Our valued sponsor

whattay

New member
Apr 29, 2018
12
2
3
Visit site
Hi guys!

I have been exploring multiple setup options for a new dropshipping / e-commerce venture and have hit a dead end in terms of choosing the right offshore setup/bank/payment processor. Hoping you guys can help me with some questions. Some information that should help you provide suggestions.

Personal Background:
  • I am non eu/non american citizen, residing in Spain.
  • Thanks to a special tax law, I am not taxed on worldwide income in Spain (for another 2 years) and only on local income.
  • I am not a tax resident in my country of citizenship for the last 10 years.
  • I want to take advantage of this two year window which is tax loophole as currently I am not taxed on my worldwide income anywhere - and want to keep my nose clean (low tax setups are also fine with me).

Business Plan:
  • I am working on two completely legitimate dropshipping ventures
    • one dealing with expensive high street apparels and accessories, shipping worldwide - and​
    • another selling really cheap (under 10) clothing worldwide.​
  • Two different stores (with language based sub domains and geo-fencing), different branding, different mode of shipping.
  • My high street warehouse vendor is EU and US based and my low end apparel store vendors are china and turkey based.
  • Woocommerce is what my team is currently building these stores on.
Current Thoughts/Research :
  • Would like to avoid Paypal and similar non-merchant bank providers due to high fees, reserve requirement, reactive fraud prevention and chargeback issues leading to account freeze. Isnt great for my own customers.
  • While I can personally visit banks for corporate account opening, a pure offshore bank has very limited payment processing/gateway options. Even if there are any, fees are crazy.
  • Open to "typical" offshore setup (tax havens) but this complicates banking options.
  • While I plan to report dividends once am a proper tax resident in Spain, until then I would like to keep this venture outside tax purview.
  • Know Spain sucks from a tax resident perspective, but I cant relocate in the near future
  • Zero corporate tax / low audit reqs/non EU setup is possibly better as I can use a "company" card to reduce quantum of dividend payments and thus resulting tax.
  • Will pay VAT /tax on sales - as per local rules.
  • Most banks have a "high-risk" view of dropshipping, even though my suppliers are legit and visits can be arranged.
  • I did toy with multiple setups including, Irish /Cyprus company with local bank accounts- though the corporate tax is lower than rest of EU, banking is complicated and tax proximity/EU agreement may complicate matters with Spain.
  • I did check the option of a USA LLC (FL/DL/WY), but banking again becomes a stumbling block. Also I will have to pay US taxes since I'll be selling to US customers (though I am open to considering this).
  • Reviewed IOM, Jersey, BVI, Belize, Panama, Seychelles, Mauritius etc are great options, but banking services make it complex and expensive.
  • UAE Freezones arent recommended for ecommerce and also UAE is one of my target markets - so that rules it out.
  • Madeira would have been great, but a 70k investment in year 2 is gonna be hard...
  • Also looking into private bankers who are open to ecommerce.
  • Gibraltar, UK and other crown concerns could have an adverse fallout given Brexit (or not.)

Questions:
  1. What kind of company setup would you suggest for Tax benefits and to limit exposure/support anonymity? Does it make sense to have an Offshore Trust+ two separate LLC entities in EU OR Separate LLC entities outside EU (typical offshore setup)?
  2. What country(ies) would you recommend for the LLCs?
  3. What country would you recommend and are open for banking based on the recommended countries (I dont have $$ for minimum balance based opening) ?
  4. What reliable/comparatively inexpensive payment processor/gateway solution would you recommend that supports such a setup?
  5. What country and bank would you suggest if I plan to accept crypto as payment (may be at some point in the future).

I really want to run an honest business, save enough, pay taxes that make sense or reduce them as much as possible + Stay on the right side of law and grow the brand slowly into a label/pivot to subscription or just retire at some point. :)

Any help would be great in untangling this complex web!
I aint really rich and have a strict budget plan, so I hope your suggestions wont burn a big hole in my pocket.

Thanks again!!
 
What kind of company setup would you suggest for Tax benefits and to limit exposure/support anonymity? Does it make sense to have an Offshore Trust+ two separate LLC entities in EU OR Separate LLC entities outside EU (typical offshore setup)?
This is a perfect way to protect your privacy and assets. I have setup a Trust in Cyprus in the past (some years now) back then it worked perfectly out for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Spinat
I would advise you to speak with a US chartered accountant regarding this matter - look for the so call "ETBUS regime".
second that, you really need some sort of professional help to get something that will work for you.
 

Latest Threads