Installation d'une compagnie
Bonjour tous,
Mes associés et moi voulons établir une compagnie ici en Chine pour localiser un certain type de logiciel en anglais que nous pouvons nous vendre en ligne sur les marchés internationaux. Nous tous sommes expérimentés dans ce secteur et savons exactement procéder sur l'extrémité opérationnelle c.-à-d. autorisant des réalisateurs chinois, faisant la localisation, installant des systèmes de paiement, des serveurs, le service à la clientèle, le marketing, etc.Puisque nous aurons besoin d'un petit (bureau de personne peut-être 15), nous devons établir une entité chinoise légale de sorte que nous puissions louer le personnel et conduire nos affaires. Puisque nous « ne vendrons » rien en Chine (nos revenus seront produits en ligne des serveurs basés en mer), notre première pensée était d'établir un RO, avec un parent de Hong Kong. Nous avons parlé aux conseillers qui nous ont dit que c'était facile à faire, bien qu'il y ait une quantité considérable d'écritures impliquée, et prendra au moins plusieurs semaines.
Deux questions viennent à l'esprit :
1) Quels sont les avantages d'un parent de HK ? Pourquoi non établi un LLC aux USA pour $200 au-dessous de selon l'état, et soyez fait avec lui ? D'autres indiquent que pour l'impôt les raisons ou le parent devraient être en BVI ou tout autre prétendu paradis fiscal. Je suis intéressé à entendre vos avis au sujet d'un LLC basé par USA bon marché et facile par opposition à certaines des autres options mentionnées.
2) Un RO est-il vraiment le meilleur type de compagnie pour nous ?
Le ROS sont sujets à un régime absurde d'impôts basé sur payer l'impôt sur des dépenses de compagnie (!) plutôt que bénéfices. Since we won’t be profitable for about 9 months, and will incur fairly large expenses (like staff, rent, equipment, etc.) perhaps a WOFE is the way to go after all. Thoughts?
What originally seemed like such a simple idea - a small office to perform certain tasks all laid out in the business plan, is becoming bogged down in our thinking about how to create an appropriate legal entity. Any suggestions would be highly valued. Thank you in advance.
Jon
July 11th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Hi Jon,
You ask the right questions. There is no real benefit to an RO if it has a Hong Kong companyas “parent” , except that sometimes it is easier to get the paperwork together for establishment.
Regarding RO vs. WFOE, this is not so easy to answer. Certainly a WFOE gives you more flexibility, especially if you consider invoicing in China. Moreover, you are right that RO’s are subject to considerable taxes. On the other hand, the set-up costs and required investments for a WFOE are higher, and you need to confirm whether a WFOE is allowed for your business. In my experience, everything “online” may be subject to further restrictions and/or licenses - some more research may be needed!
You will be receiving a lot of comments from others on this topic, but if you ever want to discuss, contact me at mjroos@wjnco.com.
July 13th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Hi Jon,
Maarten has given some good comments here and unless you plan to actively use the HK company for conducting the invoicing for transactions or business leads that the RO might be able to generate then you may not need the HK Company.
Most people we do this for actually DO use the HK company for conducting the actual transaction with Chinese parties that the RO has been able to “source”. The tax on HK sourced income is only 16.5% so its a resonable place to book business and might create a deferal if profits are ultimately being remitted somewhere else. There would be no further tax at the HK end after this profits tax has been deducted as HK does not impose any other taxes that would impact the business.
If you are going down the path of a WFOE (and remember these need capitalizing as well as being more expensive, and more complicated to establish), then the HK company makes a lot a lot of sense for three key reasons:
1) Your Holdco would be in a jurisdiction which is familiar and strong from a legal perspective. That in and of itself is a benefit. You can at least have a cut out in a common law jurisdiction if things go wrong in the PRC.
2) From a finance perspective, having the Holdco in HK gives you access to one of the top three banking and fincial centres in the worls.
3) In terms of taxes, you would still have a tax liability in China, but when remitting the funds out as a dividend, China would only levy 5% on the witholding tax to HK as opposed to between 10-15% if directly to North America. If dividends were being remited to the BVI then 10% witholding tax.
In addition, while use of the BVI as a holding jurisdiction is common (it is the second largest investing jurisdiction in China after HK), it is precisely this reason that has made the BVI a bit of a red flag for the Chinese tax authorities. Hong Kong does not have the same stigma attached to it.
Hope this helps and if you need any more guidance, feel free to touch base with me at gledboo1@yahoo.com.
Cheers
Daniel
July 13th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Hi Jon,
I have a lot of experience in the software game both online as well as OEM and retail, if you want to discuss your BP, dorp me an email : rafalpotega@hotmail.com and I will be able to point you in the right direction.
Regards,
Rafal