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What's the best location to incorporate an online business?


by @dmftaras 9yr  | 14 comments

Hey nomads,

Iโ€™m looking for the best location to incorporate my online business (offshore programming and so on).

The main requirements:

  • Low cost incorporation/yearly fee
  • Preferred with no audits (or other kind of paperwork)
  • With no local office/secretary/director needed
  • With low or 0% taxes
  • Easy to get paid from US/EU
  • Easy to send payments worldwide ( I can use Transferwise/Stripe or something like that, i donโ€™t care )
  • With corporate credit/debit cards

Iโ€™m only one owner of the company (not EU/US resident).
Iโ€™ve checked jurisdictions like BVI/Belize/Nevis and iโ€™m interested in it. It would be appreciated if you could give me some kind of advice, if you have experience with one of these jurisdictions.

My budget for incorporation < $1500

Thanks!

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If you have some money to invest (100,000โ‚ฌ) thereโ€™s Canary Islands government that will let you enter the ZEC (special canarian taxation zone) that let you pay only the 4% total in taxes for 2 years.

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@dmftaras 8yr

whatโ€™s the point of spending 100k to get 4% total in taxes, if thereโ€™s Panama or Belize where you can get 0% in taxes, without spending 100k ?

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@dauntesq 8yr

@levelsio yes a blog post on this whole topic would be great :grinning:

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@arintoker 9yr

@levelsio hopefully you will be writing a blog post about this. I am curious about the details. I have been planning something similar, as I donโ€™t want to pay full US taxes when I am spending less than a month in the country every year. I have heard great things about incorporating in HK, Singapore and Kuwait.

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@onioneye 9yr

I was just about to ask the same question. Have you been able to kickstart your business somewhere on the terms youโ€™ve mentioned? Iโ€™m also interested to learn about any other options than the ones mentioned here.

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@levelsio 9yr

FYI, Iโ€™ve been waiting on this for over a year.

Stripe just launched their beta in Singapore. That means you can incorporate in Singapore: http://www.guidemesingapore.com/incorporation-packages/foreign-entrepreneurs/package-fe1 and get paid through Stripe https://stripe.com/global#sg.

Thatโ€™s pretty big for lots of nomads (like me) who receive most of their money from Stripe transactions.

Iโ€™m considering incorporating in SG now although I want to remain a resident in NL. Iโ€™ll call NL tax office tomorrow to ask them directly what the implications are of that and how to do it 100% legally.

I havenโ€™t forgotten Manuโ€™s words on that any country can claim tax on its residents even from foreign companies if itโ€™s not done properly. Since most of my customers are not from my own country though, I think it makes sense to have an international company and only pay tax on my personal income in my own country.

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@jimcanto 8yr

Iโ€™m curious how this played out for you Pieter.

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@jollygood 9yr

Estonia is making a play for your business. It seems they meet most of your requirements.
https://e-estonia.com/e-residents/about/
Among the other benefits touted for e-residence is:
Establish an Estonian company online within a day. At the moment a physical address in Estonia is required, which may be obtained using an external service provider. Administer the company from anywhere in the world.Conduct e-banking and remote money transfers.
Establishing an Estonian bank account currently requires one in-person
meeting at the bank, and is at the sole discretion of our banking
partners.Access online payment service providersโ€ฆ

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@dmftaras 9yr

What about taxes with estonian companies?

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@jollygood 9yr

Estonia is in the EEC and said to have the best tax in the OECD. No corporate tax except 20% tax on dividends.
Iโ€™m looking for a knowledgeable attorney to discuss such arrangements with if anybody has a recommendation. Preferably SF Bay area.

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@manu 9yr

The time of 0% corporate tax, shell companies and no audit requirements is over. Too much international pressure on classic tax havens. Theyโ€™re simply cut off from the banking system.

You can incorporate in such a place, but wonโ€™t be able to bill corporate clients or connect to the international banking system at a reasonable cost. Your invoices will be flagged during audits in most Western countries. If your clients donโ€™t need invoices and pay in bitcoin, you can do it. But then: why even bother with a company?

