Starting an LLC: Where to begin?

I’m not 100% certain here—don't quote me on this!—but I have a feeling the USA might be the real headache in this whole situation, mostly because we don't have a ratified tax treaty to prevent double taxation in place.

rowdyraven31 said:Has anyone here ever gone through the process of setting up a business abroad? For instance, maybe somewhere in the USA rather than within the European Union.
I'm really curious about how that whole setup actually works, specifically if you're looking to launch an IT firm.

If anyone has some hands-on experience with this, I would love to get a comparison between running a company locally versus setting it up in the States (say, in Delaware, for example).

To give you an idea, let's say a US-based company provides services—things like web design, graphic content creation, video game development, or consulting—and then sells those services to clients all over the world.

From what I’ve gathered, if you are the director of the company, maybe about 10% goes toward income tax on whatever salary the firm pays you.
But I suppose I’m not entirely certain about the other differences compared to just having a local business.

P.S. If I'm mistaken, does anyone happen to know where I could find reliable information on this? I’d rather not have to hunt down people living in America to ask them to do some digging for me. xD

rowdyraven31 said:If anyone has some hands-on experience with this, I would love to get a comparison between running a company locally versus setting it up in the States (say, in Delaware, for example).

To give you an idea, let's say a US-based company provides services—things like web design, graphic content creation, video game development, or consulting—and then sells those services to clients all over the world.

From what I’ve gathered, if you are the director of the company, maybe about 10% goes toward income tax on whatever salary the firm pays you.
But I suppose I’m not entirely certain about the other differences compared to just having a local business.

P.S. If I'm mistaken, does anyone happen to know where I could find reliable information on this? I’d rather not have to hunt down people living in America to ask them to do some digging for me. xD

Look, you can write whatever nonsense you want on paper or a website. Bottom line? You pay taxes where you actually live. The company pays taxes wherever the boss is a resident—keeping it simple, but that's all you need to know right now.

If you’re planning on setting up a business somewhere else, you’ve gotta move there too. Otherwise, don't even bother wasting your time.

I run companies in both America and the States (as an inc.). Operating in America is definitely more cost-effective, and honestly, any perceived prestige boost from having a US entity isn't worth the headache. You’re looking at spending at least $2,000 a year on accountants and lawyers just to ensure you don't trip over some regulatory hurdle, since things aren't nearly as clearly defined here as they are back home.

Basically, if you aren't entirely sure what you're doing or why you're doing it, you're better off sticking to America.

Hey, given the legal fine print and my current contract with the boss, I was thinking—is there any way we could actually pull something like this off?
So my partner just went ahead and set up an LLC where they own 100% of the equity.
I'm mostly just doing some minor tech support or IT stuff for that LLC on the side—honestly, on paper, I don't even officially work there. Plus, I don't want to deal with any legal headaches or mess around with my current employment contract.
It’s basically just a startup hunting for VC funding and some crowdsourced cash.
If we manage to land some investors, the deal is simple: he hands over 70% of the LLC to me, and he keeps 30%.
So we just hand the investors their cut, like maybe 30% of the whole thing—so the partner gets 10% and I take 20%.
The setup's gonna look like this: I’m taking 50%, my partner gets 20%, investors grab 30%, and everyone else? Well, the crowdfunding crowd gets full access to the app until their initial investment runs dry—basically a 50% discount for life.

We need to figure out a way to dodge any potential headaches with my current boss—specifically making sure there isn't a massive blowout when I try to transition that 70% stake in the company from my partner over to me.

Thanks in advance for the help!