Where to incorporate a company for selling on Etsy, Amazon & White label goods on a small scale?

[escapetherace]

I'd like to start selling on a small scale on Etsy, Amazon & also white label goods targeting mainly the US & European markets. Where would you recommend setting up that is reasonably fast and cheap? I am a resident of the Seychelles where they do not tax income made outside of the country but I'm guessing it would be preferential to register somewhere that has a double taxation treaty with the US & EU?

 

[VESTANON]

@OP why not consider incorparating in Seychelles,why register in a territory with double taxation whereas seychelles would be beneficial?

as seychelles allows for no personal income tax..
as per resonably fast incoporation cyprus,uae and regional areas within Seychelles...

though do consider banking as thats a hurdle to consider prior to/after incorporating an entity.

Seychelles does have corporate tax based on incoming activites etc..

regardless an advantage to banking and incorporating in Seychelles should be a longterm perspective inline with your current residency status.

 

[escapetherace]

@VESTANON, thanks for the reply.

I would much prefer to register in Seychelles but unfortunately it is not a supported country by Etsy.

I was looking into countries with double taxation treaties with the US as it is my understanding that taxes would be due for goods sold in the US regardless of where the company that sold the goods is registered in? For example selling on Amazon is easier when the country your company is registered in has a double taxation treaty with the US.

For banking, I am planning on using Wise as I will not be hosting my own e-commerce store so would not need a payment processor. It also has the benefit of being able to hold multiple currencies.

UAE is also not supported by Etsy but Cyprus seems to be eligible. Do you have any experience setting up there?

 

[Mike Forman]

I'd like to start selling on a small scale on Etsy, Amazon & also white label goods targeting mainly the US & European markets. Where would you recommend setting up that is reasonably fast and cheap? I am a resident of the Seychelles where they do not tax income made outside of the country but I'm guessing it would be preferential to register somewhere that has a double taxation treaty with the US & EU?

Why you need a double taxation treaty with the US and EU?
You only have to be tax compliant with the country you operate your business from, which would be Seychelles in your case.
In Europe you have to Pay VAT but as a non EU business, you have to register for the VAT numbers of the counties you apply for (you can use Amazon or any agent) and do the month filing.
Amazon already withholds the correct vat on each sale automatically.

You can incorporate a Hong Kong company, this is easy and fast. You can apply for the offshore claim (will cost you some money to lawyer/auditor and it will require a lot of proof). Obtaining a Hong Kong bank account will be challenging but yeah can try first with neat or other HK enabled EMI.

Amazon has good support for Hong Kong / Chinese based companies. You will need a payoneer account to recieve the payments.

 

[escapetherace]

Why you need a double taxation treaty with the US and EU?
You only have to be tax compliant with the country you operate your business from, which would be Seychelles in your case.
In Europe you have to Pay VAT but as a non EU business, you have to register for the VAT numbers of the counties you apply for (you can use Amazon or any agent) and do the month filing.
Amazon already withholds the correct vat on each sale automatically.

You can incorporate a Hong Kong company, this is easy and fast. You can apply for the offshore claim (will cost you some money to lawyer/auditor and it will require a lot of proof). Obtaining a Hong Kong bank account will be challenging but yeah can try first with neat or other HK enabled EMI.

Amazon has good support for Hong Kong / Chinese based companies. You will need a payoneer account to recieve the payments.

Hi Mike, thanks for your message.

I addressed your question in my previous response but for some reason my message is waiting approval from the moderator.

I am under the belief that you are required to pay US taxes regardless of where your business is registered if the source of income is from the US market. Therefore, if I register with a country that has double taxation treaty, it'd be easier for me come tax season. Is this not accurate?

Is VAT required in every EU country? I thought it was only for Estonia registered businesses.

Thanks, I'll have a look into Hong Kong incorporations.

 

[DarkRevoMan]

Hi Mike, thanks for your message.

