Ask HN: What kind of company should F1 register: Nevada C corp/Offshore?

[jayx]

Currently I have two business ideas in my mind: one is sales based and the other one is service based. After doing some research, I realize my options are limited. So I am wondering what kind of company should I register? And as an offshare company, can I still do sales operations in the US? I don't plan to draw any money from these companies since if they are proved to be profitable, I can easily get investment to make me work for my own company legally.

[trevelyan]

Anti-money-laundering regulations in the United States have resulted in most payment processors refusing to service foreign-incorporated companies. If you expect to collect credit card payments, your first consideration should be incorporating in a country where you will be able to process payments. If you are just looking for legal protection otherwise, the advantage of offshore companies are they're usually black book (no annual audits or requirements to maintain physical offices in-country) etc., so they can provide a convenient form of legal protection from lawsuits while being fairly cheap to operate.

[philiphodgen]

1. Hire a smart tax person.

2. It is likely that an offshore corporation doing business in the USA is a really bad idea. Your corporation pays normal corporate income tax on profit. Plus it pays a 30% tax on after-tax income. Google for "branch profits tax".

3. Hire someone smart to do your tax returns. There are all sorts of obscure forms to file with massive (like $10,000) penalties for screwing up.