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by notpushkin 443 days ago
Why not try Estonia instead? You’ll need to get an e-signature card (“e-Residency”) which might take about a month, then you just submit an online form and get your company number the same day. Mimimum capital is 1 €, and the fees are about 400 € for setup and 100 €/yr for virtual address. https://www.e-resident.gov.ee/eresidency-germans/

The downside, of course, is that you probably won’t get any direct(-ish) subsidies from Germany — although any pan-EU options should be on the table.
1 comments
Propelloni 443 days ago
> Mimimum capital is 1 €,

If you are talking about an OÜ this is often repeated and technically wrong (the best kind of wrong). One, actually the minimum capital requirement is 0.01 Euro per shareholder, and two, Estonian courts are pretty clear that in an OÜ with less than 2500 EUR capital the shareholders are personally liable to cover the difference between share capital and 2500 EUR to trustees.

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notpushkin 443 days ago
Yeah, you’re technically right (the best kind of right!) — on both counts.

However, if I understand everything correctly (IANAL), personal liability is basically the same. If you go for 2500 € capital and your company becomes undercapitalized, you’ll still be personally liable for any claims against your company, no?

(But personally, I just like how this opens opportunities even for people for whom 2500 € is a serious amount of money. Granted, you probably shouldn’t open up a company in this kind of situation, but at least you can!)

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Propelloni 443 days ago
Sweet gorilla of Manila! Anyway, I only had to deal with an OÜ once, so take it with a grain of salt. And IANAL, too ;) What I took away is that you are sheltered from claims against the company by economic avtivity, ie. outstanding fullfilment, but you are liable for claims against the company from management misconduct, ie. neglecting tax duties or, worst case, bankruptcy.
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