Contact UsHow would I go about setting up a foreign operation in Portugal? I have a manufacturing company in the US but for personal reasons am considering moving with my new wife to Portugal.
João Figueira
Would you consider incorporating a Portuguese Company and allocate assets to it? Is it a service enterprise? Any employees besides yourself? It provides services only to US consumers?
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535 weeks ago
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Tax Professional Answers
Virginia La Torre Jeker, J.D.
While I do not know the vagaries of Portugal's laws, it is usually fairly easy to set up a foreign corporation or other entity in a non-US jurisdiction. You would need local counsel to assist you. What is not so easy is working one's way through the quagmire of required IRS reporting and US tax obligations simply because you are a US person owning shares in a non-US company, or owning an interest in another type of non-US entity (e.g., a foreign partnership).
That's right! Welcome to the IRS Quicksand....under the US tax laws, you are legally required to report these ownership interests to the IRS. If you don't, you can be subject to heavy fines, and possibly worse. One can minimize the tax bite if proper planning is undertaken. Perhaps this can take the form of structuring ownership or operations. Perhaps it can be through the use of Treaty benefits or by making certain tax elections. Expert advice is needed to ensure the most efficient tax result.
You may wish to read some of the posts on my US tax blog, link is below. I am a US tax attorney dealing with international issues for the past 30 years. Many of my clients have fallen into the trap of setting up foreign structures without advance planning and then, their case is that much more difficult to work through. Let us know if you would like assistance.
http://blogs.angloinfo.com/us-tax/about/
You might also find this useful. It is a detailed write-up I prepared covering US tax issues for US persons living and working abroad http://dubai.angloinfo.com/information/money/general-taxes/us-expat-tax/
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562 weeks ago
That's right! Welcome to the IRS Quicksand....under the US tax laws, you are legally required to report these ownership interests to the IRS. If you don't, you can be subject to heavy fines, and possibly worse. One can minimize the tax bite if proper planning is undertaken. Perhaps this can take the form of structuring ownership or operations. Perhaps it can be through the use of Treaty benefits or by making certain tax elections. Expert advice is needed to ensure the most efficient tax result.
You may wish to read some of the posts on my US tax blog, link is below. I am a US tax attorney dealing with international issues for the past 30 years. Many of my clients have fallen into the trap of setting up foreign structures without advance planning and then, their case is that much more difficult to work through. Let us know if you would like assistance.
http://blogs.angloinfo.com/us-tax/about/
You might also find this useful. It is a detailed write-up I prepared covering US tax issues for US persons living and working abroad http://dubai.angloinfo.com/information/money/general-taxes/us-expat-tax/