The trend is to have some substance and pay some small amount of tax to stay off the radar. For example here in Malaysia the corporate tax rate is 3% with audit or $5000 flat without audit. The country also has good double tax agreements and is not a classic tax haven.

With your budget it will be hard to build a proper structure that will hold up, when under scrutiny. If you donโ€™t make much, itโ€™s probably easier to just fly below the radar and hope for the best.

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@manu can you cite some specific examples? Just curious, thatโ€™s all. I can only offer my personal experience and Iโ€™ve had no problems invoicing clients through a BVI company (with a virtual office in Singapore ), with a Singapore bank account. As far as my clients are concerned, the company is based in Singapore.

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@dmftaras 9yr

What about Hong Kong? There is 0% tax for foreign income, it is a bit more expensive, but no problem.

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Just following as I have similar requirementsโ€ฆ

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Read and participate in 14,117 discussions on Nomad List

Suggested topics

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Holร  ! What's the internet / wifi situation in Sayulita ?


in Puerto Escondido , Mexico by @ambroisedebret 3yr 3 years ago  | 0 comments

After being told it's unworkable in Puerto Escondido, looking for alternatives :)

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What's the best thing to do with your phone/ your phone number when travelling?


in Poland by @davda1546 4yr 4 years ago  | 6 comments

Hey, hope everyone is well!

We're leaving in a month to go travelling. Our first destination is still to be confirmed, but will likely be Poland or Slovakia. We will be moving around every month or two to different destinations.

The question we have is: what do people do with phones/ phone numbers when hopping from country to country? Ideally we'd just like one number for the whole trip (even better, the number we already have) wherever we go, rather than getting new SIMs with different numbers.

This is just so it's easier to keep in contact with family/ clients/ etc.

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How do I set current location? I've looked everywhere for this option.


by @yousifyalda 4yr 4 years ago  | 5 comments

All I see is section to add trips, but I reside here. Home and all.

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What is the best online insurance for digital nomads ?


by @berberos 4yr 4 years ago  | 4 comments

Hi guys ! hope you are doing well.

I would love to get your feedback regarding the best insurance for digital nomads. i'm traveling around Asia since 1 year and for next 4 or 5 years. Would love to buy an insurance to cover especially :

- health

- laptop, phone ...

- Flights

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What age did you start out and went location independent?


by @raynesio 4yr 4 years ago  | 11 comments

Eager to find out what age most start out as a DN? (Me)โ€ฆ 27 and just started out in the last 6 months or so. Not presently 100% location independent, probably more like 90% as still required to visit the office from time to time

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What's the best SIM card you can get for traveling to Spain?


in Spain by @gabygarreau 4yr 4 years ago  | 3 comments

Hi! I want to relocate to Spain and I was wondering if someone can recommend a SIM card with a good data package.

Thanks

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Central America - Where and what's next?


by @as11 4yr 4 years ago  | 11 comments

Currently in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico and heading to Santa Teressa, Costa Rica next week.
Then Aruba in the Caribbean Sea for Christmas and New Year.

However I feel I want to head back to Central America to bring living costs down, rather than staying in the Caribbean Sea among the expensive Islands.

This means I have around 2 - 2,5 month of unplanned travelling.
Any digital nomads who have ideas about where to head in that timeframe?

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What's the first step now that I can work remotely?


by @mariaplslourdes 5yr 5 years ago  | 4 comments

Hi everyone and nice to e-meet you!
finally, after so long I found a job that allows me to work remotely.
But now? Do you have any practical advice that I can use to approach this new world?
In particular, I have to put my tax situation in order, do you know a good tax advisor from whom I can ask for advice? (Iโ€™m Italian but I live in Franceโ€ฆI donโ€™t know how long it will beโ€ฆ) )
Beyond that, any advice is welcome.
Thank you!
Maria

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What's the best warm destinations in Europe in the winter?

