Tax planning

[bfung]

I wish to start-up a business, in which I am both the shareholder and the director (if required). I i) was born in Canada and have a Canadian passport, ii) have permanent right of abode in Hong Kong, and iii) am currently a resident as a student in full time education in the UK for approximately three quarters of a year, where I have a British Citizen passport. The main operations of the company will be in property investing and developing, in the UK at first but may expand into Hong Kong, China and possibly USA in the future. For these investments, mortgage loans will be required.

Please could someone suggest a structure (company, organization and tax) that could be set up to minmize costs, such as tax and audit fees for annual returns?

[bfung]

I understand that this may be too much to ask in a forum - but please could anyone help? Any comment or suggestion would be much appreciated!

Thank you!

[David Griffiths]

I understand that this may be too much to ask in a forum

Correct.

It's a question about a business that doesn't yet exist, which requires knowledge of tax law and company structure in relation to the UK, the USA, China, Hong Kong and even possibly China.

And you want somebody to consider the options and tell you what's best.

Good luck - I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.

[Zeno]

I agree with David. I will add that the advice you need should come from either from international tax specialists or various local firms to the relevant countries - it will not be cheap.

[bfung]

Do you know where I could get this advice from - and how much does it typically cost? Any recommendations?

Are large international accounting firms, such as PwC, good for this purpose – how much more do they charge usually? Also, how helpful are these firms to small businesses or start-ups?

Thanks for your replies!

[Zeno]

Be honest with us first - do you have any experience of property development?

[bfung]

Be honest with us first - do you have any experience of property development?

No I haven't actually – I am trying to start up a new business and explore the field. So, any advices would be hugely helpful! I am just looking ahead (perhaps a bit too far) to the future as I don’t want to make a mistake in setting up the wrong structure now and find it hard to get out of if my business does grow. Thank you for your help!

[Jenni384]

I had a similar query from a client a few months ago. I looked into getting advice for him and it was going to be in the region of £500. That's a very ballpark figure as of course your situation is not the same as the one about which I was enquiring.

[bfung]

Thank you for your posts.

Do you think I should go to large international firms for advice or small local ones – which do you think better serve the purpose? How different are they in terms of prices (as ballpark figures) and quality of service? And where should I find advisers with such experiences – any recommendations?

[Maslins]

In the nicest possible way, I think PWC might laugh you out of their office. I have never worked for them, but have worked for some a few notches below, and it wouldn't surprise me if they rarely raised a fee for less than £10,000.

A few of the not quite so big boys may look at your affairs, but you're still going to be easily into the thousands of pounds.

I think the short answer is that unless you're looking at multi million pound deals where you can afford thousands in accountancy assistance, you're probably better off looking at something simpler.