Overseas expansion.

The challenge.

Many businesses are looking to expand overseas, often with a view to broadening their customer base or benefiting from cheaper costs. However, expanding overseas will require the business to understand and manage the tax and other rules in the overseas country, in particular how these rules interact with those in the UK.

The solutions.

Below are some key considerations that you should be thinking about before expanding overseas.

Choose the best location(s) for expansion

This should be a commercial decision based on factors such as customer base, location of key suppliers, employment factors and regulations, language barriers, transport and communication links, but regulatory and tax implications in the particular locations are important and should also be considered.

Consider the structure of your activities

Identify whether sales can be made remotely or whether overseas personnel or a formal presence will be required.

Understand whether an overseas presence will create a taxable establishment overseas.

Contemplate the rules surrounding the creation of a permanent establishment overseas. For example, if contracts are signed overseas or marketing is undertaken overseas it is likely that this would create an overseas presence for tax purposes.

If a formal entity is required, then consider whether this will take the form of a branch or a company. Consider the pros and cons of each. (This will have implications for the use of losses, repatriation of profits, and the applicability of various regulatory requirements, for example audit.)

Consider the attitudes of prospective customers and suppliers, as many may prefer to deal with a local company as opposed to a branch of a UK company.