Open company, or freelance, or expat, or...?

[sundaymorningstaple]

As CPF is based on salary cap of 6K/mo it's only 1200/mo out of his pay packet as the 17% comes out of the Employers pocket (that's assuming he get his PR - and the first 2 years of PR the rated are graduated - only in the third year will his contributions be 20%. Total of $2220/mo not $2775

A family of 4 should be able to get by with no more than $1500/mo grocery bill unless you all insist on eating on restaurants and shopping at Cold Storage or Jasons.

[taxico]

thanks for correcting my mistakes!

[joemeow]

You need high investment (thousands of dollars) for this purpose

[Strong Eagle]

You need high investment (thousands of dollars) for this purpose

joemeow - You have made sixteen mindless, pointless, and fact free and/or incorrect posts since joining less than 24 hours ago.

You are under watch by the moderators.

Moderator

[mimeso]

Hello all - thank you for coming with more information.
I´m just back from the meetings, and at least I did not get a red light for my plans
Joking; at this early stage we do need more information before going on, so I have to get in contact with people who offer to open a company, and then create a kind of business case for my bosses. I shall show all the costs for them, for setting up a company, and the running costs (taxes? Office? Travelling costs?). Then we do also need a timetable when & how to move on, and in the near future to get a step onto the local market too.

We are talking about 5-6k€ = 7,5-9k$ before all taxes, but we have to check what we have to pay here in AT too, and what is left then for me. Then I have to think and discuss with my wife if we want to go with that money and opportunity, or not.

Everything looks okay, as the bosses are also interested into that market, so it depends on a good and correct business plan, a fair overview of the costs, and a final go or no go then.

To answer some of your questions or comments:
- Here in AT I do not save 2000€ (unfortunately ). I do get about 4k before taxes etc, so therefore 2k left for me. Then rental a room, car, food etc = some hundred bucks for savings...
- Living in China etc - no. I worked there already, but the food quality standard, safety, corruption etc is not that great. And English is not spoken everywhere. Singapore is imo the best city to be in Asia, but also most expensive. Hongkong could be an alternative, but it´s very expensive too.
- PR - I talked about it with my wife. It depends on how we like working there & how it goes. We can apply after 6 months, so there is time to get a impression "do we want to stay here?". We would not apply just for fun. IF we go that way, then we are heading to stay in Singapore. No cheats, no house buying and raising prices etc, just to integrate in the right way. But of course no one knows what happens in some years..

[sundaymorningstaple]

Make the application for PR after 2 years (6 months only applies to Rocket Scientists and Brain Surgeons). Seriously. The odds of getting after only being here for 6 months is really a thing of the past unless you are somebody and the government really needs your expertise. Otherwise, it's not going to happen.

[mimeso]

Ok thank you. Just to not misunderstand me: I am asking around a lot to get most information possible, and I am doing some hours web research every week. When living & working there we will decide all popping up things locally, but it´s good to be prepared.
Therefore I am very welcome for all information for the beginning period and the setup, and also for the tipps afterwards (like the PR after 2y, living costs etc).

I will have a date with our local tax expert within the next weeks to tell me what I have to pay here in Austria by getting my salary, and probably he can also organize an overview of the payments in Singapore (besides; I can really find good and helpful gov websites!). Atm it seems like the salary from here will be nearly gross = net, as the income tax needs to be paid locally then.

Just before I got the information that we definitely closed the company in Jurong, so I cannot use that anymore, and have to open one as mentioned above. What does the company (proably me as director) has to pay to gov annually? Here there are a lot of taxes, and it is not easy to see the light without having an expert or the economy chamber on your side...

Another question: do we need to have a physical office? Or can I use a rented apartment then with one room as office? In Switzerland we do have a postbox-adress, so no physical office, but of course have to pay taxes etc locally.

Again: thank you all for your input - everything is welcome!

[Strong Eagle]

You are required to have a physical presence, aka, an office address. This can be a home address or your apartment.

As a single director, you are required to have an independent secretary. Most CPA's in town will do this for around $100 per month. You'd probably want one anyway to ensure that you comply with all the reporting provisions of the Companies Act.

Maximum corporate tax rates are 17 percent. However, for the first 3 years, the first $100,000 of profit is exempted from taxes, and 50% of the next $200,000 in profit is exempted. After that, there are additional exemptions, making it unlikely that you will ever pay the full 17 percent rate.

You should go to the IRAS website to get more information on company formation, appointment of directors, etc.

And, once again, with respect to PR, I re-state my belief in a different manner... monkeys will fly out of my ass before you get PR.

[mimeso]

Hello all - back again & read tons of websites. It´s great that you can get a lot of information through web about Singapore, and here in this forum you´ll find a lots too.
Time is getting closer; in January I will have a meeting & come up with a business case. I am preparing a lot already, and the puzzle is getting closer to a full picture..

The question now is for which kind of business entity we will go or which is suitable for our idea.
RO is not useful, as we cannot enter the local market with our goods. Sub/Branch - probably the branch is the better solution. Or better go for something really independent, probably not using the brands name, to be flexible in near future? And which version is less "paper work" to do (bookkeeping, reports etc)?

Btw I did not find anything about running costs besides taxes; are there any?
Income tax of salary (director = me), secretary (about 100$), company bank account (besides my private),..??
Corporate tax will be 0$ the first year I guess; other running costs?
Rental, power etc will be paid by my salary, and sometimes there will be costs for travelling etc which HQ will pay.
Is there anything else?

[Strong Eagle]

Sub/Branch - probably the branch is the better solution. Or better go for something really independent, probably not using the brands name, to be flexible in near future? And which version is less "paper work" to do (bookkeeping, reports etc)?

No, a branch is not the best way to go. It's more complicated to setup and you don't get certain benefits of a local pte ltd. A branch, BTW, means that you are incorporated under the articles of association of the home country and no stock is issued locally. A pte ltd, with $1 of shares, all owned by the parent company, is the simpler solution. You can name your Singapore pte ltd whatever you want.

Btw I did not find anything about running costs besides taxes; are there any?
Income tax of salary (director = me), secretary (about 100$), company bank account (besides my private),..??
Corporate tax will be 0$ the first year I guess; other running costs?
Rental, power etc will be paid by my salary, and sometimes there will be costs for travelling etc which HQ will pay.
Is there anything else?

You have all the normal administrative and overhead costs... rent, utilities, postage, secretarial fees, professional subscriptions, travel... HQ may re-imburse but your Singapore pte ltd should pay.

[mimeso]

Good, thank you - again!
The pte ltd was also an idea, as we can probably chose another name for the company, to buy/sell other goods too, and not only "our" actual assortment.

Costs: good, so no extra costs besides the usual ones. Rent, power, computer etc will be paid by me in the beginning, as I will start with an extra room within my apartment/condo. But probably I shall put some parts of the costs inside, like 20% or so..
The point is that there will be no turnover the first months, so all costs have to be covered by HQ or me. But if everything runs well/as planned we will go for an extra office later, maybe also with a small local stock as a buffer.

Edit: can I work there on a local contract for the pte ltd?
Austrian tax needs to be paid if the contract continues like now...

[Strong Eagle]

Edit: can I work there on a local contract for the pte ltd?
Austrian tax needs to be paid if the contract continues like now...

You must work on a local contract, employed by the Singaporean company, in order to get an EP.

The EP is not a guaranteed shoe-in... your salary, experience, and education, as well as the duties you will be performing for the company in Singapore, will all go into determining whether or not your EP is granted.