I addressed your question in my previous response but for some reason my message is waiting approval from the moderator.

I am under the belief that you are required to pay US taxes regardless of where your business is registered if the source of income is from the US market. Therefore, if I register with a country that has double taxation treaty, it'd be easier for me come tax season. Is this not accurate?

Is VAT required in every EU country? I thought it was only for Estonia registered businesses.

Thanks, I'll have a look into Hong Kong incorporations.

I think I follow what you're saying. Even if you have an offshore company, by doing business in places with tax you you are generating a tax liability.

The way you could avoid this potentially is to register several companies. Offshore holding company that owns the trademarks and IP, onshore sales companies that invoice customers. The on shore companies can be not profitable so there is no tax owing there.

Invoice the offshore company for things such as: IP licensing, trademark usage, distribution rights, hosting, services, consulting, management, etc.

There you go, the on shore companies are breaking even and all the profit flows offshore.

The only thing you need to watch out for is thin capitalization transfer pricing or whatever the f**k they call it these days, but many places don't care.

 

[CyprusLawyer101]

Hey, it seems that Cyprus is an appropriate option for you. Also the fact that you are resident in the Seychelles, means not much planning required for anti avoidance rules, no substance requirements etc. You just need a simple set up with an account and a payment gateway. If you are interested to discuss this in detail, I can PM you.

 

[escapetherace]

I think I follow what you're saying. Even if you have an offshore company, by doing business in places with tax you you are generating a tax liability.

The way you could avoid this potentially is to register several companies. Offshore holding company that owns the trademarks and IP, onshore sales companies that invoice customers. The on shore companies can be not profitable so there is no tax owing there.

Invoice the offshore company for things such as: IP licensing, trademark usage, distribution rights, hosting, services, consulting, management, etc.

There you go, the on shore companies are breaking even and all the profit flows offshore.

The only thing you need to watch out for is thin capitalization transfer pricing or whatever the f**k they call it these days, but many places don't care.

Thanks, that's an interesting strategy. I'll try find more information about it but it does sound like it could work.

Hey, it seems that Cyprus is an appropriate option for you. Also the fact that you are resident in the Seychelles, means not much planning required for anti avoidance rules, no substance requirements etc. You just need a simple set up with an account and a payment gateway. If you are interested to discuss this in detail, I can PM you.

Sure, please send through your proposal

 

[Mike Forman]

Hi Mike, thanks for your message.

I addressed your question in my previous response but for some reason my message is waiting approval from the moderator.

I am under the belief that you are required to pay US taxes regardless of where your business is registered if the source of income is from the US market. Therefore, if I register with a country that has double taxation treaty, it'd be easier for me come tax season. Is this not accurate?

Is VAT required in every EU country? I thought it was only for Estonia registered businesses.

Thanks, I'll have a look into Hong Kong incorporations.

You just have to pay corporate tax in the country where you are registered and operating from.
Double taxation treaty is only helpful if you operate your company, registered in country A operate from country B and already paid some tax in country A, which with the treaty might be offset against the tax to be paid in country B.

Selling in the US or Europe without being present there doesn't trigger any of those.

In US you have to pay sales tax according to the state of the buyer. Amazon will also I believe automatically withhold that tax.

https://bench.co/blog/tax-tips/amazon-seller-taxes/
In Europe you have to pay VAT in every country you sell to and need to have obtained a Vat number of each country you plan to sell to BEFORE you commence sales. Amazon provides this services of obtaining a VAT nr as well calculating and filing the VAT reports.
These are services you have to pay for.

Abovee suggestions of creating multiple firms and intercompany bill them for UP etc is unrelated to you question to sell online, it can only be helpful to reduce your corporate taxable income.
It will add to the level of complexity as each corporation requires its filings as well if they belong to the same UBO and/or same director governments might challenge this expense (IP, consulting..)

