What country should I register my company in?
 

If you were to open a webcams page similar to webcams.com and livejasmin.com, in which country would you establish the company, and why?

If I understand correctly if I was to form the corporation in USA I would have to contract a third party to keep my model records, and I would have to have even the international models fill out tax forms, etc.

Iran?

_______

Hmmm maybe the country your operating from :2 cents:

All you questions have been answered here time and time again.

Don't be dickhead, use the search.

Welcome, and GFY!

CandyFlip, I agree with you 100%! I did try to be pro active and use the search feature but most of what I came up with wasn't relevant. Still learning from the site, and not up to date on the "lingo" you all use

User that suggested registering in the country that I am operating from. What country would that be? The one in which I live? The one in which my programmers and the other owners live? The one in which most of my models live in? Or the country in which the server hosting the pages is actually located?

Na.. the country the cousin of the best camhost lives in...

Of course he means the country you live in or operate from. You have given no information and pointless to waste time assuming anything - it's all about "you" in the core background and what is legally permissible for you to do based on your background data - ie country of residency, taxation policy within that country etc etc

If you host, "operate", or live in the US - you are required to comply with 2257. If you are operating an affiliate program and marketing to US affiliates, you will be required to comply with 2257 to cover their asses. Otherwise 2257 is irrelevant.

As candyflip says - use the search. This subject has been exhausted to hell and back. Try using "offshore" as a keyword - offshore may not be applicable, but the same background applies.

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

Thank you this is exactly the type of info I was looking for. I can now go research what 2257 is all about, and will try a search with "offshore" to see if I find good info.

No the part about "he means the country you live in or operate in". Still not sure exactly what you mean. I am american living in USA, but other owners are Mexicans and will be living in Mexico, and the last partner is Colombian and lives in Colombia. Further more, our models will be from all over the world. Affiliates will also be all over the world. I do not plan to trget my audience to a specific country, I will try to reach ALL countries.

The little research I have done leads me to believe that some countries are better to register these companies than others. Better tax laws, better legal protection for the content of the pages, etc.

And please don't get mad for my questions. This forum was designed exactly for this, for people to ask questions, share ideas, etc

It all depends on your personal circumstance

From experience these are some golden rules.

1 Never ever incorporate in the country you live in.
2 Always use nominee directors and shareholders.
3 Have a bank account in a different country to the corporation.

You need to take payment some how so look up the visa regions in your position from what you have said so far I think a EU Corp and hosting somewhere with minimal tax and no hassle its not cheap to setup but it costs to do things properly.

pangolin, i totally agree with you.

I would suggest Cyprus. Do some search on offshore company formation and do what pangolin told you. Cyprus = 4% taxes, nominee directors and being part of EU, that's all you need.

Thanks nettrust I didnt want to suggest a country I try to keep some trade secrets back:winkwink: but as you have named them they are still the best EU offshore by miles and cyprus is euro from Jan so no double changing currencies :thumbsup

Cypres is a good choice, whenever you would need to start a turnkey offshore solution/ british Ltd. or even a company in Czech Rep hit me up as one of my closest mates specialises in that and the charges are very reasonable.

MQG,

Accept legal advice from non-lawyers at your own peril!

Ask these lawyers if operating offshore with US customers makes you immune to 2257 and other US laws:

www.embalaw.com
www.chadknowslaw.com
www.charlescarreon.com

And please let us all know what they say..

Does the alleged Ivy League Ignoramus have something to say???? :1orglaugh

You are an idiot period.

What do US lawyers have to do with giving advice on other juridictions idiot?? Next time I want legal advice on domestic laws of foreign countries, I'll ask a US lawyer- good tip :1orglaugh:1orglaugh

Thanks net and pan. Seems I was in the right track. Cyprus is one that seems to pop up often, and a couple of the big sites that I have done homework on are based out of Cyprus.

One of you guys made a comment "and hosting somewhere with minimal tax and no hassle its not cheap to setup but it costs to do things properly." The lil homework I did on did lead me to believe I pay tax on where the corp is registered, not where it is hosted. If I do the corporation in Cyprus, and the hosting company I go with is in Germany, where would I pay taxes?

Also I am not looking for free legal advice, I am just looking for key ideas, concepts that I can go do more research on. There is no need for me to try and re-invented the wheel.

MQG,

Again, accept legal advice from non-lawyers at your own peril!!

The US laws and the courts are increasingly tough on US persons trying to go offshore for tax and jurisdictional loopholes. If you are legitimately a non-US citizen, it may also be hard to argue US laws don't apply if most of your business is with US customers.

