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To avoid the hostile taxation and business code in the U.S. I was thinking of possibly starting a non-US based company(I did a little research a while back on some good places but forgot now). I'll move to the location if necessary as to avoid having to pay U.S. taxes(and hell, renounce my citizenship if they force me).

The company will manufacture products and then ship worldwide. The point of moving it outside the US is to avoid having to pay too much in taxes(more than about 20%) and avoid all the legal crap that is going on.

  1. Am I right in assuming that the fed. gov. cannot come after me for taxes on such a setup? (obviously I'm oversimplifying it but the point is, is it possible to do this relatively easily)

  2. Are there decent places to start such a business that are much more favorable and maybe a good place to live?

  3. Can I live in the US still and run the business inside the US(in the some sense)? Do I still have to pay taxes on income just because I live here? Or is that where the 6 months rule comes in? Couldn't I just live with a GF or something and not leave any trace? How would the feds know? They shouldn't even know how much I'm making outside the US anyways?

  4. I don't mind paying some taxes but the US has become ridiculous. Are there legal ways to pay a decent tax rate without too much work?

  5. Is it time to move to China?

  6. Am I going to get a knock at the door by the feds for writing this? ;)

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Unlike private citizens, businesses pay taxes only on their profits (money left after paying all expenses including salaries & debt interest). As a startup, it'll be a while before you'll pay significant taxes. – dnbrv Feb 9 '12 at 5:47
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Love that you think taxes in the US are ridiculous. Try living in a country that charges 52% income tax. – Nick Stevens Feb 9 '12 at 10:45
Um, giving one example of a similar country to US or worse doesn't prove anything. There are many countries that have better taxation, legal, and manufacturing. Why the heck do you hear on tv about all the companies in the US moving? You must be a lib who gets upset with all the "lies" purported by the GOP just trying to ruin Obama? The fact of the matter is that the US tax and legal codes suck and are getting worse all the time. Just because you know of a few other countries that are worse doesn't prove anything. I know of many more that are better. – Uiy Feb 9 '12 at 17:52

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Not sure if your going to win any friends here with that statement. The US is one of the least taxed of the "first world" countries. Australia is typically much higher @ 30+% and if you head to Europe, most of the Scandiavian countries and Germany have between 30 and 60% taxes.

The answer is: if you stay in the US with a US company, you are subject to US laws. If you renouce your citizenship your no longer subject to the laws ... that said Amazon is loving the tax situation at the moment because the law hasn't caught up with online sales properly so you could research their model to see how you could optimise your situation.

Really though, I look forward to having a tax problem as it shows I'm going well in the business and if I plan pricing and cashflow knowing full well the taxes need to be included from the start, then they have little impact on the end result.

We automatically seperate taxes into a seperate high interest bank account as payments come in or go out. We earn interest off the money in this account and always have the payments ready when the due date falls.

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It depends. I want to focus on my company and it's products and consumers and not some legal crap forced down my throat because someone else thinks they should run my life and my business. I don't mind paying taxes... a flat rate 10% would be optimal. When you have a tax code that has loop holes for those in the know, legal issues at every turn, etc and there are places that are much better then why not? Seriously? If there are better places why would anyone not consider them? Is the US the worse case? No, but is it the best case? No! – Uiy Feb 9 '12 at 17:56
Will I move to some small African nation that doesn't have clean water just to save a few pennies? Of course not... will I move to a better country on principle because I don't think it is right to support the a welfare state? Yes! I'm sorry if it pisses off all you libs but too bad... – Uiy Feb 9 '12 at 17:57
Well there we have to agree to disagree. My 22 yr old cousin requires a liver transplant, everything from 20 years of research through to the 4 hour operation will all paid for by our taxes and medicare system. I believe there are some things greater than yourself that are worth contributing to so that all can benefit. That is why I would choose to live in a higher taxed country ... I wish you well in your move :) – Robin Vessey Feb 9 '12 at 23:20
And that's your problem. It's no ones job to pay for anyone else. The moment you start believing that is the moment that humanity starts to crumble. Have you heard of evolution? Survival of the fittest? Do you know that 1% of humanity can't support the other 99%? I feel sorry for your cousin but it's not my fault and not my job to support his ass. I have my own family to take care of. – Uiy Feb 9 '12 at 23:50
Do you also realize that if gov didn't tax you at all your family would have more money to pay for him? And medical costs wouldn't be so expensive due to the waste and fraud? 300$ for a band-aid? Why? To pay for illegals that do not pay for heath care... Problem with libs is that you guys never see the big picture. Mother nature has shown that evolution is the way to go... that means some will suffer BUT the species will survive. When you start playing god is when you fuck everything up. – Uiy Feb 9 '12 at 23:51
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