$2m/year dropshipping, need structure for asset protection

[Terry M]

Hi!

I'm perpetual nomad running dropshipping business selling home supplies. My customers are from the EU. Chargebacks are low. No inventory or local presence, no partners or employees. I'm not from the EEA or USA, + tax non-resident anywhere.

Gross turnover is >€150k/month.

So far I've been using Stripe with dark personal account (setup was easy as hell), but I began having problems with banks in the EU since I'm not incorporated and volume is growing exponentially. + I'm reaching the limits for individual daily purchase amounts, etc.
I don't report any trading activity whatsoever and file nothing. I like it this way and want to keep it so.

99% of profits are moving into cryptocurrency on daily basis, there are no funds held “anywhere” and my identity is dark.

I'm extremely thirsty for any guidance and directions on viable offshore structures that will first ensure bulletproof privacy and second - lowest (ideally 0%) tax and reporting obligations.
I need a structure that can hold several million USD in liquid assets in any currency, as well as owning boats, cars and real estate.
None of that matters if I can't ensure my privacy against my government, as well as tax-authority of any kind.

Having access to CC processing is paramount.

I want to be able to make as much money as I want without any entity telling me to slow down or stop.
I'm willing to build the structure of any type and size.

Thanks in advance.
Namaste.

I should add that I've established residency in Georgia through micro-business incorporation (tax and reporting exempt), hence my legal address is in Tbilisi. I'm, however tax-non resident there (I don't live there for more than 183 days). I can handle my personal economic activity being reported there, since it's not taxed. I believe, at least.
Nonetheless, I'm not interested in owning assets or possessing cash under my own name/account and prefer everything in my life being paid and owned by the corp which I control.

Last edited by a moderator: Sep 23, 2018

 

[ultrarekt]

I'm honestly at a loss for words. Firstly, congratulations on your (seemingly) impressive venture!

Secondly, why not simply renounce your citizenship and become a non-resident in your home country (which‌ you want to hide everything from anyway?). If i understood you correctly, you are a‍ nomad. I believe the easiest and most hassle/stress free way would be to do that,⁠ and then buy your citizenship/residency in one of those countries that sell them for 50-100k⁤ USD and have territorial tax (0% corp tax on income made outside the country)

Then you incorporate a legit corporation there, under your REAL name (no darks) but use nominee⁣ directors/shareholders/etc (legal) so you do not appear in the register. You would still be the⁢ beneficiary (under your real identity), only the bank and govt will know about it (what's︀ in the public register = nominee's infos) and not bother you as you purchased the︁ tax residency legitimately.

At least this way you actually DIRECTLY control all these assets and︂ they are legally yours in YOUR name, instead of in the name of a "dark/fictitious"︃ person.

I personally couldn't sleep well knowing I have a multi million dollar empire of︄ assets that are not LEGALLY mine, but in the name of a dark identity that︅ I control. What if s**t hits the fan? Assets or bank account get frozen or︆ seized? Good luck going to any court or bank branch to prove it's yours when︇ everything's in the name of a dark identity.

My two cents 🙂

 

[anticfc]

From your description it seems like you need to fix both your e-commerce setup and‌ your asset protection setup.

It's not clear why your assets are a problem - can't‍ you just hold them in some offshore company with nominees?

For the e-commerce part, can⁠ you shard your business? I.e. can you run your dropshipping business under multiple independent names?⁤

Would you be willing to give up control to keep anonymity?

In case of yes/yes,⁣ I'm thinking that it should be possible to take a minority (<25%) stake in a⁢ company that does the CC processing. This avoids UBO and CFC (not relevant in your︀ case) issues. There would be a CEO in this company that is identified for AML︁ purposes, and that would have to keep an eye on your dealings so there's no︂ monkey business happening. With a <25% stake, you are not an UBO.

 

[JohnLocke]

How do you get your money from Stripe to⁤ the bank account today? If the Stripe account is setup with darks it's not easier⁣ or don't the bank ask for questions?

 

[gracyunder34]

What kind of items? dropshiping from China?

 

[extremedox101]

wow 007

 

[Terry M]

Stripe doesn't care because everything looks 100% legit. + it's setup⁠ in most non-fraudulent country in the EU

 

[Terry M]

Thanks, but this is absolutely child's play. This is nothing, compared‍ to where it can grow if you can allow this engine to run with no⁠ resistance. There are soo many limitations on individual bank accounts, you effectively can't get rich.⁤ Period. They throttle you everywhere.

It's mine if I control the keys. Moreover, all businesses-related assets can be packed︀ up and moved to a new location/server in under 15 minutes. Only a few GB.︁ Encrypted everywhere. I sleep very well.