If most of your business is in the US, you might be wisest to locate here. My advice is to consider a friendly tax jurisdiction such as Nevada or Delaware, and put your corporate domicile there. Nevada is the rage right now.

Then, find a friendly regulatory environment --perhaps Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Las Vegas --for operations. Regardless, please put your lawyer's advice ahead of mine!!

Just because you are physically located one place doesn't mean you can't be considered in the US jurisdiction. Don't believe me? Just ask any of the Colombian drug lords who were prosecuted... in the US!

US lawyers have everything to do with telling you if US laws apply. And guess what? If you are offshore doing business primarily with US citizens... those US laws very well may apply.

So, stop pretending to be a legal authority. The guy needs to talk with a lawyer. Period.

Your fake and lousy legal advice is potentially harmful to him.

:321GFY

OK - understand more! The fact that you are a US citizen and an owner is very relevant. Basically means you are a beneficary and can be held accountable personally under US law for any violations the corp may get involved in. Not sure which jurisdiction your corp was formed - assume Mexico? Mexico is obviously not an offshore country and does have MAT's (Mutual Assistance Treaty) with the US.

If you are talking about a US corp - there is no question this corp would have to comply with US domestic law - that obviously includes 2257 etc.

The other owners have far less problems in that they are Mexican and Colombian nationals where there is much more latitude in participation in corp activity. The fact that you are a US citzen means you are still subject to eg taxation and IRS filing annually and obliged to notify the IRS of your interest in any corp (there are several sub-paras on this where there are exclusions, but they generally mean that you formally need to have very little holding).

Only my :2 cents:, but if it was operating any type of affiliate program, I'd sure comply with 2257 simply to cover US webmasters legally in any promotion of that program. This would still apply even if there was no hosting, residency etc in the US and the operation was being conducted from another country where 2257 was irrelevant.

On offshore... it's not a problem for your other owners, but far more complex because of your background (US citizenship) and would seriously suggest you seek professional advice from both the US end and also from legal folks in whatever offshore area you may be interested in.

Idiot... get a life and quit trying to appear more stupid with every post :1orglaugh

Drug lords have nothing to do with 2257 and your "opinion" that webmasters internationally are subject to the stupid domestic laws of the US are irrelevant unless they live, host or operate any business within US territory. You are incredibly stupid.


PS BTW What subject did you specialize in to get a claimed degree from an Ivy League institution??? :1orglaugh:1orglaugh

I would like to assume that anyone taking the time to open an offshore corporation would take the time at some point to get some "real" legal advice from a lawyer or someone similar with credentials.

I like to do research, so when the time comes that I get legal advice I will know what the attorney is talking about, and I could discuss "advice" that I've read. Laws changes often, and sometimes you as a client can help your attorney get up to date.

Some of the webcam sites that are located in USA require the models that perform on their pages to fill out US Tax forms, yet the non USA based ones only require the models to fill out a release form. I believe if you are USA based you have to pay a 3rd party to hold records for you. These records include proof of age of the models you are working with. Most porno movies, and reputable USA based webcam sites provide you the name and address of the business holding their records. Reasons like these persuade me to go offshore, and since the minority of the owners will be living in USA (me), and the rest offshore, it should be ok with uncle sam (after I pay some income tax of course)

Sorry that was me a typo it late so im a bit tired tax is of course as always where the corp is based.

And as the other guys say and you already knew check with a lawyer as you go along.

Sure... if US based, a corp would be obliged to follow US laws and comply with tax requirements etc.

Tho offshore may have an appeal (and sure there are many advantages) - because you are a US citizen this makes the issue more complex (it's very much an exception in that there are only around four countries which have this problem with citizens involved in offshore - unfortunately the US is one).

If you have an interest in an OS corp, there is a requirement to file with the IRS and notify of this interest. (Again.. there are exclusions, but you need to check with a tax lawyer on this). The fact that there are filings needed means eg that privacy privileges of that OS corp will not exist and, to a degree diminishes the benefit of the OS corp.

Only me - but would not dream of not complying with 2257 if this involves affiliates. You certainly would need to cover the asses of affiliates who may sign up from the US (as well as others who operate or have hosting within the US). In addition, if you are a US citizen, this just opens more doors to having problems where you are associated with a corp which may possibly violate US domestic law.

I didnt know it had got that shitty over there nowadays if this is how it is then
MQG
It leaves only 1 viable option if you want privacy its a 3 stage process....

1 Move country
2 Get new citizenship
3 Tell Uncle Sam where to stick your US citizenship

Oh yeah and not go back on US soil

I didnt know it had got that shitty over there nowadays if this is how it is then
MQG
It leaves only 1 viable option if you want privacy its a 3 stage process....

