A location comparison starts with the business model
Comparing European business locations requires more than a ranking of tax rates. Customer access, staffing, finance and actual operating processes also determine whether a location works over time and how much administration it creates.
Compare locations using the same business model. Keep revenue, staffing needs, investment and the intended use of profits consistent. Otherwise one option may appear cheaper simply because costs have been omitted elsewhere. Include customer language and the availability of suitable employees. State explicitly which activities would take place locally and which services would continue to be performed in other countries.
Include the continuing organisation
Prepare a complete annual budget for each option: premises, staffing, bookkeeping, advice, banking, travel and internal coordination. Consider how customers and finance providers might respond to the structure. Local contacts need to be genuinely accessible. A location with attractive individual figures can become cumbersome when ordinary questions involve several providers, languages and working processes that do not fit together.
Make the tax assessment specific
Have the remaining options professionally assessed using current rules and your complete circumstances. The conclusion should identify conditions, open questions and possible future changes. Ask how an eventual withdrawal or sale could be organised as well. This produces a decision suited to the business, rather than a structure that forces the business to adapt around it after the commitment has been made.
JABA / PERSPECTIVES
Jaba supports commercial decisions. Individual legal and tax advice is provided exclusively by separately engaged, appropriately qualified professionals.