Yes.

Can anyone suggest one of the following payment processors that's keen︃ to process high volumes (e.g 10-40k usd per day)? Or everything is the list is︄ for kids? 🙂
2 Checkout
Authorize.NET
CCbill
Verotel
Websitebilling
Instabill
Epoch
Worldcore
GlobalCollect
WireCard
Paymentwall
Virpay

 

[myhand]

Instabill, Worldcore and Wirecard are professional companies where you can process millions if you want‌ and have a legit proven business case!

 

[gracyunder34]

Terry i am sure there is a solution for your problem if chargeback rates are‌ very low, i could share some info about some processing companies tht could work for‍ you but not in public, you can contact me if you prefer.

Anyway why not⁠ let your customers pay via bank transfer instead of credit card?

 

[Spinat]

If you have something to share do so or shut up! This is the⁤ most useless post I have seen and will go in the category of hidden advertising!⁣

 

[KJK]

Congrats on your business⁠ success. 🙂 Just make sure you don't lose half of your earnings by daytrading or Bitcoin⁤ losing its value.

Some people create trust funds for such purposes,︁ however usually that is for asset protection and not for day-to-day activities.

That makes︆ me wonder - you have residency in Georgia but you are tax non-resident... So where︇ are you actually tax resident? If anywhere at all? What would your home country say︈ about that? It really depends on your citizenship but you may be unpleasantly surprised in︉ a few years...

 

[anticfc]

What's the point of being⁤ non-resident in Georgia when Georgia has territorial taxation?

 

[Min Park]

E-Commerce: You need to split it between multi payment processors + MID. I am doing‌ it using proxies.
Personal: Your money will never be safe only 2 option: 1. Assets‍ on your name, 2. Crypto.

 

[kranj99]

It depends on the quality of your darks - but one option is setting up‌ a Canadian LP. Non-Canadian residents do not need to file any reporting as long as‍ there is no Canadian source of income on that LP. To register an LP, you⁠ can use an agent, but I did it in person and they never checked my⁤ ID papers at the registration office (Service Ontario on University Ave. in Toronto). I opened⁣ up a bank account the same day, but there they did ask for my ID⁢ (and took a photo copy). You might need to implement IP restrictions on your website︀ + not allow customers from Canada to avoid taking in any Canadian revenue to benefit︁ from the non-requirement for annual reporting. For a Canadian LP, you can be a single︂ person serving both as General Partner and Limited Partner.

 

[negon]

The darks quality has nothing to say here. What you need is real darks which‌ will work just great for you in this case. Otherwise you will have to look‍ at nominees and some entity where you can hide UBO like in the UK with⁠ this 25% rule which I personally find a little bit interesting.

 

[Oakman]

You have a bank account in Canada?

 

[user9823671]

op, if you are making 2million a year, go speak with the pros - the‌ bankers. Not some unknown people on a website who may / may not know their‍ arse from their elbow when it comes to this level. Go to some jurisdiction where⁠ hiding money / laudering is done and pay for expert advice. For that kind of⁤ money you can set up a proper system with protections and peace of mind.

 

[kranj99]

Yes - I‌ have two bank accounts for my LP: one at RBC and another at BMO. Both‍ were quick and easy to open, but I did open both accounts in person. Not⁠ sure if it is possible to open a bank account in Canada, remotely.

 

[OffCap]

This is an old post so️ not sure if you're still looking but you've got a few sides of this to‌ consider and I'd recommend going at it surgically.

First, you should start by thinking about‍ your company long term, this means team, it means payment processing, it means where are⁠ the customers and where are the suppliers, etc.

I'd also be curious about what your⁤ reasoning is for wanting to have this super high privacy? Privacy is a tricky thing⁣ because it begs the question "from whom?" For example, privacy from customers? From suppliers? From⁢ an ex-spouse? From a bank? From a government? Very often leaks in privacy don't come︀ from some big open thing but rather than simple communication leaks.

What you're suggesting is︁ perfectly doable but it does require taking some time to understand the business operation, the︂ growth goals, and other goals associated randomly throwing out idle suggestions isn't going to lead︃ to the best approach.

For example, it's quite possible for a drop shipping business a︄ US LLC could get you pretty far. If you wanted privacy adding a properly formed︅ trust structure could get you most of the rest of the way there. Then again︆ you're mentioning a bunch of stuff about crypto, which complicates it a lot and what︇ for?

If you're set up properly processing volume shouldn't be a constraint there's hundreds of︈ processors who are fine...unless there's something odd about your product but usually then Stripe would︉ be an issue.

Details make and break you in these situations.