Hey, it seems that Cyprus is an appropriate option for you. Also the fact that you are resident in the Seychelles, means not much planning required for anti avoidance rules, no substance requirements etc. You just need a simple set up with an account and a payment gateway. If you are interested to discuss this in detail, I can PM you.

Amazon will require an address proof regularly (utility bills) and bank statements from the bank confirming your address. If this can be provided any country can be a solution, but that's often the issue.

 

[DarkRevoMan]

You just have to pay corporate tax in the country where you are registered and operating from.
Double taxation treaty is only helpful if you operate your company, registered in country A operate from country B and already paid some tax in country A, which with the treaty might be offset against the tax to be paid in country B.

Selling in the US or Europe without being present there doesn't trigger any of those.

In US you have to pay sales tax according to the state of the buyer. Amazon will also I believe automatically withhold that tax.

https://bench.co/blog/tax-tips/amazon-seller-taxes/
In Europe you have to pay VAT in every country you sell to and need to have obtained a Vat number of each country you plan to sell to BEFORE you commence sales. Amazon provides this services of obtaining a VAT nr as well calculating and filing the VAT reports.
These are services you have to pay for.

Abovee suggestions of creating multiple firms and intercompany bill them for UP etc is unrelated to you question to sell online, it can only be helpful to reduce your corporate taxable income.
It will add to the level of complexity as each corporation requires its filings as well if they belong to the same UBO and/or same director governments might challenge this expense (IP, consulting..)


Amazon will require an address proof regularly (utility bills) and bank statements from the bank confirming your address. If this can be provided any country can be a solution, but that's often the issue.

You sure? Its state dependent, and not so simple.

Example from NY

"Prior to the 2015 corporate tax reform, an out-of-state business that simply sold products or services to New York customers would not have substantial nexus with New York without other qualifying presence, and it would not have been subject to New York’s tax jurisdiction. According to the revised Tax Law Section 209, however, in addition to corporations with traditional nexus connections, corporations that derive more than $1,000,000 of New York-source receipts during the tax year are now also subject to New York’s franchise tax, even if they have no other relevant contacts with New York. "

 

[CyprusLawyer101]

You just have to pay corporate tax in the country where you are registered and operating from.
Double taxation treaty is only helpful if you operate your company, registered in country A operate from country B and already paid some tax in country A, which with the treaty might be offset against the tax to be paid in country B.

Selling in the US or Europe without being present there doesn't trigger any of those.

In US you have to pay sales tax according to the state of the buyer. Amazon will also I believe automatically withhold that tax.

https://bench.co/blog/tax-tips/amazon-seller-taxes/
In Europe you have to pay VAT in every country you sell to and need to have obtained a Vat number of each country you plan to sell to BEFORE you commence sales. Amazon provides this services of obtaining a VAT nr as well calculating and filing the VAT reports.
These are services you have to pay for.

Abovee suggestions of creating multiple firms and intercompany bill them for UP etc is unrelated to you question to sell online, it can only be helpful to reduce your corporate taxable income.
It will add to the level of complexity as each corporation requires its filings as well if they belong to the same UBO and/or same director governments might challenge this expense (IP, consulting..)


Amazon will require an address proof regularly (utility bills) and bank statements from the bank confirming your address. If this can be provided any country can be a solution, but that's often the issue.

You mean personal utility of the beneficial owner or a utility bill on the name of the company?

 

[Mike Forman]

You mean personal utility of the beneficial owner or a utility bill on the name of the company?

Both are required. Utility bill of the owner doesn't matter and can be his residence. The company utility bill as well bank account address has to match exactly with the company address. So an offshore company that can't provide that won't do, at least not for amazon

 

[CyprusLawyer101]

Both are required. Utility bill of the owner doesn't matter and can be his residence. The company utility bill as well bank account address has to match exactly with the company address. So an offshore company that can't provide that won't do, at least not for amazon

Thanks for this helpful info !

