Starting a business with Irish, UK and US directors

S

Sprozza

Guest
Apologies in advance for the slightly vague nature of the thread. It's something that I have very little knowledge of (for now) and have literally just started on doing my research into it. Obviously I'll be seeking professional advice in advance of making any decisions, but I hope to do a bit of personal research into it to ensure I know all the questions to ask when the time comes.

I am currently contemplating into going into business with two colleagues, one US based and one UK based. It will be to provide consultancy and management services to clients, the majority of which will probably be US based.

From a technical point of view, we're very confident that it will work out and we won't have any major issues in providing the services to our clients (we will have a number on our books from day one). However, the 'structure' side of it has me/us a little at sea for the moment.

We're currently looking at all of the options open to us. From a clients point of view, we feel that having a company incorporated in the US would be the preferrable route, but we all agree that this isn't a major factor so it's not a 'requirement' at the moment.

If anyone has any advice/suggestions/experience with such an undertaking...


  • suggestions of experts who are familiar with the juristictions involved and associated complications
  • what you wished you knew before undertaking something similiar
  • why a partnership would be more beneficial than a company
  • why setting up a company in Ireland would be more beneficial than one in the US
  • good sources of information during the research into it

I would be delighted for any and all input that might be given. I'm sure I'll be back with dozens of questions as I start doing the research into it, but if someone can point out an issue or point us in the way of a beneficial route to go early on, I thought it only wise to ask.
 
tax

I am not a tax expert so take this with a pinch of salt. Incorporating in the US may expose you to higher tax when it comes to withdrawing money from the entity. You need to chat to an international tax expert about it.Maybe someone in taxback.com can help
 
That's certainly one of the areas I'm keen to investigate in more detail. I know Ireland had (still has?) a reputation for being beneficial in terms of tax relative to many countries, but trying to do a direct comparison of it (and trying to put a quantifiable value on the intangible benefits of either course) is a tough one. That said, the knowledge I'm gaining by doing the research on it can't hurt. The more I learn, the more I realise I don't know.

At this point, it appears that going down the company route is preferable to the partnership route given the long term aims/goals/expectations of the business. However I'll keep reviewing both on the chance that professional advice suggests otherwise later down the line.

The research to date also suggests that should we choose to go with the states (be it LLC or partnership), that incorporating in Delaware would be the most beneficial choice. So getting that far helps when we attempt to make our comparisons.

I'm planning on meeting with the a facilitator (I think that's the term?) in the local social welfare office (I believe they offer information, but it's possibly/probably mostly the same stuff I'm reviewing on the net already. I know they can't/don't give 'advice') and with the local county enterprise board to see if they can give any insight into this before too much financial investment is made other than my time.

Hoping to get a rough first draft of the business plan completed by the end of the weekend. Lots of gaps/unknowns left in it for the minute, but it has most of the technical/market/financial content in there... so it's a start. I'm finding working on that is really helping in terms of motivation to push me to get a better understanding of the legal/corporate financial implications end of things.
 
Do you really need to complexity of setting up a new business with cross-border directors? Maybe one of you could take the lead on invoicing clients, and the other two would invoice that one? You'd need to watch cash-flow and timings of payments carefully of course.
 
That's an option we hadn't really considered Complainer. To be honest, I'm not sure I fully understand how an arrangement like that would/might work.

One sets up as a sole trader/company, all work goes through them, work carried out by all three and then the second two simply invoice as per the agreed distribution of income?

I would have assumed that the 'two' invoicing for work done would would be considered as employees by the relevant tax authority and not as sub contract/self employed consultants? (again, something I'm not familiar with so I'll need to look into it to see the full pro's and con's)

Even with the close friendships and excellent working relationships we share, I'd have concerns about such a set up should problems arise down the line (doubtful, but obviously possible in any scenario) without having the relevant partnership agreements etc in place and with one member (even if it were me) being left in the position where they could just walk away with the business.

Possible that I've just misunderstood the suggestion, or that there are ways around the concerns I initially see on it (again, I could/probably am miles off on my initial look at it), so please excuse my ignorance if I have.
 
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