When we set up our company we went through some very detailed thinking on how to structure the company. Our business model involved research operations in India but our markets were going to be largely in the US and other developed markets outside India. We ended up incorporating in the US with a wholly owned Indian sub, which is kind of the vanilla solution, but in the process went through a decision process that may be interesting to other entrepreneurs.
Some people we talked to had set up a corporate structure that was designed for tax efficiency. They had a holding company in Mauritius or some other zero tax country, with subs in every country that they operated in. This gave them a very flexible corporate structure with great tax efficiency. Any of the subs could be sold or go public independently without an incidence of capital gains. And so on.
Another thought was to incorporate the parent company in India and have a wholly owned sub in the US. That had corporate income tax advantages as well as tax advantages in the event of a liquidity event. Also, doing an IPO in India would have a lower bar and probably get a better valuation as well.
In the end we decided to incorporate a Delaware company and have a wholly owned sub in India. While this is almost certainly less tax efficient it has other advantages that don’t show up on a spreadsheet exercise. If you are looking to get quality venture money into the company (and we are), you can’t go wrong with a US company. US VCs are comfortable with a US legal jurisdiction and not all of them are completely open to an Indian jurisdiction. Indian VCs on the other hand regularly fund US incorporated companies.
Also, the management of the company is largely in the US (4 out of 5 founders are here). Being an Indian company makes it operationally a tad more difficult. For instance, under Indian company law, board meetings must be attended in person, not on the phone.
In the end, the argument that tipped the scales for us was ‘simplicity’. The US-parent-Indian-sub structure was simple and a natural fit. Anything else would have made things complex to manage and complex to explain to an outside investor. Sure, we would probably have liked to have been more tax efficient. But then you have to make a whole lot of profit before you start worrying about the income tax on it!
While this solution works for us, everyone has a different business model and their own preferences. Be sure to talk to a lawyer and an accountant who know cross-border issues. And don’t forget to check within your network of entrepreneurs.
6 am pacific 