Interesting to see you both so adamantly opposed, regardless of circumstances... Where would you see the threshold level of profitability for it to be worthwhile, for a person who has PAYE income pushing them into a 52% marginal income tax rate?
I'd have thought that if the profitability is likely to be there at a minimum level, with potential for some growth in the medium/long term, there would be circumstances where it would make sense to incorporate early, if not immediately.
Such as, where there is a non-earning spouse who can be paid a directors fee suffering 24 - 28% tax, PRSI & USC, to reduce the taxable profit to nil. There's also potential for tax efficient pension provision, which may / may not be better than what would be available as a sole trader.
If the profit before directors fees is 10k, then the incremental cost of administering the company in excess of that of a sole trade would have to be upwards of 2k p.a. to render it a poor choice.
If it's:
1. a service business,
2. the turnover is such that a VAT reg isn't required,
3. the volume of transactions is relatively small, and
4. the business owner is capable of maintaining a reasonable set of books
then a non-audit set of accounts shouldn't cost more than 1k - it's a job for a trainee.
The cost of the Form 11 isn't relevant since it's a requirement either way.
In general, one shouldn't incorporate with an expectation of modest profits, but I'm not sure that you could say never under any circumstances.