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its says Franchise Tax Return. I don't understand why I owe taxes on a company with zero revenue, zero expenditure. I literally just registered with Stripe Atl

its says Franchise Tax Return. I don't understand why I owe taxes on a company with zero revenue, zero expenditure. I literally just registered with Stripe Atlas thinking it would be cool to own a US corp for future fund raising. Big fucking mistake.

baconomatic 8y ago
Have you reached out to Stripe about this?
- browsercoin 8y ago
  yes I did. still no response so I hope making it to the frontpage on HN will invoke some explanation. How in the fuck is it remotely fair to tax corporations with no employees, no revenue, no investments, no capital, nada, zil, zip!
  - dragonwriter 8y ago
    > How in the fuck is it remotely fair to tax corporations with no employees, no revenue, no investments, no capital, nada, zil, zip! Having a corporation is a privilege, and many US jurisdictions apply a minimum fee or tax to it (usually, a fee hundred USD annually.) That's not what you are dealing with, though, which seems likely to be a non-compliance penalty from a state or local taxing authority; you generally do need to file tax paperwork annually, probably both federal and state, for a US-based corporation. Not sure how Stripe Atlas works, by the actual taxing authority should have sent a very specific documentation of the charges; they should be able to provide you with that documentation if they are set up to accept that on behalf of the corp.
FBISurveillance 8y ago
Not a lawyer advice below. OK so you should not worry about this. Delaware uses Authorized Share Method to calculate franchise tax. With 10 million shares this ends up being a hefty sum. Instead, you could pay using Assumed Par Value Method and your tax will go down to something like $250/year including penalty. You can select preferred method while paying this tax online. See https://www.cooleygo.com/so-you-owe-thousands-in-delaware-franchise-tax/ https://www.cooleygo.com/so-you-owe-thousands-in-delaware-fr... for example.
hluska 8y ago
With all due respect, I don't understand why anyone would start a corporation in a foreign country, forget about it for two years, and then act surprised when they get a bill. When you incorporate, you are (quite literally) making a person. That is an incredible responsibility and frankly, I'm not sympathetic to anyone who takes such a drastic step without bothering to do any homework. In terms of advice, you've missed two filing deadlines, so this is a lawyer situation. I'd ask about retroactively killing off that company as it had no assets, revenue or stream of business as of the last filing date. And next time, seriously, it doesn't matter if someone else does the paperwork for you. You are still creating a person in a foreign country!!

baconomatic 8y ago

Have you reached out to Stripe about this?

browsercoin 8y ago
yes I did. still no response so I hope making it to the frontpage on HN will invoke some explanation. How in the fuck is it remotely fair to tax corporations with no employees, no revenue, no investments, no capital, nada, zil, zip!
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  > How in the fuck is it remotely fair to tax corporations with no employees, no revenue, no investments, no capital, nada, zil, zip! Having a corporation is a privilege, and many US jurisdictions apply a minimum fee or tax to it (usually, a fee hundred USD annually.) That's not what you are dealing with, though, which seems likely to be a non-compliance penalty from a state or local taxing authority; you generally do need to file tax paperwork annually, probably both federal and state, for a US-based corporation. Not sure how Stripe Atlas works, by the actual taxing authority should have sent a very specific documentation of the charges; they should be able to provide you with that documentation if they are set up to accept that on behalf of the corp.

FBISurveillance 8y ago

Not a lawyer advice below. OK so you should not worry about this. Delaware uses Authorized Share Method to calculate franchise tax. With 10 million shares this ends up being a hefty sum. Instead, you could pay using Assumed Par Value Method and your tax will go down to something like $250/year including penalty. You can select preferred method while paying this tax online. See https://www.cooleygo.com/so-you-owe-thousands-in-delaware-franchise-tax/ https://www.cooleygo.com/so-you-owe-thousands-in-delaware-fr... for example.

hluska 8y ago

With all due respect, I don't understand why anyone would start a corporation in a foreign country, forget about it for two years, and then act surprised when they get a bill. When you incorporate, you are (quite literally) making a person. That is an incredible responsibility and frankly, I'm not sympathetic to anyone who takes such a drastic step without bothering to do any homework. In terms of advice, you've missed two filing deadlines, so this is a lawyer situation. I'd ask about retroactively killing off that company as it had no assets, revenue or stream of business as of the last filing date. And next time, seriously, it doesn't matter if someone else does the paperwork for you. You are still creating a person in a foreign country!!