One business, two countries?
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Let's say "MyCompany" is an IT consulting firm.
Is there a need or benefit to be registered in the U.S. at all, if a foreign consultancy is to do business with U.S. customers?
Is it best or more beneficial to also register a "MyCompany LLC" in the U.S.? Is it required? Is there a "trust/emotional" thing for U.S. companies to not choose a foreign company?
Is there restrictions on headquarters location?
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@Obsolesce said in One business, two countries?:
Is there a need or benefit to be registered in the U.S. at all, if a foreign consultancy is to do business with U.S. customers?
Not if consulting from a foreign location and needing no boots or presence in the US. One need only be a registered business in the country where you are working.
For example, a Swiss company be asked to provide advice to a US company has to be registered in Switzerland, not the US. A Swiss company wanting to set up an office in the US, would need a registration in the US.
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@Obsolesce said in One business, two countries?:
Is it best or more beneficial to also register a "MyCompany LLC" in the U.S.?
Doing so would invoke US taxation, regulations, and registration costs. So unless needed, it is not wanted.
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@Obsolesce said in One business, two countries?:
Is there a "trust/emotional" thing for U.S. companies to not choose a foreign company?
Goes both ways. Some demand to only work with US companies or perceived US companies. Some prefer to work with non-US companies and foreign companies often have higher security options and more freedom.
For example, data hosting in the US is considered some of the riskiest in the world due to low data protection in the US and high government control of all corporate property. So many US companies seek companies without US ties to do business with to protect themselves from having any data unnecessarily housed in the US. Many EU companies can't do business with US companies for this reason.
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@Obsolesce said in One business, two countries?:
Is there restrictions on headquarters location?
You can only have a point of presence where you are registered. So if you want an HQ somewhere but do no business there, that's generally allowed. For example, you can have a headquarters in Nicaragua while having no incorporation there, and be incorporated in Panama and have no staff there... but in setting up this way you are barred from doing business in either country, but are free to do business with any other country.