 

[escapetherace]

You just have to pay corporate tax in the country where you are registered and operating from.
Double taxation treaty is only helpful if you operate your company, registered in country A operate from country B and already paid some tax in country A, which with the treaty might be offset against the tax to be paid in country B.

Selling in the US or Europe without being present there doesn't trigger any of those.

In US you have to pay sales tax according to the state of the buyer. Amazon will also I believe automatically withhold that tax.

https://bench.co/blog/tax-tips/amazon-seller-taxes/
In Europe you have to pay VAT in every country you sell to and need to have obtained a Vat number of each country you plan to sell to BEFORE you commence sales. Amazon provides this services of obtaining a VAT nr as well calculating and filing the VAT reports.
These are services you have to pay for.

Abovee suggestions of creating multiple firms and intercompany bill them for UP etc is unrelated to you question to sell online, it can only be helpful to reduce your corporate taxable income.
It will add to the level of complexity as each corporation requires its filings as well if they belong to the same UBO and/or same director governments might challenge this expense (IP, consulting..)


Amazon will require an address proof regularly (utility bills) and bank statements from the bank confirming your address. If this can be provided any country can be a solution, but that's often the issue.

Thanks so much for this Mike.

I had a meeting with a local ICSP and they'll be able to help with the proof of address etc. Disappointed that Etsy isn't as easy to work with as Amazon but I'll take what I can get.

All the best!

 

[tyrexoid]

Why you need a double taxation treaty with the US and EU?
You only have to be tax compliant with the country you operate your business from, which would be Seychelles in your case.
In Europe you have to Pay VAT but as a non EU business, you have to register for the VAT numbers of the counties you apply for (you can use Amazon or any agent) and do the month filing.
Amazon already withholds the correct vat on each sale automatically.

You can incorporate a Hong Kong company, this is easy and fast. You can apply for the offshore claim (will cost you some money to lawyer/auditor and it will require a lot of proof). Obtaining a Hong Kong bank account will be challenging but yeah can try first with neat or other HK enabled EMI.

Amazon has good support for Hong Kong / Chinese based companies. You will need a payoneer account to recieve the payments.

HK incorporation is 800$+ and after 18 months need to submit 'audit' or something, even if no operation dormant company during this time, which costs 1800$ that's not much a way around it, because of government fee, so it's not a cheap deal (some sellers on Etsy don't make this money in a year so I'd suggest to check carefully the future fees, including termination of legal entity, which costs a lot always, that's how accountants and agents make their money).
TLDR; need to read the fine print all the time, and ask the agents the right questions.

P.S. I'd go with US single member LLC, since banking is easy (can open Mercury account even online, I think, I have SSN but maybe they open also for 'TIN only' it's when you only get incorporation and TIN number with the LLC, can make bank account for it in a few online neo-banks, btw you can ask ChatSonic the WriteSonic GPT about up to date latest info, see example below, and YAY my guess about Mercury was correct, I had a feeling that they are foreigner friendly, when I was opening the account with them [as a resident at the time] ). I hope it helps.

```
Which US online banks allow to create a business banking account for a single member LLC using only TIN number and not having SSN as foreign resident? Please list the top 5 most popular options
```

```
[1] Wells Fargo is the most “foreigner-friendly” online bank for single member LLCs. They allow you to open a business banking account with just a TIN number and no SSN. Additionally, they offer Visa- or Mastercard-backed debit cards.
[2] Mercury is another popular option for creating an LLC bank account. They allow you to open a business banking account without having to travel to the US and accept a passport as identification.
[3] U.S. Bank is a reliable brick-and-mortar bank that offers LLCs a business bank account with a range of features.
[4] Chase offers a comprehensive business banking account with a range of
```
lol the bot answer was cut on Chase text, but Wells Fargo and Mercury are the best options to reach out to them and ask what's required (or find in a FAQ on the website). You can try and dig for more information with the chatbot, the AI pulls up to date information because Google is enabled there, so it summarizes hours of googling/reading for you.

and I got curious so I kept asking it about a personal account, Bank of America allows personal accounts for foreigners without SSN that's pretty cool.

and omg prompt engineering is important, by asking the question in plural form, I got the correct results, about all banks who accept non-residents. wow I never imagined that SO many banks allow that. Will send to my friend who's from SA, and flies there for a week just to make a few personal accounts because the banking in his country is 'not great' .