1 Move country
2 Get new citizenship
3 Tell Uncle Sam where to stick your US citizenship

Oh yeah and not go back on US soil

Argue?? With who?? A US law agency?? A US judge?? :1orglaugh:1orglaugh

Sorry, people in other countries don't really care about what a US law agency or a US court has to say about 2257 - that's your problem idiot.

Can imagine the stupid DaddyHalbucks fantasy in any court in other countries - "Your Honor - this evil webmaster did not comply with USC 2257" and the reply "WTF is USC 2257 and what's that got to do with this court??" :1orglaugh

Seriously - that is basically what it means pangolin - specifically rescind US citizenship. As long as that exists where is an obligatory annual filing requirement.

Got lawyers in the next office who are doing exactly that for US folks who want citizenship of other countries. It's not exactly an instant process - they are managing the process for clients and this appears to take up to five years to complete.

But... once done, they can do what the hell they like and conduct their biz affairs in any form/jurisdiction they want and usually have eg a holding corp in a zero or low tax juridiction to kill all or the majority of taxation - and they can retain complete privacy.

rescind US citizenship

Oh wait, those are big words now! LOL Ok, so USA is what it is, but most importantly I have my family here.

Now this is something I didn't expect, which makes posting here worth while. It is easy for me to get Mexican citizenship since they allow dual citizenship. Our idea was 2 lawyers, one to handle the colombian paperwork, and another to handle the mexican paper work. If I understand you guys correctly, i still would have to do legal work here in USA? Would I have to pay taxes for the full amount made from the company? the amount I bring with me to the USA?

Exactly the reason for suggesting earlier that you may be better having your corp within US territory and complying with whatever laws - including 2257.

At the same time, this may not be to the benefit of your partners where they may prob save on the taxation side by having the corp outside the US.

This really gets messy and it's very hard to say much without knowing personal stuff - and don't suggest you do that here! :)

OK.. Try this.... You are a US citizen. You elect to have dual nationality, but remain resident in the US. In that instance you are obliged to notify the IRS of your foreign interests, pay whatever taxation and comply with US law.

This is fairly common - another example is... eg... A German citizen marries an US citizen and they both live in Germany. Sure as hell, the IRS will end up sending that German citizen a tax form for declaration of taxation due by his US wife *lol* Of course the German citizen may well communicate with the IRS and tell them what he did with their tax form :winkwink:

Seriously... there are two factors....

First is country of citizenship - if you are a US citizen, you are obliged to file returns whether you reside in the US or in another country. Normally this is not the case - eg a Swiss national can simply declare non-residency and live on a tax free Caribbean island and is not required to file any tax data to the "home country" - and he still retains his Swiss citizenship and can have total privacy in biz dealings. But... if that Swiss national eventually returned to live in Switzerland permanently (more than 3 months/year) - he would be obliged to file and pay whatever taxes, but not on any funds declared when first arriving back in Switzerland since those funds were earned during the term of non-residency in Switzerland.

Second is country of residency. Unfortunately this is not of significant benefit to US nationals/citizens since, irrespective of the country of residency, there is still a requirement for IRS filings annually. Again... the difference with other nationalities is the same as above - they don't need any filings back to their "home country", but simply pay local taxes, if any.

Bottom line - it really does not matter much about dual nationality with Mexico. As long as you are resident within the US and remain a US citizen, there is... well... no leeway in that there is an obligation to comply with US law. Even if you changed citizenship, but then spent most of your time in the US, there needs to obviously be a basis for doing so and that normally implies some form of "earnings" and taxation. To be free to operate legally in OS without scammy hiding and subterfuge, it really means both a change of citizenship and a change of residency.

That said... know plenty US folks around here who take the benefit of "non-residential" allowances (it's around $80K annually) from the IRS and just do the annual filings. They are also obliged to file data on their corps or businesses, but most have no reason to hide these - and they remain US citizens.

Missed that bit :winkwink:

Na.. what the corp earns is not your "problem". From what you have said it suggests you may be both a director and shareholder in the corp and don't have a majority or controlling shareholding? In that instance the corp profits are not a problem, but you would be obliged to declare any dirs fees and dividends.

Would need to check with a lawyer, but would also not be interested in having anything more than summary data released to what is "foreign tax agencies" - if even that much. Bottom line - it's not the biz of any revenue agency to have data on foreign corps - especially if these involve directors holding nationalities other than... in this instance US citizenship.

