Hi all,
I’m a professional Forex trader with more than 8 years of experience trading the markets and I'm interested in starting an offshore company that will be selling trade signals (Forex currency market, Global Indexes and Commodities) as well as selling market analysis to my subscriber via my own website. I intend the website to be owned by the offshore company. Basically the subscribers will be paying a monthly subscription fee of around $149.99 in exchange for my trade recommendations.
The hustle and the amount of pain in opening a company in my home country (an EU country) is very demanding and on top of that, the company can be subject to an insane amount of taxes so I was thinking that an offshore company will be the best solution taking in consideration the domain of activity of my company.
My main concerns and some of the things I’m looking to achieve are as follows:
1.I need to know what is the best offshore jurisdiction for my needs? Basically, I need a jurisdiction that will NOT require me any licenses to be able to sell trade signals.
2.Needs to be cost Effective; low admin fee; No income tax or as low as possible.
3.Need to be in a jurisdiction that has a tax treaty with my home country to avoid double taxation.
4.VAT concerns: If my company is non-EU resident, do I still have to charge my EU customers the VAT? I’ve read that each country has a different VAT threshold and you’re not required to charge VAT unless you sell more than that VAT threshold, is this correct? Also, I want to ask if my offshore company will be subject to the VAT tax since I’m not selling any physical goods I’m selling a service in the form of trade recommendation, so is this category subject to the VAT tax? If I have to charge a VAT for my EU customers how is this process done? Do I need a receipt book and cut a receipt for each purchase of my service every month or the online invoices are all I need? I’ve read somewhere that some payment gateways can do this automatically and they will send the VAT automatically to each EU country I have customers.
5.Is it true that many countries consider the country where the REAL management takes place as the taxation country and not the fiscal paradise where the company is domiciliated? So, if that is the case I have to report the profits on my home country? Many European countries consider the country where the REAL management takes place as the taxation country and not the fiscal paradise where the company is domiciled (the mind and management rule). If this is the case, then an offshore company would be useless. So, my question is how you can legally circumvent this rule? Does simply having a nominee director resident in the offshore jurisdiction will be enough? Or do you need a much complex structure?
6.Do I need a tax exemption certificate?
7.The offshore firm needs to have its own PayPal account in order to receive payments from sales made through our company website. Payments will be made through PayPal or credit card. The only reason I’m asking about PayPal is because I’ve read somewhere over the internet that PayPal is not accepting accounts from offshore firms and I’m not quite sure if this is entirely true. To be clear, it is about the possibility to make withdrawals from PayPal into your offshore bank account, via credit/debit card.
8.The offshore firm needs to have its own PayPal account in order to receive payments from sales made through our company website. Payments will be made through PayPal or credit card. The only reason I’m asking about PayPal is because I’ve read somewhere over the internet that PayPal is not accepting accounts from offshore firms and I’m not quite sure if this is entirely true. To be clear, it is about the possibility to make withdrawals from PayPal into your offshore bank account, via credit/debit card. So I'll need a jurisdiction that is accepted by PayPal.
9.What do you guys think about Dubai jurisdiction? As far as I see it has a strong reputation, but what drawbacks it has.
From a legal stand point of view I want to make sure that I comply with the law, that’s my number one priority.
I have to mention that I had never run a business before and I’m still trying to learn the ins and outs. I’m also in the process of finding some advice from a financial advisor from my home country to see what legal obligations I have in the case I own an offshore company. As far as I read if I earn dividends from an offshore company I’m subject to a 5% tax + 5% health tax if this is my primary source of income, so a total of 10% income tax which I’m comfortable paying it.
Thank you or your time. And I’m looking forward to hearing back from you. Thank you in advance.
Best Regards,
PS: Please pardon my ignorance on this subject, but I’m still learning myself about all the matters surrounding an offshore company.
I’m a professional Forex trader with more than 8 years of experience trading the markets and I'm interested in starting an offshore company that will be selling trade signals (Forex currency market, Global Indexes and Commodities) as well as selling market analysis to my subscriber via my own website. I intend the website to be owned by the offshore company. Basically the subscribers will be paying a monthly subscription fee of around $149.99 in exchange for my trade recommendations.
The hustle and the amount of pain in opening a company in my home country (an EU country) is very demanding and on top of that, the company can be subject to an insane amount of taxes so I was thinking that an offshore company will be the best solution taking in consideration the domain of activity of my company.
My main concerns and some of the things I’m looking to achieve are as follows:
1.I need to know what is the best offshore jurisdiction for my needs? Basically, I need a jurisdiction that will NOT require me any licenses to be able to sell trade signals.
2.Needs to be cost Effective; low admin fee; No income tax or as low as possible.
3.Need to be in a jurisdiction that has a tax treaty with my home country to avoid double taxation.
4.VAT concerns: If my company is non-EU resident, do I still have to charge my EU customers the VAT? I’ve read that each country has a different VAT threshold and you’re not required to charge VAT unless you sell more than that VAT threshold, is this correct? Also, I want to ask if my offshore company will be subject to the VAT tax since I’m not selling any physical goods I’m selling a service in the form of trade recommendation, so is this category subject to the VAT tax? If I have to charge a VAT for my EU customers how is this process done? Do I need a receipt book and cut a receipt for each purchase of my service every month or the online invoices are all I need? I’ve read somewhere that some payment gateways can do this automatically and they will send the VAT automatically to each EU country I have customers.
5.Is it true that many countries consider the country where the REAL management takes place as the taxation country and not the fiscal paradise where the company is domiciliated? So, if that is the case I have to report the profits on my home country? Many European countries consider the country where the REAL management takes place as the taxation country and not the fiscal paradise where the company is domiciled (the mind and management rule). If this is the case, then an offshore company would be useless. So, my question is how you can legally circumvent this rule? Does simply having a nominee director resident in the offshore jurisdiction will be enough? Or do you need a much complex structure?
6.Do I need a tax exemption certificate?
7.The offshore firm needs to have its own PayPal account in order to receive payments from sales made through our company website. Payments will be made through PayPal or credit card. The only reason I’m asking about PayPal is because I’ve read somewhere over the internet that PayPal is not accepting accounts from offshore firms and I’m not quite sure if this is entirely true. To be clear, it is about the possibility to make withdrawals from PayPal into your offshore bank account, via credit/debit card.
8.The offshore firm needs to have its own PayPal account in order to receive payments from sales made through our company website. Payments will be made through PayPal or credit card. The only reason I’m asking about PayPal is because I’ve read somewhere over the internet that PayPal is not accepting accounts from offshore firms and I’m not quite sure if this is entirely true. To be clear, it is about the possibility to make withdrawals from PayPal into your offshore bank account, via credit/debit card. So I'll need a jurisdiction that is accepted by PayPal.
9.What do you guys think about Dubai jurisdiction? As far as I see it has a strong reputation, but what drawbacks it has.
From a legal stand point of view I want to make sure that I comply with the law, that’s my number one priority.
I have to mention that I had never run a business before and I’m still trying to learn the ins and outs. I’m also in the process of finding some advice from a financial advisor from my home country to see what legal obligations I have in the case I own an offshore company. As far as I read if I earn dividends from an offshore company I’m subject to a 5% tax + 5% health tax if this is my primary source of income, so a total of 10% income tax which I’m comfortable paying it.
Thank you or your time. And I’m looking forward to hearing back from you. Thank you in advance.
Best Regards,
PS: Please pardon my ignorance on this subject, but I’m still learning myself about all the matters surrounding an offshore company.
