Planning to incorporate in EU soon - What should I be looking for
 

For those of you esp. from Canada and Oz and have incorporated in the EU, what should I be careful about while incorporating in EU.
It is pretty expensive affair but I am sick n tired of being looted by the small billing processors who almost always inevitably run away with my money and lack of VISA processing.
But before I take the plunge what is it that I am getting into, any pitfalls or musts that I should insist on?

Please share any tips
merci muchos :helpme

don't incorporate in germany when you want to stay in adult ;)

i have actually no idea what country would be best - a lot of people seem to like Cyprus cause it's relatively easy to set up a company there and the tax is low

well I dont care about tax as i will be paying it here in Canada anyways
i might settle for gibralter or cyprus

If you're using the corporation for getting merchant accounts, and won't be banking in the EU, and paying tax in Canada, I'd recommend setting up a UK corporation. It's one of the cheapest, easiest, fastest no-hassle places to set up a limited corporation, and there's very little in reporting requirements if you're not actually operating in the UK.

However one of the things that are very important to realize is that most processors such as ccbill-eu won't take your corporation without an actual European director on the corp. Some places offer nominee directors, but it's doubtful if you can get them to sign merchant agreements.

Thanks Jalami
Yes I have heard about incorporation in the UK as well not being able to use ccbill. But at least I will be able to use many other processors that are out of bounds for me now

up for more tips

Bump for you

First of all there are different definitions of illegal porn in the EU. You should be aware of it.

There are different laws for distributing porn to minors as well. In Austria the legal age is 16 for example, while in Germany it is 18 and you need adult verification systems to protect your sites. Though the german legal system is one of the best for incorporations, it´s not the best country for porn companies.

Depending on your volume of sales, a combination of a billing company in The Netherlands with a parent company in Switzerland (not EU) is worth a serious consideration.

The solution mentioned above is helpful for an own merchant account and you can legally transfer your profits to a low-tax country, e.g. Zug/Switzerland.

Before setting up incorporations, you should get information about double tax agreements between those countries and Canada.

So there are three major project issues to take into consideration: legal requirements regarding porn and incorporation, taxes and billing options.

Well if you would need a very fast and relatively cheap solution I can help with incorporating in Czech Rep (EU since 2004) as far as my very close friend very much specializes in that.

It would cost as much as 2 000 EUR and the only thing I can guarantee you is that you would hardly ever get harrased.

If interested, feel free to email me at cb ( a t ) bigsistermedia (d o t) net.

Good Q. No easy answer. Germany (GmbH) ain't that bad, however, you need Euro 25.000 to incorporate, can't show explicit previews, and the tax man there is worse than the holy inquisition. You need to look into the double taxation treaty.

Switzerland is great, tax-wise, but no pee-porn there. It's very expensive to set up a Swiss corporation, complicated too. Unless you come with lots of money, the Swiss don't really care having you there. If I say "lots" I mean "lots", you are competing with people who own billions... Switzerland is non-EU.

If you set up a corporation in typical tax heavens like Gibraltar, etc. you might raise red flags, and piss off the tax man at home in Canada.

It's fairly easy to incorporate in the UK, cheap too, but make sure you to NEVER import ANY porn into the UK, HM Customs & Excise don't like that. Let's not get into the definition what "importing" by UK laws means.

Good old Holland is not a bad choice. Incorporating there costs too, but there are ways around; you can incorporate and take the share capital back out after, which makes you personally liable, but you can care less, because you won't be there anyway.

In that line of biz, I'd look into NL. I know a good hosting company, and a billing company that takes VISA too, with no extra charge.

Oh, I forgot the most important three things. 1. Ask an attorney. 2. Ask an attorney 3. Ask an attorney.

Chipping in here with; corporate profit taxation, and where You'll have the lowest of it:


1. Cyprus: 10%, the lowest in EU. VAT to consider if *You* sell within the EU, 15% of sales.

2. Gibraltar: tax exempt companies will be history within a couple of years, but they'll still be rocking at 'the top' with Cyprus & Ireland (won't be set higher than 12%). Will probably remain VAT exempt for long, useful if selling extensively in EU.

3. Ireland: 12.5%, handy to know if considering incorporating in the UK. VAT: same deal as with Cyprus, but here set to 21%.


Good luck mate! :thumbsup

tHANKS A LOT GUYS.
i SEE that most of you have paid lot of attention to taxes. I dont rally care about that part as I am just going to declare income in canada and be hosed on it. That should be the end of it, isnt it?
The main interest is to get own merchant account and use some decent quality billing processors.

In that case I suggest to consider my offer.

I can get you in touch with my man directly so you can check all the details.

are you on drugs or something? find some island (example BVI) with flat corporate income tax and LLC there, why wont ccbill for example take your offshore company if you are incorporate there?

VAT can quickly become one of the biggest taxes you will pay (socialists in Europe need your money, so they can buy welfare voters, and indoctrinate the people)... Different countries have different views, but usual you pay the VAT of the country where your administration is, and if you claim that is outside the EU, then they want you to pay each individual EU country VAT rate, which is up to 25% of each transaction.

Good luck!

as already metioned here
germany+adult=forget it

VAT is a big issue. You will need to pay VAT for every membership you sell to a European customer if you follow the rules stricktly. Sooner or later they will enforce this all over EU. At the moment you can get away with it as long as the payments of the billing company originate in the US.

I heard Malta and Zyprus are pretty good. It is very easy to buy shelf companies in Czech Republic and Slovakia. It's not that easy to start a tailor made SRO as a non-resident. Austria has very strong adult businesses.

hmmm
that being said are there any particular companies that anyone can recommend for incorporation?

Hit me up at ICQ: 264 739 556 or cb (at) bigsistermedia (dot) net and I will give you some tips

sure, thanks. will do.