united-kingdom contract-law business european-union tax-law
Cheapest country to form a business within the European Union
<p>I am a Greek (freelancing) software developer interested in forming a company to be able to legally invoice my clients. Crazy taxes in Greece prohibit myself from running a company in my own country (according to my budget) therefore I'm looking for another solution.</p>

<p>Case:</p>

<p><code>Product</code>: I will be selling software (code)</p>

<p><code>Average annual income:</code> 10k-20k euros</p>

<p><code>Company type:</code> From my research I think I should either register for a sole proprietorship (sole trader) or an ltd company.</p>

<p><code>My Citizenship:</code> US and Greek citizenship</p>

<p>Some more info:</p>

<p>Let me tell you that I need to pay less than 100 euros per month to run it. (wether that is accountant costs, virtual office rents or anything) and I WILL be working from home.</p>

<p>What would you suggest is the BEST value for money road to choose?</p>

<p>Thank you.</p>

<p>You need to consult an accountant but, in general, if you live in Greece and earn money anywhere in the world, you will pay tax on that money in Greece.</p>

<p>If the country in which you earned the money has a tax treaty with Greece then, depending on the terms of that treaty, you will be entitled to a credit on your Greek tax for the foreign tax you paid.</p>

<p>For example, if the tax in Greece is 50% and the tax in the foreign country is 25% and you earned 20,000, then you would pay 5,000 foreign tax, you would owe the Greek government 10,000 and be entitled to a credit for 5,000 leaving you in exactly the same position as if you had set up business in Greece.</p>

<p>Probably Estonia at the moment because of their E-Residency program, it's especially suited for online businesses.</p>

<p><a href="https://e-estonia.com/e-residents/about/" rel="nofollow">https://e-estonia.com/e-residents/about/</a></p>

<p>Ireland is also known to have very low taxes for tech companies, if you fit their criteria <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/10/15/ireland-reduces-corporate-income-tax-rate-to-6-5-good-but-correct-rate-is-0/#2eb18ed836d8" rel="nofollow">http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/10/15/ireland-reduces-corporate-income-tax-rate-to-6-5-good-but-correct-rate-is-0/#2eb18ed836d8</a></p>
