Am I on the right path here? Australia and EU Founders

[GetOutaHere]

Hey everyone!

Short( but enthusiastic) time reader, first-time poster.

I am looking to start a SAAS company. I am extremely wary of the tax implications it will have for me as an Australian.
I have been to two accountants, and both didn't even want to entertain the thought of talking about it.
In the company, there are 2 Australians, 2 Europeans, and one Asian (Location, not race, obviously).

From the tens of hours of reading here, I have come up with the following:
1. Panama Foundation with Marshal Islands IBC
or(the better option imo)
2. Seychelles Foundation with Belize IBC

Most important considerations, by order of priority:
1. FULL anonymity from:
a. any and all Australian agencies.
b. AEIO, OECD etc
c. the providing law firm (A leak at this level is not likely, but still would ideally like to cover my bases)
2. Accept crypto(preferably a privacy coin. I am happy to pay a premium for this)
3. IF we were found to be involved, a setup that would legally protect me from any company and income tax in Australia.
4. Opening a bank account (100% of the income is paid in crypto, but it would be nice to convert to fiat. Currently converting to stablecoins. )..

At this stage, I do not plan on taking any money as a wage or otherwise. I have several other incomes to rely on, with this one being a 'retirement fund' of sorts that I will likely not liquidate for 20+ years.
I will, however, like the possibility of buying real estate in Europe and Australia if possible.
It is worth noting I will be publically named on the companies website ( as someone that works there[COO or similar], so if I need to invoice the IBC from my Australian company every month for a small amount, I can)

And lastly, does anyone have any recommendations of which firm to deal with. There are so many around, and it is very hard to separate the scams/rip offs.

Thank you all again for providing the information I have read. I have learned more on this site alone than on Google in the last month.

 

[James Turner]

Hi,

While I understand your requirements and reasons for the added complexity in terms of the proposed jurisdictions, use of Foundations etc, I think when you combine that complexity and anonymity which is achieved with banking and particularly banking where 100% of the income is paid in crypto, this will prove extremely difficult to achieve. The tax regime in Australia will obviously play a fundamental part in the end structure as you indicate a wish to operate legally and this is likely to require some serious consideration as to whether that is possible.

I would suggest engaging a firm capable of carrying out a detailed analysis of your situation to allow a workable solution to be created.

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[GetOutaHere]

James Turner said:
While I understand your requirements and reasons for the added complexity in terms of the proposed jurisdictions, use of Foundations etc, I think when you combine that complexity and anonymity which is achieved with banking and particularly banking where 100% of the income is paid in crypto, this will prove extremely difficult to achieve. The tax regime in Australia will obviously play a fundamental part in the end structure as you indicate a wish to operate legally and this is likely to require some serious consideration as to whether that is possible.
Click to expand...

If we were to leave FIAT banking out of the mix, and used some form of nominees, with pre-signed, un-dated transfers, would it be any more suitable?

The 'Operate legally' part is grey. We will need to have our names/pictures on the webpage as staff members(not owners)
I thought that was the idea of the Seychelles Foundations. That no one actually owned them, and there were no beneficiaries. And they could own an IBC ( Again without having our names on the IBC at all)
So long as I am protected from Australian Agencies, I am happy.
Thats why I thought raising an invoice with the IBC once a month for $500 from my local company as a consultant would work.

Again, I am new to this, that is why I am here 🙂
I just want to be as well informed as I can possibly be before contacting a firm to move forward.

 

[GetOutaHere]

Anyone else got any ideas on this?
I'm at a loss at this stage.

 

[James Turner]

I am of the opinion that Nominees would be a simpler process than the original Foundation idea. Certainly this is easier for banks to understand. Using nominees and having undated stock transfers and undated resignations, POA's and declarations of Trust should always be the case.

The idea that Seychelles companies (or indeed any company) have no ultimate beneficiaries at all is an unusual one and certainly not the case. Likewise an IBC has ultimate beneficiaries also. This does not mean that your name must be attached to the company itself though in terms of company documentation, registers etc.

I hope this helps.

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