> And sure, you can form an Estonian company. But then you have to try and fly under the radar with regards to the 'permanent establishment' rules.
It depends on what you’re trying to achieve. If you want to do some tax optimization shenanigans, then yeah, don’t think it’ll work for you (if you’re in the EU, at least). But if you just want to set up a small to mid-sized company without dealing with German bureaucracy, I think Estonia is your best bet right now. I don’t think (IANAL) you would get into trouble for having a permanent establishment – you’ll just have to still deal with the DE tax office. But if EU-INC really can unify the processes for all countries, I’m all for it!
> The whole process is so clearly setup to discourage people from actually forming companies.
By the way, it’s really backwards in Estonia. I’ve seen zero sole proprietors when I was living there – everybody just opens an LLC.
It depends on what you’re trying to achieve. If you want to do some tax optimization shenanigans, then yeah, don’t think it’ll work for you (if you’re in the EU, at least). But if you just want to set up a small to mid-sized company without dealing with German bureaucracy, I think Estonia is your best bet right now. I don’t think (IANAL) you would get into trouble for having a permanent establishment – you’ll just have to still deal with the DE tax office. But if EU-INC really can unify the processes for all countries, I’m all for it!
> The whole process is so clearly setup to discourage people from actually forming companies.
By the way, it’s really backwards in Estonia. I’ve seen zero sole proprietors when I was living there – everybody just opens an LLC.