 

[Mike Forman]

HK incorporation is 800$+ and after 18 months need to submit 'audit' or something, even if no operation dormant company during this time, which costs 1800$ that's not much a way around it, because of government fee, so it's not a cheap deal (some sellers on Etsy don't make this money in a year so I'd suggest to check carefully the future fees, including termination of legal entity, which costs a lot always, that's how accountants and agents make their money).
TLDR; need to read the fine print all the time, and ask the agents the right questions.

P.S. I'd go with US single member LLC, since banking is easy (can open Mercury account even online, I think, I have SSN but maybe they open also for 'TIN only' it's when you only get incorporation and TIN number with the LLC, can make bank account for it in a few online neo-banks, btw you can ask ChatSonic the WriteSonic GPT about up to date latest info, see example below, and YAY my guess about Mercury was correct, I had a feeling that they are foreigner friendly, when I was opening the account with them [as a resident at the time] ). I hope it helps.

```
Which US online banks allow to create a business banking account for a single member LLC using only TIN number and not having SSN as foreign resident? Please list the top 5 most popular options
```

```
[1] Wells Fargo is the most “foreigner-friendly” online bank for single member LLCs. They allow you to open a business banking account with just a TIN number and no SSN. Additionally, they offer Visa- or Mastercard-backed debit cards.
[2] Mercury is another popular option for creating an LLC bank account. They allow you to open a business banking account without having to travel to the US and accept a passport as identification.
[3] U.S. Bank is a reliable brick-and-mortar bank that offers LLCs a business bank account with a range of features.
[4] Chase offers a comprehensive business banking account with a range of
```
lol the bot answer was cut on Chase text, but Wells Fargo and Mercury are the best options to reach out to them and ask what's required (or find in a FAQ on the website). You can try and dig for more information with the chatbot, the AI pulls up to date information because Google is enabled there, so it summarizes hours of googling/reading for you.

and I got curious so I kept asking it about a personal account, Bank of America allows personal accounts for foreigners without SSN that's pretty cool.

View attachment 4469

and omg prompt engineering is important, by asking the question in plural form, I got the correct results, about all banks who accept non-residents. wow I never imagined that SO many banks allow that. Will send to my friend who's from SA, and flies there for a week just to make a few personal accounts because the banking in his country is 'not great' .

View attachment 4470

Why even think about opening a business if someone can't make 2k usd a year . Any incorporation will cost you around 1k usd in general in the lower end. Incorporate a HK company would cost you indeed 600-800usd. Renewal is cheap and around 400 usd a year.

Hong Kong requires indeed an annual audit, but if you "forget" the first two years to do the audit end then do all three years at once you won't have issues. A nil filing will just cost you 100usd if your agent does it.

LLC seems indeed a cheaper and better solution in this case. Not sure the information provided by chatgpt can be considered as you just step in the bank and get an account. They allow non residents to open an account doesn't mean they will also open it for you.

 

[tyrexoid]

Why even think about opening a business if someone can't make 2k usd a year . Any incorporation will cost you around 1k usd in general in the lower end. Incorporate a HK company would cost you indeed 600-800usd. Renewal is cheap and around 400 usd a year.

Hong Kong requires indeed an annual audit, but if you "forget" the first two years to do the audit end then do all three years at once you won't have issues. A nil filing will just cost you 100usd if your agent does it.