 

by @jammingsloth 5yr 5 years ago  | 33 comments

Planning ahead for the winter. Iโ€™ll be in Spain in the Fall and want to go someplace warm for the winter in or near Europe, but not Schengen. Was first thinking Cape Town, but the internet is slow and it is very far. Was also thinking:
Israel - but airbnb listings are very pricey.
Morocco?
Turkey - maybe a little chilly.

Any other suggestions?

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What's the best bank account for a global nomad?

 

by @barrybjjoubert 5yr 5 years ago  | 25 comments

Dear all
As a wanna be nomad figuring out a way to get free of the rat race, I was wondering what is the best bank account to have while travelling the globe? I need an account where is easy for me to receive payments from all over the world and it also need to be a bank that I can find almost anywhere in the world. I want to avoid carry cash on me if itโ€™s possible.

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What's the best CRM/system for managing remote work opportunities?


by @panoramica 5yr 5 years ago  | 3 comments

Iโ€™m currently doing some work through Upwork, but itโ€™s sporadic and Iโ€™m keen to get more active on other platforms like Freelancer, Toptal, CodeMentor, Fiverr etc

Currently Iโ€™m managing leads in a Google sheet. Basically itโ€™s just a list of projects I pitched for, how much I bid, what I did differently from the last pitch/bid, how much time went by before I got a offered a job etc.

Iโ€™m not actively following up anybody, and Iโ€™ve in fact โ€˜lostโ€™ a few jobs where the client was keen, but then disappeared without a trace. I guess I need to keep in touch with those people to ensure that they remain focussed on our agreementโ€ฆ

Iโ€™m also keen to take on more small projects concurrently, without dropping the ball on any of them.

Iโ€™ve done a quick Google and turned up a few names including Salesforce, Zoho, Nutshell, HighRise, Base, Nimble, etc etc. But testing out all these products isnโ€™t all that appealing, so I thought Iโ€™d ask here first :slight_smile:

Ideally Iโ€™d like something that integrates with remote job boards in some way.

Feature list

Iโ€™ve done some research and currently have this feature list:

Proposal building & tracking

  • Compile proposals from snippets - technologies, past projects
  • Quickly pull together a realistic/client friendly quote
  • Test and measure different approaches
  • Beat proposal deadlines while maintaining quality
  • Fine tune pitch material to bid more quickly and win more work โ€“ templates
  • Store history about past projects involving common needs and technological solutions
  • Learn which proposal content is working, and which is not

Lead generation and client management (CRM)

  • store info about regular clients
  • track remote projects which Iโ€™ve pitched for
  • Remote Job Board integration
  • search multiple job sites for keywords
  • track projects across multiple remote platforms โ€“ API integration / message alert/response

Project Management & Scheduling

  • Break projects down into granular tasks
  • Gantt chart to visualise overlapping jobs
  • Calendar to schedule daily work, deadlines, R&D
  • follow up, plan and schedule future work now, rather than once current work has dried up
  • offline reminders via a dedicated Android app
  • time tracking โ€“ to get an idea of true cost, to flag issues to client
  • BitBucket integration

Billing

  • Integration with Xero
  • tracking status of payments, actual payment date vs expected payment clearance date

Marketing

  • Get repeat business
  • Build Word Of Mouth
  • Proactive lead generation
  • Publish proposals as case studies

Cheers,
Dan

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What's the best place to incorporate an online business?

 

by @octave 5yr 5 years ago  | 63 comments

I have an commerce website. We get around 1000 orders per month and this is going to get quite a bit bigger in next few years.

I am British. I live in Thailand.
Im not allowed to majority own a Thai business and small foreign entrepreneurs are not really welcome. So i need an offshore company.

I need PayPal and an ecommerce internet merchant account. Also looking at alternatives like worldpay. 2checkout etc

Does PayPal need me to be a resident to the country i register my account to? Are there complications being a non resident to get other payment solutions?

