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Best country as a consultant for EU national?

thomasparra

Member Plus
May 30, 2020
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I lived in Hong Kong for years as an employee but as I am not in the city anymore (100% remote) I might have the opportunity to be paid as a consultant by this company since I might lose my HK residency.

As a EU national, what would be the best place for something short term? I was thinking Dubai or Bulgaria
 
Best for what?

If all you care about is taxes, then go UAE. Can't get much lower than 0% tax.

If you want a certain type of living (culture, climate, city, rural, language, religion, politics, whatever), then that'll affect recommendations.

I would say I would like to avoid paying heavy taxes in France. I’m not opposed to pay 15-20% tax (effective) in a country with a warm climate and good business opportunities (to network). I have a background in fintech and would love to meet people in this field and entrepreneurs around this space and others.

I do not think I will stay at my current company much longer and I have the idea to create a business to cater to the European market (proximity to PE, VCs and hedge funds is important)
 
I lived in Hong Kong for years as an employee but as I am not in the city anymore (100% remote) I might have the opportunity to be paid as a consultant by this company since I might lose my HK residency.

As a EU national, what would be the best place for something short term? I was thinking Dubai or Bulgaria
From a fellow HK long time visitor who spent quite signifcant time there, Dubai has a somewhat similar vibe regarding to business, hustle and bustle, so you might like that. It is just much less Asian but you will find much more European geared choices instead, which is maybe nice to enjoy after long years abroad.
 
From a fellow HK long time visitor who spent quite signifcant time there, Dubai has a somewhat similar vibe regarding to business, hustle and bustle, so you might like that. It is just much less Asian but you will find much more European geared choices instead, which is maybe nice to enjoy after long years abroad.

Sounds good! To be honest I think I’m looking for a place where I can be paid as a consultant hassle free for the next 6-8 months and potentially as a base to start my business. My clients would be mostly in France as I start the business but I would be looking to expand in France first and then potentially Spain, and east Europe. The UK is already well served but this is a growing market/industry. Besides it is 100% virtual hence the sole considerations on my end are being close to clients and avoid putting them off being incorporated in random places. I think that as long as the contract is based in France/Europe it’s fine. But this is just an assumption as dubai might be fine too.

France has a special program called entrepreneur) which could make sense for me as I’d benefit from very low to 0 taxation but there is a cap at 70k per year in revenue.
 
Cyprus might be an option:
Great climate;
Seaside;
Mountainous;
Good business environmenrt;
Many exemptions from personal taxes if you are a foreigner;
0% tax on passive income for non-Domicile residents;
Low corporate taxes;
Good banking system;
And probably best food in the world :)