Do i need a offshore company?

[hayabusa]

Hi there everyone , I'm new to this forum. I'm a noob when comes to offshore company formations etc. I have a few doubts and hopefully someone here could give me a few advice.


My questions are:


1. Do i or should i have a offshore company for a online crowdfunding business I'm planning of starting?


2. I can't use stripe payment gateway, since I'm located in Singapore. so is there a way i could get to apply for a stripe payment gateway if i got a offshore company which stripe supports?


3. Can i open a bank account in the United States, or would it be better if i opened one in a offshore country since i know even if i opened a us bank account by registering a LLC.. I'll need to pay taxes? Please correct me if I'm wrong..


The reason I'm asking all this is.. i am planning of getting a LLC in USA and flying down to USA just to open a bank account(if it's possible) and I'm not sure what's needed. I know i could apply for a merchant account but i don't think they will support a crowdfunding business. Please correct me if I'm wrong.


I don't want the funds to come into my local bank account as i would like to save more on taxes. So any advise for me? Hope to hear from you soon


Regards,


Leo

 

[JohnAlley]

If you plan to fly to the USA I would find some local tax adviser or lawyer there that will help you with the entire setup of your crowd funding business, he may also be able to tell you what options you have to get your business online.


What exactly does your "crowdfunding business" do ? are there any links or samples?

 

[hayabusa]

I'm not even sure if i should even get a offshore company registered? I need to get a stripe payment gateway to accept crowdfunding payments, so that's the reason i plan of flying to usa to register a LLC and open a us bank account. oh i'll be better off getting a offshore company in Belize, Seychelles, crypus etc..?

 

[JohnLocke]

If you plan to use stripe you can't apply with any offshore company, you may send them a ticket and ask which countries they support and then decide where to incorporate if at all!


I found a link here https://stripe.com/global which seems to be where they operate, as mentioned you may ask them directly to get a clear answer on that.

 

[buzzoffshore]

Like Admin said, otherwise you need to find a processor like 2co, neteller and so on if you want to use a Seychelles corp!

 

[hayabusa]

Yes i have already contacted stripe and they do not support my country(singapore) and even if they did , that would mean adding my local bank account. So i was thinking of incorporating a LLC in wyoming etc and with that open a us corporate bank account so that i can also get a EIN. Would this be possible?


I know that most of the payment gateways do not support crowdfunding as it's high risk or those that do charge high fees. As for a crowdfunding site, i'll have to be sending payments to everone and that will become costly. please advise

 

[JohnLocke]

Yes i have already contacted stripe and they do not support my country(singapore) and even if they did , that would mean adding my local bank account. So i was thinking of incorporating a LLC in wyoming etc and with that open a us corporate bank account so that i can also get a EIN. Would this be possible?

I would defiantly contact an Agent in the USA to discuss your options with them, there are law firms specialized in the setup of LLC's and that can help you.

 

[JohnAlley]

Seems you already discovered all your options and are pretty clear to what it is you want, so as suggested already, take the next plane to the USA and consult one of the thousands of law firms specialized in these matters, one or another will be able to help you get your business setup there.

 

[hayabusa]

Ok if i got a Seychelles offshore company and make it a holding company , would it be advisable? by doing so, the LLC will be considered to be owned by the Seychelles company , am i right ?

 

[JohnAlley]

It won't work for you, just make things more complicated if not impossible. The banks in America will put a great deal into their due diligence when your Agent presents your case to them and if you have a Seychelles holding company paramount they will ask lot's more questions if not simply reject the account opening.

 

[hayabusa]

It won't work for you' date=' just make things more complicated if not impossible. The banks in America will put a great deal into their due diligence when your Agent presents your case to them and if you have a Seychelles holding company paramount they will ask lot's more questions if not simply reject the account opening.[/quote']
Oh ok thank you for explaining things to me. I understand i had to pay taxes if i incorporated in the USA(correct me if i'm wrong) and i know the taxes in US is quite high , so i thought of having a Seychelles holding company holding the LLC shares and it'll be zero tax.

