[jahewson]

No you have it backwards. Stripe Atlas only exists because registering a business here sucks. I can start a business in the UK via the government website in a few minutes for a cost of £14/yr.

In the US I had to use a 3rd party service because the process is total garbage, takes weeks to complete and requires sending physical paperwork and checks to Sacramento. I have to register in both Delaware and my home state, pay minimum, mandatory taxes to both, totalling ~1000$/yr and pay $100/yr for someone to sit in an office and receive mail in case I get sued. I also have to file physical paperwork with my local city (despite no physical presence) and pay yet more fees.

It’s rent-seeking, antiquated multi-level bureaucratic garbage and there’s zero interest in improving it because that would cost money.

After all that I get the joy of filing taxes with all those entities, plus the federal government.

[gamblor956]

In California you can register a business in literally minutes yourself (https://www.sos.ca.gov/business-programs/business-entities/f...).

If you paid a third party to do so...that's on you. You weren't required to use a third party agent for service of (legal) process. Moreover, if you decided to register in a second state (Delaware), that's on you as well. If you don't want to pay taxes for your business in the places where it does business...then why did you register in multiple states in the first place?

I also have to file physical paperwork with my local city (despite no physical presence) and pay yet more fees.

This makes no sense. How do you not have a physical presence in your "local" city. The physical presence is a pretty key part of the "local" bit. (Note that "physical presence" includes employees (and employee-owners) not just dedicated offices or facilities.)

Basically, you're complaining entirely about self-inflicted problems.

[ghomrassen]

Registering is one part of a thousand part process. Ask a small business owner, other than geography, would you rather operate in California or Texas. 9 out of 10 will say Texas.

[gamblor956]

I have asked that question, and 9 out of 10 said they would prefer California. Bigger market, better employees, better access to materials and cheaper, and better access to international markets.

Also, when I was still at a firm providing tax services to companies large and small (including a number of YC companies), I had more than a dozen clients move to CA from TX, and only one company move from CA to TX. They moved because Texas simply wasn't a viable place to do business unless you're in oil or energy (and the one client that moved there was in energy).

Texas is where companies go when they aren't strong enough to survive real competition.

[atlasunshrugged]

@jahewson - you make an excellent point. I guess that's also why something like mainstreet.com exists. I've registered a business online myself in the US (Nevada) and it wasn't that hard but it doesn't sound as easy as it is in the UK. That said, I'm skeptical that the US is less business friendly than Europe overall.

[jahewson]

Overall is probably not a great measure because a business exists somewhere, not everywhere. The US is I think really only big-business friendly. If you’re a little guy they could care less about you. New business formation is dwindling.

For example in most US states an employer can prevent you operating an unrelated side-business - how is that “business friendly”? The answer is it’s not - it’s capital-friendly. It has the effect of shutting out the broader populous from participating in business on their own terms. California gets this right!

There’s also the question of what level “overall” is measured. The US makes it easy to exploit workers and so suffers the consequence of having to support an impoverished strata of society which generates negative tax income to the government. In a society that prevents this, the government can receive more taxes from more people and offer more services, including making business formation easier - a virtuous cycle.