Offshore Company + Bank + Merchant Acc. for a startup?
- Thread starter Flycatcher
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This may easely be accomplished with nominees and a Cyprus company.
I'm suggesting Cyprus because you won't be able to find any reliable payment processor for a offshore company in the Seychelles, Belize, Mauritius or most other of these tax havens!
Only possible to get it in Cyprus as one package! You may find︀ something similar in other European countries but then you won't have the same level of︁ privacy and your neighbour will find out who is operating this firm.
I'm suggesting Cyprus because you won't be able to find any reliable payment processor for a offshore company in the Seychelles, Belize, Mauritius or most other of these tax havens!
Only possible to get it in Cyprus as one package! You may find︀ something similar in other European countries but then you won't have the same level of︁ privacy and your neighbour will find out who is operating this firm.
despite the fact that Cyprus is providing the best privacy for companies registered there then what would you say if we want to ignore privacy and just want a complete package for banking, merchant account, paypal payment acceptance and maybe even some more payment options.. would a UK £1 company be a possibility you think?
I'm curious, how would this show out in practice? I'm already aware that it's really hard to find a reputable bank who accept offshore companies (e.g. none of the Caribbean ones are reputable). Is this also true for merchant account providers?
But do they,︁ if I use nominees? I've seen claims that you can use nominees for several European︂ companies.
UK will absolutely be seen as a reputable jurisdiction. Compared to offshore jurisdictions I︇ can at least think of the following disadvantages:
Positives:
So in short, if you want︌ to establish a company which pays its taxes, are ready to deal with accounting and︍ legal matters, and are OK with losing some privacy, then the term you are looking︎ for isn't really "offshore" anymore but "establishing a company abroad".
But do they,︁ if I use nominees? I've seen claims that you can use nominees for several European︂ companies.
UK will absolutely be seen as a reputable jurisdiction. Compared to offshore jurisdictions I︇ can at least think of the following disadvantages:
- Taxation
- Public registers (may possibly be avoided︈ by using nominees)
- Strict and annual accounting requirements
- Audit requirements if your company gets large︉
- Your company can get sued
Positives:
- Incorporation is cheaper than in offshore jurisdiction
- Reputable country
- More banks will start accepting you
- Cheap access from Europe
So in short, if you want︌ to establish a company which pays its taxes, are ready to deal with accounting and︍ legal matters, and are OK with losing some privacy, then the term you are looking︎ for isn't really "offshore" anymore but "establishing a company abroad".
@Flycatcher thank you very much, that is what I was looking for. An entity that can deal with taxes and all the legal stuff. I want something in front of my offshore setup and something where I can get the money float through to the protected entities in matters of assets.
Do you have any idea what the costs is for maintaining a UK company considering accounting, filing of financial report etc.? I mean more like a general price range for a small company doing less than £100k / year!
Do you have any idea what the costs is for maintaining a UK company considering accounting, filing of financial report etc.? I mean more like a general price range for a small company doing less than £100k / year!
No, sorry, I have no idea of this. Maybe someone else can answer this question for you. It's quite easy to find out the fees through: list out what you need and then shop around and ask for various services and their prices.
More information about the UK:
Set up a private limited company - GOV.UK
It seems like establishing︀ a company only costs £12, which is surprisingly cheap! But take account of all other︁ fees...
I did some︃ research on this. It heavily varies on countries. It seems like that many countries do︄ accept nominees, but have laws which make nominees legally responsible for wrongdoings of a company.︅
UK is an example where nominees would be legally responsible. It also seems to be︆ so for Ireland, where nominees "share the same rights and responsibilities as regular directors".
So I would see, that even if nominees are allowed, it will be hard to get︇ a trustworthy nominee. If a nominee knows he will be legally responsible, they are not︈ going to be a nominee for every Tom, Dick and Harry.
The internet of course︉ is already full of nominee services eagerly ready to serve you, and for such instances︊ you have to be very careful.
More information about the UK:
Set up a private limited company - GOV.UK
It seems like establishing︀ a company only costs £12, which is surprisingly cheap! But take account of all other︁ fees...
I did some︃ research on this. It heavily varies on countries. It seems like that many countries do︄ accept nominees, but have laws which make nominees legally responsible for wrongdoings of a company.︅
UK is an example where nominees would be legally responsible. It also seems to be︆ so for Ireland, where nominees "share the same rights and responsibilities as regular directors".
So I would see, that even if nominees are allowed, it will be hard to get︇ a trustworthy nominee. If a nominee knows he will be legally responsible, they are not︈ going to be a nominee for every Tom, Dick and Harry.
The internet of course︉ is already full of nominee services eagerly ready to serve you, and for such instances︊ you have to be very careful.
@drillbill Say you appoint a nominee for your company, your company does something and it gets sued. The nominee's a*s is on the line. If some offshore countries nominees won't be responsible in this case but in the UK they will so there are far less people willing to be nominees for you.
That said, if you do find some then more power to you.
That said, if you do find some then more power to you.
In other countries for instant in Cyprus the nominees are not responsible for any action in the company unless it is obvious they knew about the activity of the business.
The approach taken seems to be valid. You need something that works for a jurisdiction or say even Europe that is accepted by a broad range of banks. So Cyprus, BVI, Malta, UK and so on are all accepted in Europe by normal banks (also offshore banks) but also by the most merchant account︀ providers.
What bank and payment processor you found for this setup? I read all your post already 3 times you seem to be a very wise person flycatcher hope you can help me a little with banking and payment processing. Today I use PayPal and Skrill for all payments but I have no debit card to take money out 🙁
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