Profit Shifting YouTube profits from Belgium to Dubai/UK

[FreedomSearcher]

I am interested in setting up a UK - UAE set up to not get taxed on my YouTube income (now @ $75,000 a month).
At the moment I still have a Belgian BV, which has very high tax.
Would it be possible to setup the Dubai company and shift profits from Belgium to that Dubai company legally?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Vor]

I am interested in setting up a UK - UAE set up to not get taxed on my YouTube income (now @ $75,000 a month).
At the moment I still have a Belgian BV, which has very high tax.
Would it be possible to setup the Dubai company and shift profits from Belgium to that Dubai company legally?

Thanks in advance.

You should talk to an accountant in Belgium but tbh since it's Belgium why not move to your lower taxed friends next to you The Netherlands or if you really wanna use Dubai to make it compliant and legal your probably 99% gonna have to leave Belgium. I only think of The Netherlands as an option though if you wanted something really close to Belgium that would also save you some money. Best savings of course would come with moving to Dubai.

If your an individual living in Belgium full time and have no other employees or offices elsewhere etc I'd imagine moving your butt is gonna be the only solution. Shifting profits is just gonna land you in hot water and will not hold up under an audit or tax investigation. Belgium is high tax nightmare I'd just get out.

Congrats on $75,000/month from youtube is this from one channel or multiple channels you are running?

 

[FreedomSearcher]

You should talk to an accountant in Belgium but tbh since it's Belgium why not move to your lower taxed friends next to you The Netherlands or if you really wanna use Dubai to make it compliant and legal your probably 99% gonna have to leave Belgium. I only think of The Netherlands as an option though if you wanted something really close to Belgium that would also save you some money. Best savings of course would come with moving to Dubai.

If your an individual living in Belgium full time and have no other employees or offices elsewhere etc I'd imagine moving your butt is gonna be the only solution. Shifting profits is just gonna land you in hot water and will not hold up under an audit or tax investigation. Belgium is high tax nightmare I'd just get out.

Congrats on $75,000/month from youtube is this from one channel or multiple channels you are running?

Thanks for the advice. I definitely have to contact some professionals.

On your question about my YouTube revenue, the 75k comes from one channel. I am currently in the process of expanding horizontally to create even more income sources on YouTube.

 

[Vor]

Thanks for the advice. I definitely have to contact some professionals.

On your question about my YouTube revenue, the 75k comes from one channel. I am currently in the process of expanding horizontally to create even more income sources on YouTube.

Smart plan best to not setup foreign company and attempt anything without proper legal guidance since EU is not gonna be an easy one to wiggle your money out of the Belgian tax net assuming what I am envisioning is correct that your a single person running a YouTube channel from predominantly your house well then I can know under that scenario without moving your butt out of Belgium its not gonna work. They'd come after you hard at some point for CFC rules and what not.

 

[FreedomSearcher]

Smart plan best to not setup foreign company and attempt anything without proper legal guidance since EU is not gonna be an easy one to wiggle your money out of the Belgian tax net assuming what I am envisioning is correct that your a single person running a YouTube channel from predominantly your house well then I can know under that scenario without moving your butt out of Belgium its not gonna work. They'd come after you hard at some point for CFC rules and what not.

Well, no videos are being produced or recorded at my house in Belgium. Production is outsourced to people in Pakistan. Does that change anything?

 

[Sols]

Would it be possible to setup the Dubai company and shift profits from Belgium to that Dubai company legally?

Short answer is that it's likely not possible. Belgium has implemented anti-BEPS (Base Erosion Profit Shifting) measures, aimed exactly at this kind of arrangement.

Well, no videos are being produced or recorded at my house in Belgium. Production is outsourced to people in Pakistan. Does that change anything?

Are you buying it as a service? In that case, make sure it's counted as a company expense. Belgium has high taxes but that tax burden only falls on profits, so make sure you optimise deductions and other incentives.

But if the 75,000 USD/month is profit before tax but after all possible deductions, it's unlikely that your can use the video development in Pakistan for any tax savings. You could discuss some sort of IP holding setup where your Belgian company licenses the videos from another company and has to pay royalties to that other company. But that just shifts the problem from your current company to another, which in turn needs to establish tax residence somewhere.

Relocation is the most effective solution. Optimising tax locally (with the help of a tax adviser/attorney) is the easiest place to start.

 

[Vor]

Well, no videos are being produced or recorded at my house in Belgium. Production is outsourced to people in Pakistan. Does that change anything?

In terms of your ability to shift profits to another jurisdiction? sadly no. Most western tier 1 countries(US,CA,EU,NZ,AU) have all made sure that what your talking about doing will not work(Legally that is) your gonna need to physically move yourself to obtain a better tax situation I can bet 99.9% sure of this but still talk to professionals I am not a Belgian CPA. Least your not American like myself I've left the US but am still spending thousands on US tax filings and mainly the compliance related to it.

