Well sure :) but we expected to pay a "normal" fine, not $60,000 right away. Especially since we had zero revenue. Today we would do many things differently...
You don't say why you incorporated in the US... Much cheaper to incorportate in the UK, it seems (especially if you include fines and wind down, from what you wrote). I believe that filing tax returns (and accounts) is pretty much an universal requirement, as mentioned, anyway.
Good question. We have considered all options. But the company cannot be officially closed without paying all taxes/fines, etc.
At the same time, with a C corp, only the company itself is liable for taxes and fines, not its founders. If a company does not have sufficient funds, it cannot operate, and there is a process for automatically dissolving the company (after several years, if you have no outstanding obligations to third parties, no fraud intentions, etc.). We didn't want to do this and be left with an unpaid bill in our minds.
> "Hey, the federal portal says we owe $60,000 in penalties for not filing a tax return."
That doesn't sound like they're asking you to pay tax on your $0 income business. It sounds like you need to pay a fine for not filing a tax return.
What's a "normal" fine anyway? The point of having a fine being a large sum of money is to create incentive so you to do the thing they want you doing, which you didn't do.
When we logged into the tax portal, only this amount was shown as to pay. Terrible UX.
In fact, the fine was actually what we paid (minimum tax + missed deadline + interest).
“Normal fine”: We just didn't expect you to be able to incorporate a company and if you miss the tax payment deadline, you will receive a fine 100 times higher than the cost of incorporating the company, no matter what.
But of course, I don't recommend our way. Don't do it. It was wrong. Pay your taxes. Fill out all the required documents.
mytailorisrich|3 months ago
lukaslukas|3 months ago
olalonde|3 months ago
lukaslukas|3 months ago
At the same time, with a C corp, only the company itself is liable for taxes and fines, not its founders. If a company does not have sufficient funds, it cannot operate, and there is a process for automatically dissolving the company (after several years, if you have no outstanding obligations to third parties, no fraud intentions, etc.). We didn't want to do this and be left with an unpaid bill in our minds.
pan69|3 months ago
> "Hey, the federal portal says we owe $60,000 in penalties for not filing a tax return."
That doesn't sound like they're asking you to pay tax on your $0 income business. It sounds like you need to pay a fine for not filing a tax return.
What's a "normal" fine anyway? The point of having a fine being a large sum of money is to create incentive so you to do the thing they want you doing, which you didn't do.
lukaslukas|3 months ago
In fact, the fine was actually what we paid (minimum tax + missed deadline + interest).
“Normal fine”: We just didn't expect you to be able to incorporate a company and if you miss the tax payment deadline, you will receive a fine 100 times higher than the cost of incorporating the company, no matter what.
But of course, I don't recommend our way. Don't do it. It was wrong. Pay your taxes. Fill out all the required documents.