Apparently in Hong Kong you need 2 years trading history to get an Internet Mechant Account and they generally turn their noses up at those with less than $1m(us) a year turn over. Singapore seems a bit easier.

I really want to avoid paperwork and book keeping. I hate it.

So i was looking at Seychelles, Panama, BVI, Belize.

Does anyone have experience with payment providers in these countries?

Most nomads i see donโ€™t really have a high volume of small monthly transactions which i do. Im going around in circles and donโ€™t know where to start.

Ill also need a bank account for business and a personal bank account to pay my salary into

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Do you have a system for how you plan your next location?


by @mitch_dina 5yr 5 years ago  | 3 comments

It seems to be taking me days to plan my next trip. Its so complicated and seems to be a domino affect. Example: Iโ€™m in Dubrovnik and want to go to Bari, Italy next because it is close, and I can get there by ferry, (so not using so much carbon,) but the ferry only starts running in April and 90-day visa is up on March 15, so I need to move on. Cheapest flight out is to Rome, but Rome can be pricey and Iโ€™m more of a small town person, so I go looking for beautiful small towns in Italy, a BIG research project. Then how to get there?.. oy! I need a system, please!

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What's the best mobile-data option in New Zealand for nomads?


in New Zealand by @goldsaj 5yr 5 years ago  | 2 comments

Hi All! Iโ€™ve heard Spark and Vodafone are the best. I plan to move around, so I care mostly about having good coverage, and all Iโ€™ll need is around 1 GB of data or so.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

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Affordable way to incorporate in Singapore?


in Singapore by @pras_k 5yr 5 years ago  | 1 comment

Is there an affordable way to incorporate in Singapore?

I asked an agency and they charge around SG$11000 for the whole package.
Iโ€™d like to find a cheaper option since Iโ€™m just starting out.
Any recommendations?

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Pacific islands with decent internet speed to work online


by @paxai 5yr 5 years ago  | 1 comment

Any digital nomads that have lived for an extended period of time on a pacific island? I am planning on moving with my girlfriend for a 6 month period to a pacific island, and planning to live of copywriting and some other online work.

Have been looking at islands like Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Cook Islands ++. Main problem is that many places seem to have expensive/bad internet speeds and access.

I dontยดt need superfast internet, but it has to be good enough for me to surf, send e-mails, download pictures, update webpages and so on. Either good internet cafes or the possibility to rent appartments with internet that doesnt suck or blow our budget.

Any recommendations for the perfect pacific island for working online?

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What you think about salary based on the location of where the employee lives?


by @augustomna2010 6yr 6 years ago  | 2 comments

I see that some companies do this, they pay the remote worker based on where he lives, I would like to know what do you think about this?

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Best online Bank for Digital Nomads


by @nilanjan 6yr 6 years ago  | 0 comments

Hi All,
Can you suggest a cheap but reliable online Bank for Nomads?
What I meant by " cheap" is decent " service charges".

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What's the best bank for South African digital nomads?


in South Africa by @kirst85 6yr 6 years ago  | 12 comments

Iโ€™m a South African about to become a Nomad next year. I will still be employed by a South African company and receive a salary into my FNB bank account monthly.

I will be mostly based in Serbia but plan on travelling a lot. Does anyone have any advice on the best bank account to have? Is there a way to not get charged a small fortune in ATM charges and avoid getting my account frozen for using it in lots of countries?

Iโ€™m unsure of the best way to handle things. Should I try get another bank account outside of SA (Can I even do that)? I also have a British Passport if that makes a difference.

If any of you have any experienced advice I would be very grateful, Thanks in advance!

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What's better? Puerto Vallarta vs. Playa del Carmen in Mexico?


in Puerto Vallarta , Mexico by @oskar 6yr 6 years ago  | 12 comments

Iโ€™m going to travel to Mexico by the end of february and i would like to know which place do you recommend to stay at for a month or so. Which one would fit better for a digital nomad? Pros and Cons for each place are welcomed :smile:

thanks!

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