Bell85

Hello all!

I am new to this forum and can already see how great of a community it is.. so i thought this may be a great place to ask for some advice!

I am in the UK and currently in the process of starting an online crowd-funding platform (kick-starter..indiegogo..and so on) but not sure of where to launch the platform for use.

The US was an option.. but, my question is - Can you have an online platform registered in the UK but only open to campaigns and donators in the US?

The reason I ask is because I am trying to figure out if I would have to apply for visa's in the event that the business would need to be registered and operating in US.

I am not too sure how it works when your business is solely run online.

I really would appreciate any help or pointers in the right direction.

Thank you

Sibel

ian-mstm

Yes... but how would you restrict donations to the US? IP address filtering? ISP filtering? And why would you want only US donations?


You don't need a visa to start/register a business in the US, or to conduct business meetings. You will need a visa if you plan to be in the US actively working for the business.


First question to answer: If the business is solely online, why would you need to even register the business in the US or, in fact, be in the US yourself?

Ian

Steve_

Well we don't even know what the business is so it's impossible to answer the question, even on-line businesses have to have some sort of permanent establishment somewhere.

ian-mstm

Sure we do - he said so in the OP.

Ian

Steve_

Oh he said he's launching one, I thought he said he was using one.

Well the permanent establishment is in the UK so it would have to be registered in the UK and if it does business in the US then it has to comply with US tax laws in relation to any US-source income. Which if it's a corporation means filing an 1120-F every year and paying US corporation tax, if any. And then claiming a UK foreign tax credit.

So yes it can be done legally, but filing an 1120-F is not for amateurs.