Best country in EU to have an e-Commerce Company

[Foxhound]

I have an e-commerce business that is getting raped by taxes atm.
I'm working 60%+ for the government and the rest for myself, this is stupid. I don't mind to pay taxes, but they must be fair.

I'm not considering offshores atm, I'm interested to know what would be the best country in EU to create a company where I would sell products to other EU customers (B2C).

Someone has some experiences to share about this topic?

 

[Marzio]

You forgot a critical piece, are you willing to move as well?

 

[Sols]

Unless you can also relocate or live in a tax haven today, forming a foreign‌ company is a bit of a pointless endeavour due to tax residence of the company‍ effectively being with you... I'll refer to the post linked in my signature.

 

[Foxhound]

So if I live in Spain for example, I can't create a company in Ireland?‌
To do that I need to reside in Ireland?

 

[Sols]

You can create the company. It's just an absolute waste of time and money, because‌ the company is going to end up being tax resident in Spain and have to‍ pay Spanish tax anyway. If you're unlucky, you might need to pay both Irish and⁠ Spanish tax , and see if there's a tax treaty you can use to avoid⁤ doing that.

 

[Marzio]

You can but Hacienda will laugh at you when you'll‍ say that you are not paying 25% CIT because you have a company in Ireland.⁠

The fact is that if you manage the company from Spain, it will be tax⁤ resident in Spain.

If you want to continue tue live in Spain then you can⁣ setup your company in the Canary Islands and save a lot of taxes either by⁢ leveraging the RIC or ZEC

 

[Foxhound]

I must say that this got me completely by surprise.

Do you guys know a‌ "cheap" tax haven near Europe?
I've done some surface research about Gibraltar, but they want‍ me to invest 350k, I don't have that kind of money sitting around.

 

[Marzio]

For what?

 

[Foxhound]

To open a corporate bank account.

 

[Sols]

But why? Information about the bank account will reach the Hacienda and if someone happens‌ to notice it, they'll mail you an invoice for taxes they estimate you owe. They're‍ often wrong and you'll need to negotiate or fight with them.

If you don't want⁠ to pay Spanish tax, don't live in Spain.

If you have an EU passport, Malta⁤ and Cyprus are easy options you can relocate to.

 

[Foxhound]

I see alot of people talking about Cyprus.

Yes I have an EU passport. One of⁣ my main problems with Cyprus (and all other offshores) is that there is so many⁢ information and desinformation online, that I really don't know where to begin.
Do you know︀ where I can get legit information about opening a company with bank account in Cyprus?︁

 

[Sols]

This forum has a lot of threads‍ about Cyprus with information. Look into threads about Cyprus non-dom (non-domicile) residents.

https://www.offshorecorptalk.com/threads/cyprus-non-dom-residence-costs.43590/https://www.offshorecorptalk.com/threads/cyprus-non-dom-without-a-company.40028/https://www.offshorecorptalk.com/th...ective-tax-rates-three-different-cases.32770/https://www.offshorecorptalk.com/th...s-from-companies-who-should-be-manager.41803/
There are also local experts on the forum, such as @CyprusBusiness, @CyprusLaw, and @CyprusLawyer101.

Additionally, when you look at information online, focus on websites and articles⁠ published in the last few years only and that are published by local law firms,⁤ tax advisers, or corporate service providers that are actually based in and licensed in Cyprus⁣ (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission | Approved ASP).

 

[benbao]

If you don't have a medium 6 figure amount then it won't⁤ make sense anyhow to setup a company elsewhere, move your operation and yourself etc to⁣ save some taxes. Focus on making real money then think how to optimise it. The⁢ times where it's worth to play tax games to save a couple of thousand euros︀ per year are over for decades already.

 

[Foxhound]

Thanks, I will check out all of those︀ threads.

I've made 350k in 2023︅ and I'm projecting 400k this year, I could be making alot more but I'm holding︆ back because I need to find a better country to pay taxes, I think it︇ makes sense to invest in making a company in a country with better taxes.
It will not only help me to get more money in my pockets but it will︈ also make my company more competitive against other companies that are paying extremely high taxes.︉

 

[GPT]

It will only make sense to incorporate a company “in a︀ country with better taxes” when you move there yourself.

If you don’t go there yourself︁ then it’s better to focus on growing your company and think about tax optimization when︂ you are ready to move yourself to another country.

Within your current country, speak to︃ a good accountant and find out what you can optimize within your current country.

With 350-400k I bet you have plenty of options.

 

[Jabbar]

You can open company for example in UK but you need to move some real‌ psyhical operations there. You need office, employee and for example use this company for UK‍ customers. You can do the same for other main markets like US. After that you⁠ can move money with certain sheme between companies. You need to do it with some⁤ real % margin. For your spanish customers you need to sell via spanish company.

 

[GPT]

Substance and presence. With proper turnover and profit no problem. For⁢ a lot of one man consulting/service companies it's challenging to make it work.

 

[Dandyline]

Register yourself in Bulgaria, start a company there. Rent a cheap apartment, and have some spending‍ in the country for residence purposes. Pay low taxes 10-12%.

It's Schengen so you can⁠ live in Spain most of the year unnoticed.

 

[GPT]

Until they check your credit card and bank statements...

 

[Dandyline]

Yes, of course you hire someone to do some daily spendings on your card inside the‌ country.