Attorney Eric Bernstein said the the FBI may the authority to conduct 2257 inspections on foreign soil.

Who is the idiot now?

You of course. Do you have doubts about your idiocy?? :1orglaugh

There are valid reasons why a foreign webmaster would voluntarily wish to provide USC 2257 data - especially in instances to cover your sad ass and cover ass for US webmasters.

Otherwise, the most the FBI will get from a foreign webmaster re 2257 is the legal term - "Fuck Off". I doubt they taught you much Latin at the Ivy League institution you claim to have a degree from, so perhaps better you ask Eric Bernstein to explain the legal significance of "Fuck Off". :1orglaugh:1orglaugh

The bottom line is: consult with tax professionals and lawyers.

..and ignore the haters.

:)

Ask for assistance try to search at the net. It maybe a great help for you. Need an SEO for your site?

Right, what he said. :thumbsup

Yes - the first sentence above is the one thing you have said which makes any sense - and you sure should be first in line for that advice since it's obvious you need it :1orglaugh:thumbsup

Only a total retard would write the second part - congrats once again :1orglaugh

Showing my newbiness... what is an SEO?

Costa Rica!

Why? Because of tax evasion?

SEO= Search Engine Optimization

Note: be wary of self-proclaimed SEO experts. Doing business with some of them is almost as dangerous as listening to the legal advice of non-lawyers. So, again, proceed with caution.

:2 cents:

??? :winkwink:

Costa Rica is not an offshore - it's a place to live in, a playground.

It's not a "solution" for US folks looking for a legal loophole, but an OK place to live depending on interests. There is a MAT (Mutual Assistance Treaty) with the US and an agency learjet once a week to collect US citizens who violate laws :winkwink:

Reality is there are plenty US folks here because they like the place - the vast majority are not involved in scams and are OK people with sense.

CR corps are fine, but - it's not offshore and only my :2 cents:, but can't see the need for CR corps unless they relate specifically to trading in CR or to hold real estate or other local assets.

Because that is what I was taught by friends who's business for the last 40 years has been company formations.

It isn't tax evasion it is negating tax liability the difference being one will give you more money to spend the other 15-30 years in prison.

You from the EU side of the pond pangolin?

Sure.. would agree with your post. In practice there are rising numbers of people involved in "mobile businesses" getting the idea - not just folks working on the net.

Been involved in corps both on and offshore all my life (not just in adult) and can see many more people taking advantage of their national laws and doing what is in their best interests. One EU country currently has a family moving out every three minutes :) to a better lifestyle - the vast majority never go back, - what for other than to see family and old friends?

The old concept of "offshore" being a place to have a "numbered account", use plastic cards and defraud revenue agencies is a joke and destined to fail from day one - very 'amateur' thinking. It's much nicer to keep everything above board, totally legal, pay little or no taxes and enjoy a better lifestyle :winkwink::thumbsup

Identify credible industry people.
Find them at trade shows. Engage in meaningful conversation.
Plan your trade show in advance.
Talk to the lawyers after their panel.
Setting up offshore is expensive.
Set up to facilitate billing abilities, not avoid laws.
Be skeptical even of the lawyer creating your offshore structure if it is for
tax purposes or law avoidance only.
You said you knew of sponsors incorporated in Cyprus.
Talk to them.
Czech Republic, Panama, Cyprus do seem current favorites.
As was stated above, it may be hard to attract US affiliates if you do not
maintain legitimate 2257. There are too many affiliate sponsor choices for
webmasters to incur any risk in that area. :warning

Agree :thumbsup On the above three points:

(a) Talk to lawyers - been there, done that and had OS lawyers at shows in the past. They provided the usual speech and allowed an question/answer session. The result - the audience were generally too dumb to even comprehend "offshore". That's an example of the quality of people in this biz sadly.

(b) Setting up offshore - if anyone can't afford 2-3K for a corp and legal advice, better they never ever think about OS, they would just be a liability. It's obviously also an issue as to whether an individual is in a secure legal position to consider an OS operation - specifically re background/citizenship.

(c) Maintain 2257 for affiliates - totally agree. It's obviously crazy and irresponsible to introduce an affiliate program and not be able to legally support affiliates with 2257 docs if needed.

Agreed to all points. If your goal is to shelter your identity to not comply with US law thats ridiculous.

For offshore entities, refer to a local tax lawyer to advise on the implications as in some countries you may get a surprise.

:) My :2 cents:

Personal income tax will always be paid in the country where you live in no matter where the company is operating.

There is a difference between company tax and personal income tax.

nah man.
you gotta go with Afghanistan or Iraq :1orglaugh