NEED HELP IN SETTING UP A BUSINESS WITH MY FORIGNER GF

[chuichui]

hi guys, good evening. i would need some advise and help from some professionals or the administrator.

heres the situation.

im a singapore male citizen and my girlfriend is from hong kong.

i have come up with a proposal to start up a retail shop in singapore
with my gf.

my gf does not have high qualifications but she is willing to invest in this shop.

my question here is ,

she will be needing to get a employment pass in order to stay here and run the business with me.

i check on mom and acra and accordingly to the guidelines.
we have to set up a private ltd company and not just a business.

so for a pte ltd company.

can i and her alone setup a pte ltd company both as directors?

we will definitly be hiring 3 more sales staff to run our business in the future.

so that will be in the proposal when sumitting the application for EP.

and the next thing is, how much start up capital do we need in order for MOM to approve her EP?

she also used to study in singapore so the government has her records here as a previoue student.

i understand that to setup a PTE ltd company. we will have to hire a licenced auditor to write up the start up capital and company details.

how much will it cost for the services?

also for start up capital, she only have 20% to help me out , so will it be alrite for me to lend her 30% so that she owns half of the company?
so that it makes 50/50

i am not to sure in order for her EP to be approve, how much percentage of the start up capital does she need to come up with and how can i prove in the proposal that she does have the amount ?

lastly, what is coporate taxes? and how does that work out?
we are really running a small retail business here so im worried i can manage the taxes etc.. , does she need to pay CPF or individual income tax for both of us?

i hope any professionals here can help me out.

our plan is really good and my gf really wants to help me out in my dream and also stay here with me for future and marry here.

but im really worried about the min. start up capital and the whole pte ltd.

im currently running business but im not a pte ltd company.
so i really do not know the difference.

thanks

[jpatokal]

im a singapore male citizen and my girlfriend is from hong kong. i have come up with a proposal to start up a retail shop in singapore with my gf. [...] she will be needing to get a employment pass in order to stay here and run the business with me.

Correct. You'll need to apply for an EntrePass for her, there's plenty of discussion about this before so do a search here and on MOM's site.

i check on mom and acra and accordingly to the guidelines.
we have to set up a private ltd company and not just a business. so for a pte ltd company. can i and her alone setup a pte ltd company both as directors?

Yes. As long as one director is a Sg resident, it's enough.

and the next thing is, how much start up capital do we need in order for MOM to approve her EP? she also used to study in singapore so the government has her records here as a previoue student. i understand that to setup a PTE ltd company. we will have to hire a licenced auditor to write up the start up capital and company details.

Not true, you can do it yourself quite easily on ACRA's website. Pte Ltds are exempt from auditing until you have over one million in revenue.

also for start up capital, she only have 20% to help me out , so will it be alrite for me to lend her 30% so that she owns half of the company?
so that it makes 50/50

If you as an individual give her a loan as an individual, it's none of the MOM's business...

lastly, what is coporate taxes? and how does that work out?
we are really running a small retail business here so im worried i can manage the taxes etc.. , does she need to pay CPF or individual income tax for both of us?

Corporate tax is 20% of profit, but you can get a waiver for 3 years if you meet a bunch of fairly easy conditions. CPF and income tax are payable if you pay her salary, but it's much smarter to just make her a shareholder and pay out tax-free dividends instead.

i hope any professionals here can help me out.

Instead of listening to advice from random strangers, find a company that does accounting for small companies. They're happy to dish out advice and can also handle paperwork; in particular, the EntrePass is fairly complex to set up. (Fixing the Shift key in your keyboard might help!)

[JayV]

im a singapore male citizen and my girlfriend is from hong kong. i have come up with a proposal to start up a retail shop in singapore with my gf. [...] she will be needing to get a employment pass in order to stay here and run the business with me.

Correct. You'll need to apply for an EntrePass for her, there's plenty of discussion about this before so do a search here and on MOM's site.

i check on mom and acra and accordingly to the guidelines.
we have to set up a private ltd company and not just a business. so for a pte ltd company. can i and her alone setup a pte ltd company both as directors?

Yes. As long as one director is a Sg resident, it's enough.

and the next thing is, how much start up capital do we need in order for MOM to approve her EP? she also used to study in singapore so the government has her records here as a previoue student. i understand that to setup a PTE ltd company. we will have to hire a licenced auditor to write up the start up capital and company details.

Not true, you can do it yourself quite easily on ACRA's website. Pte Ltds are exempt from auditing until you have over one million in revenue.

I think the limit is 5 million SGD nowadays.

also for start up capital, she only have 20% to help me out , so will it be alrite for me to lend her 30% so that she owns half of the company?
so that it makes 50/50

If you as an individual give her a loan as an individual, it's none of the MOM's business...

lastly, what is coporate taxes? and how does that work out?
we are really running a small retail business here so im worried i can manage the taxes etc.. , does she need to pay CPF or individual income tax for both of us?

Corporate tax is 20% of profit, but you can get a waiver for 3 years if you meet a bunch of fairly easy conditions. CPF and income tax are payable if you pay her salary, but it's much smarter to just make her a shareholder and pay out tax-free dividends instead.

Corporate tax relief for new start ups is 100 000 SGD over 3 years.

i hope any professionals here can help me out.

Instead of listening to advice from random strangers, find a company that does accounting for small companies. They're happy to dish out advice and can also handle paperwork; in particular, the EntrePass is fairly complex to set up. (Fixing the Shift key in your keyboard might help!)