If your not tied down because of family if I were you I'd just move to Duabi look into @Fred he offers a good service I hear that will set you up in Dubai.

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

I guess with an income that high, it could work by paying for the proper substance. But you'd need to speak to a good Belgian tax lawyer who was experience with such setups.

 

[bbb77]

I am interested in setting up a UK - UAE set up to not get taxed on my YouTube income (now @ $75,000 a month).
At the moment I still have a Belgian BV, which has very high tax.
Would it be possible to setup the Dubai company and shift profits from Belgium to that Dubai company legally?

Thanks in advance.

Watch out for how much of your YouTube income comes from a US viewership. Google will now apply US witholding tax on the US portion of the income. I believe Dubai/UAE has no tax treaty with the US, so Google will deduct 30% of the US portion of your earnings. UK has a tax treaty that allows for 0% withholding tax from US royalties, but a UK corporate pays 19% tax, soon to rise to 25%ish in 2023 depending on your profit levels. You can check US royalty withholding rates for different countries here

United States - Corporate - Withholding taxes

Detailed description of corporate withholding taxes in United States

taxsummaries.pwc.com

If a country isn't listed it's 30% you'll lose on the US portion of your YT channel which in my experience is even higher than you first assume because advertising rates for US viewers are higher than most other countries in the world.

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

Yes, we have discussed that before. A UK company wouldn't be sufficient to use the treaty if you don't live in the UK due to limitation of benefits clauses.

 

[Mr Gus]

Either move your a*s to a low tax country or pay up.

UAE isn't going to work in the first place because of withholding taxes, unless only a small fraction of your revenue is from the US, but with your kind of revenue I assume a majority of it is coming from the US.

Georgia, Cyprus, Malta, Bulgaria, Switzerland are your options.

 

[flyinglow]

another Youtuber here.

What @bbb77 said is right. I am currently looking at countries with US tax treaties to incorporate that provide some flexibility. Ireland, Cyprus and Switzerland are your best bets.

 

[Jade33]

Well, no videos are being produced or recorded at my house in Belgium. Production is outsourced to people in Pakistan. Does that change anything?

WAIT! you make x amount and aren't even in the picture?? any tips for your fellow taxsister?

 

[Hmmm]

For example for malta company adsense will deduct 10% for motion picture earnings. For me defacto deduct 8.7% from youtube earnings, not sure why amounts is different.
I think better to find jurisdictions which deduct 0% for motion picture (Australia, UK, Canada) and then make a second company which for example provide video production services, and uk/au/ca company left without or with minimal profit But I think you will need nominee director/shareholder to sleep better.

 

[Mike Forman]

Setup a corporation not on your name using nominees. Use this money as a loan to another corporation you would like to use for investments or any other business you could use it for and make expenses or move later to UAE, get the money as a loan in the company and don't pay back the loan.

In the end the only safe option is to get out of that den of thieves (taxing 55pct personal tax is theft), because even you setup things correctly, if they find out through UBO reporting you are the owner of a corporation in UAE, HK, Malta you can be 100pct sure they go after you. Once they do that it's with only one intention, to extract money from you, right or wrong doesn't count anymore and you will need some good tsx lawyers (or/and pay a settlement).
.

 

[Marzio]

Australia, UK, Canada

Of the countries you mentioned only UK has 0% WHT on motion pictures. Australia has 5% WHT and Canada 10%

 

[Don]

In 1848 Marx and Engels proposed that progressive taxation be used to wrest, by degrees, all capital from the bourgeois, to centralize all instruments of production in the hands of the state. Although communism has failed, the idea of progressive taxation as a means of achieving social justice endures in the EU. Belgium - the heart of EU, is a great example with the highest marginal individual income tax rate at 79.5%.

Basically pick whatever country and you are better off tax-wise. Georgia, Cyprus, Malta, Bulgaria, Switzerland are indeed not bad choices.

I would also add Estonia to the list. Especially if you would like to stay or keep legal residency in Schengen for some reason or have more flexibility to visit Belgium. You would pay in total 20% tax, and less if you decide not to distribute profits to yourself. Its also not a bad stepping-stone before establishing tax residency in UAE for EU citizens.

 

[Marzio]

You would pay in total 20% tax

+10% WHT

 

[Don]

+10% WHT

If income is received from a foreign country, double taxation can be avoided in Estonia by deducting the foreign income tax from the Estonian income tax calculated when paying a dividend payout.

 

[Marzio]

If income is received from a foreign country, double taxation can be avoided in Estonia by deducting the foreign income tax from the Estonian income tax calculated when paying a dividend payout.

So instead of taxing dividend distribution at 20% they will give you a 10% tax credit for 10% US WHT so that you end up paying 20% total? Nice!