LLC seems indeed a cheaper and better solution in this case. Not sure the information provided by chatgpt can be considered as you just step in the bank and get an account. They allow non residents to open an account doesn't mean they will also open it for you.

bruh can you DM me the agent? mine wants 1800$ and I shopped around a bit but didn't find alternatives (back then when I registered it). I have a dormant one at the moment, still didn't run anything through it, doing all using my LLC for now. But I might need the HK for crypto in a few years (for 2025 bull run ). I'll need to do an empty filing, and omg can't believe my agent tried to rip me off like that, she seemed like a nice lady and she said I won't find a cheaper service anywhere unless I know Chinese.

And yes, of course the banks in US will evaluate each bank account application on a case by case basis, I just shared information from which the OP can start the research and call/email those banks to find out what exactly they require. At least it narrows down the search.

 

[escapetherace]

HK incorporation is 800$+ and after 18 months need to submit 'audit' or something, even if no operation dormant company during this time, which costs 1800$ that's not much a way around it, because of government fee, so it's not a cheap deal (some sellers on Etsy don't make this money in a year so I'd suggest to check carefully the future fees, including termination of legal entity, which costs a lot always, that's how accountants and agents make their money).
TLDR; need to read the fine print all the time, and ask the agents the right questions.

P.S. I'd go with US single member LLC, since banking is easy (can open Mercury account even online, I think, I have SSN but maybe they open also for 'TIN only' it's when you only get incorporation and TIN number with the LLC, can make bank account for it in a few online neo-banks, btw you can ask ChatSonic the WriteSonic GPT about up to date latest info, see example below, and YAY my guess about Mercury was correct, I had a feeling that they are foreigner friendly, when I was opening the account with them [as a resident at the time] ). I hope it helps.

```
Which US online banks allow to create a business banking account for a single member LLC using only TIN number and not having SSN as foreign resident? Please list the top 5 most popular options
```

```
[1] Wells Fargo is the most “foreigner-friendly” online bank for single member LLCs. They allow you to open a business banking account with just a TIN number and no SSN. Additionally, they offer Visa- or Mastercard-backed debit cards.
[2] Mercury is another popular option for creating an LLC bank account. They allow you to open a business banking account without having to travel to the US and accept a passport as identification.
[3] U.S. Bank is a reliable brick-and-mortar bank that offers LLCs a business bank account with a range of features.
[4] Chase offers a comprehensive business banking account with a range of
```
lol the bot answer was cut on Chase text, but Wells Fargo and Mercury are the best options to reach out to them and ask what's required (or find in a FAQ on the website). You can try and dig for more information with the chatbot, the AI pulls up to date information because Google is enabled there, so it summarizes hours of googling/reading for you.

and I got curious so I kept asking it about a personal account, Bank of America allows personal accounts for foreigners without SSN that's pretty cool.

View attachment 4469

and omg prompt engineering is important, by asking the question in plural form, I got the correct results, about all banks who accept non-residents. wow I never imagined that SO many banks allow that. Will send to my friend who's from SA, and flies there for a week just to make a few personal accounts because the banking in his country is 'not great' .

View attachment 4470

Thanks for this but I wasn't able to open a US Bank Account when I registered a C-Corp (through Stripe Atlas) and eventually had to dissolve it for $2000. Pricey mistake.

Why even think about opening a business if someone can't make 2k usd a year . Any incorporation will cost you around 1k usd in general in the lower end. Incorporate a HK company would cost you indeed 600-800usd. Renewal is cheap and around 400 usd a year.

Hong Kong requires indeed an annual audit, but if you "forget" the first two years to do the audit end then do all three years at once you won't have issues. A nil filing will just cost you 100usd if your agent does it.

LLC seems indeed a cheaper and better solution in this case. Not sure the information provided by chatgpt can be considered as you just step in the bank and get an account. They allow non residents to open an account doesn't mean they will also open it for you.

I was about to pull the trigger with a Seychelles IBC but now I'll have to reconsider seeing as how affordable HK is compared to everywhere else.

I'd be grateful if you could share your agents details with me as well please