle of Man company, I will have a 0% corporate tax, and if I move around, I can be a stateless person with no tax requirement right? My wife and I and kids are planning to get a caravan to travel about with, so we could do a few years of moving around, we are actually looking forward.
Last year, I had a big problem with a Spanish customer that was forced to withhold 24% of my invoice, because Liechtenstein does not have a tax treaty apparently with the entire E.U.?
I am concerned with an Isle of Man structure that my customers will have difficulty sending payment to my bank account. I need a bank that allows me to hold CHF and euro. I am also concerned that my customers will feel uncomfortable with the Isle of Man structure, as many clients in the German speaking countries will only work with other German speaking country structures.
If I do setup an Isle of Man company, I would like to have a Swiss or Liechtenstein bank account as my bank.
Does anyone have any experience with Isle of Man companies? I see so many companies willing to do a free consultation, and they advertise buying existing structures for 750€, but I guess that the real costs are much higher right? I will need a registered office, registered agent, that will be about 2,000€ per year right? Do I need to hire an accountant to do my accounting like in Liechtenstein or can I do it myself?
Another option I am considering is to 1.) setup GmbH in Liechtenstein so that my customers feel confident they can sue my grundkapital in a bad case, and then 2.) set up Cyprus or Isle of Mann company to hold the IP of the brand and then charge my Liechtenstein company a licensing fee for the brand and wipe away the profits.
I greatly appreciate your feedback.
