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Obtaining an international business license - Q & A

Raymond calls from China to ask the Sloans where he should obtain his business license, given that he’s lived in Canada, but wants to operate out of China.

Rich Sloan: We're going to go to Raymond out of Dandong, China.  Wow.  Welcome to our show.

Jeff Sloan:  Israel and now China.  We keep going further east.

Rich Sloan: All I have to say, Raymond, is, "Ni hao."

Raymond:  "Ni hao."  How are you guys doing?

Jeff Sloan:  Doing great.

Rich Sloan: We're doing great.  How are you?

Raymond: I'm doing fantastic.

Rich Sloan: Well, Raymond, we commented our earlier called in from Israel and we talked about how venture capital's pouring into Israel and there's a real vibrant entrepreneurial --

Jeff Sloan:  Man.

Rich Sloan: -- community there.  But I'll tell you what, China's on fire.

Raymond:  Definitely.                                        

Rich Sloan: China's on fire from the entrepreneurial perspective.  It's a really happening place and we're happy to hear from you.  What can we do for you?

Raymond: Well, first of all, I just wanted to say thanks for your show.  You guys are doing an amazing thing here.  It's always nice to be able to tap into a little bit of North American kind of enthusiasm when we're over here.

Rich Sloan: Well, we judge our progress by the people who give us that kind of feedback and say that they're moving on the path of entrepreneurship.  So thank you very much.

Raymond:  Awesome.  Well, my question is actually pretty simple.  Well, maybe it's not, but since I am in China and I'm actually Canadian, my business ideas involves online services.  And what I wanted to know was, I want to do things the right way and legitimately and all that.  And I want to know where I should register my business license.

Jeff Sloan:  Well, are you -- where -- are you going to claim Canada as -- are you paying income tax back to Canada?

Raymond:  Right now, no, I'm not.

Jeff Sloan:  You're not.  Are you a Canadian citizen?

Raymond: I am, but I've been overseas for most of the last ten years or so.

Jeff Sloan:   Yeah, it sounds like you have an option there.  I mean, if you base your business in China -- of course, I don't know the laws in China, so you'd have to really talk to someone who does.  But it sounds like you could either base it in China or you could base it in Canada as a Canadian citizen and then do whatever you need to do to make sure it's appropriately registered in China as well.  I would consult with someone in China who's an expert on these things.  You're going to be operating the business in China, right?

Raymond: Yeah, I'm going to be operating online.

Jeff Sloan:   Yeah, I know it's online.

Rich Sloan: But your customer base?

Jeff Sloan:  Well, the customer base is worldwide if it's online.  The question is where's the headquarters of the business and where do you pay your income tax to, etc., etc.?  So I think that you've either got to make a decision to base yourself in Canada and find out how to register yourself appropriately in China so you can operate there or just base it in China.  And again, I think someone expert in this Chinese law is much better equipped to handle the answer to that question.  We wish you good luck, though.

Rich Sloan: Yeah, Raymond, you're part of our online community, no?

Raymond: Yes, I am.

Rich Sloan: All right. Great.  Thank you very much for contributing there and we wish you success with your venture.