 

[JohnLocke]

If you incorporate in Delaware or Nevis you can avoid to pay corporate tax. However the other issues already described here persist.

 

[clemens]

If you are looking for using Stipe only! then you best choice is to take the NeXT flight to the US and find a good Agent that can help you accomplish your goals.

 

[hayabusa]

If you are looking for using Stipe only! then you best choice is to take the next flight to the US and find a good Agent that can help you accomplish your goals.

Hi yes , i guess that's the best option for me. Just need to get a LLC incorporated , get a ITIN and than a EIN. Once this is done, i can go ahead and open a business bank account. I"ll also need to get a registered agent service to receive mails . So far i've got ridiculous quotes to do this for me ranging from $320 - $800+ but if i do this myself it'll only cost me $105 state filing fees. Just sharing what i have found out so far for those that might be in the same situation like me.

 

[clemens]

Please post back with total costs if you don't mind and if possible a setp by step how you solve the issue.

 

[hayabusa]

Please post back with total costs if you don't mind and if possible a setp by step how you solve the issue.

Hi i know what we need to do is get a company to help us incorporate like bizfilings.com . Get them to apply for us the EIN and a certified copy of the "Articles of organization" . Also get a registered agent to receive the letters/documents etc. So now with the Certified copy, EIN and registered agent address we can go ahead and open up a US bank account. I checked with Chase.com and this was their requirement. Only issue is we need to travel to the bank personally.


I'm not sure how long this process takes as i've not moved forward as of yet because i'm still finding for the cheapest incorporation company. For example, for a LLC in wyoming it's only $100 in fees.Most of the incorporation companies ask around $320+ to $750 which is really very high. The EIN can be taken for free if you have a ITIN or SSN, if not you need to submit some forms and that might take time, so if you get a Incorporation company to do that, it will be much faster.

 

[JohnLocke]

Thank you for the details, may it help others in a similar situation of yours.

 

[clemens]

Hi i know what we need to do is get a company to help us incorporate like bizfilings.com . Get them to apply for us the EIN and a certified copy of the "Articles of organization" . Also get a registered agent to receive the letters/documents etc. So now with the Certified copy, EIN and registered agent address we can go ahead and open up a US bank account. I checked with Chase.com and this was their requirement. Only issue is we need to travel to the bank personally.


I'm not sure how long this process takes as i've not moved forward as of yet because i'm still finding for the cheapest incorporation company. For example, for a LLC in wyoming it's only $100 in fees.Most of the incorporation companies ask around $320+ to $750 which is really very high. The EIN can be taken for free if you have a ITIN or SSN, if not you need to submit some forms and that might take time, so if you get a Incorporation company to do that, it will be much faster.

If you are using 2co or neteler you can do a simple Seychelles or belize inc. with some offshore account in Mauritius, belize, cyprus or so.. I just want to mention it in the case you didn't solved your issue yet.

 

[Cyrus05]

If you have the opportunity and have all the requirements necessary to create your own offshore company, why not? I mean it has a lot of benefits not just in short term but also in the long run.

 

[negon]

Hi i know what we need to do is get a company to help us incorporate like bizfilings.com . Get them to apply for us the EIN and a certified copy of the "Articles of organization" . Also get a registered agent to receive the letters/documents etc. So now with the Certified copy, EIN and registered agent address we can go ahead and open up a US bank account. I checked with Chase.com and this was their requirement. Only issue is we need to travel to the bank personally.


I'm not sure how long this process takes as i've not moved forward as of yet because i'm still finding for the cheapest incorporation company. For example, for a LLC in wyoming it's only $100 in fees.Most of the incorporation companies ask around $320+ to $750 which is really very high. The EIN can be taken for free if you have a ITIN or SSN, if not you need to submit some forms and that might take time, so if you get a Incorporation company to do that, it will be much faster.

Did you try with stripe.com/atlas ? I know it is more then a year since you posted here but maybe you don't mind and update us. I have a partner in the same situation as yours . so if you sort it out and you see this, maybe you are able to update this thread