Saying "Just deal with it" is a cop out that will end up consigning your country to a worsening economic future. Tourists are already turned off from coming to the US because of the TSA issues. Having a "Just deal with it" attitude will also drive away business. This will lead to a worsening trade imbalance and the joys that come forthwith.

> Tourists are already turned off from coming to the US because of the TSA issues.

I'd love to agree with you, but there's that pesky reality that disagrees with your claim:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/31/a-record-year-f...

>Even countries like the UK with it's constituent nations and territories work hard at having a uniform and efficient system for businesses to do what they need to do.

Population UK: 63mm Population USA 310mm

and support your claim that the territories work hard at having an efficient system for businesses.

> Having a "Just deal with it" attitude will also drive away business.

The paperwork really isn't hard. What makes you think that filling out some tax forms is keeping people from opening up shop in America?

Yes, it is. Many of my friends are business owners, most of them have some international business. I've been in touch with a variety of tax professionals in different countries through the years.

In the last 10 years or so, I've seen more than one business or partnership outside the US state in its charter that "shareholder may not be a US tax payer, and may not sell his shares to one, and will sell his shares to someone who is not if he becomes one", because of how complicated it makes things.

If you think US paperwork is sane or is not hard, it is probably because you did not have enough exposure to it, or alternatively, not had exposure to a saner system.

Objectively: US Federal Tax code is >71,000 pages (as of 2009 when I checked - probably longer now). And it applies to every american. NYS tax code is some 15,000 more pages; if you are doing significant business in NYS, that's about 10 times as many details to be aware of than in any other country that I'm aware of.

But also, consider that Australia with 22M people compares with New York State, and is e.g. only 60% of the population of California. And inside a state, taxation is much more uniform.

(New York State is a good example if YOUR point, as New York City, Yonkers and a couple other cities have additional weird taxes you have to be aware of)

Furthermore, Razuna is successful. All we wanted is to continue on US soil and expanding by hiring US people and thus paying US taxes = bringing money to the US.

That's what the blog post is all about. It has been written to show what it takes to incorporate for a European company.

- Paperwork and fees/taxes in each state an employee works in. - Securing a work visa to enter and work in the US.

But, it sounds like, if we were to swap places and Nitai lived in the US, trying to start a business in Europe, he'd be faced with

- Paperwork and fees/taxes paid to each country his employees worked. - Securing a work visa to enter and work in the EU.

Depending on the country American Nitai wanted to live/work in, the visa may be easier/harder than the US visa, I'd imagine. But I'm not sure that the kinds of difficulties would be much different.

You're putting up a lot of strawmen here.

Example: "He will pay his taxes in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland or wherever he freely chooses to live. In Europe, you can live in whichever country you like. Most countries here seem happy to receive taxes."

In the US, you can freely live in whichever state you want. It's rhetorically dishonest to compare the United States to a single country in the EU.

--

I'm sorry that your experience was a poor one. Indeed, US laws are different, and if you went into the experience expecting it not to be different, that would certainly have been a shock. I make no claim our system is better than Denmark's (you shouldn't imply all of the EU is the same as Denmark, by the way). But it's a disingenuous platform to decry the US because you received inadequate counsel on setting up a US business or failed in your due diligence...

I'm sure, however, the pro-European camp of your readership will feel quite satisfied with the tone and subject matter of your post.

I personally know one CEO who runs a 80 Mil./year company in the USA, has 250 employees (3/4 are US citizens) but only received a green card or allowance to stay longer then one year in the USA 10 years into the business.

That said, you can't compare the USA with the European immigration laws. As an example, there are many Americans living in Berlin. The way you can live in Berlin is by flying to Berlin and show up at the immigration within a week and tell them that you want to move here, pay taxes and work. It is even easier if you already have an employment.

Additionally, there is something like a "Language" & "Artist" visa in Germany. Under these visa's you can simply stay and live here. You can even build businesses and start employing people.

That's Germany. Want to live in Denmark? Same there. Want to open a business and live in Switzerland. Go register yourself and work. Right, you cannot vote and don't have a nice "credit" but at least you are given the chance to build something.

Now, if there would be a startup-visa in the USA, I'm sure there would be many willing to move and try to build a business in the USA. But as it is now, you can't. I'm not taking way jobs from any US citizen, quite the contrary, we are hiring people and try to contribute to the US system.

Germany _does_ have the "Blue Card", which is similar (at least at the very highest level) to the now discontinued Highly Skilled Migrant Worker / Tier 1 visa in the UK. The Blue Card allows you to work in Germany as long as you have a college degree and make above a certain salary (usually above €45000).

Both of those scenarios are much more involved than the way you described, it however.

Just about every country welcomes you and even offers help in the form of some sort of fund or start-up program.

Non-EU folks in Germany as well, for example, don't get the equivalent of a "green card" out the gate either. Looks like it's 5 years in Germany, which happens to be the same for the United States.

As a manager/executive with your company, I'm surprised there weren't EB-1 Visas available, which is exactly the tool meant to support the case you were looking at. Or EB-5 visas, because interestingly, there actually is a Visa (and Green Card track) for entrepreneurs in the US [2][3].

US immigration policies are indeed crazy sometimes. Your friend probably moved to the US around/not long after 2001, I'll bet? Everything ground to a half around then as DHS was getting set up.

But if you're listing all of these failings and I'm finding the opposite to be true with 20 minutes of Googling at a time, I'm suspect of the quality of support you got from your lawyers. Again, I feel a great deal of empathy for what sounds like you guys getting screwed by poor representation. I've had many friends enter the US to work and start businesses with little undue stress.

[0]: http://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/working/guide-to-workin... [1]: http://www.bbk-berlin.de/con/bbk/front_content.php?idart=195... [2]: http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-through-job/green... [3]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EB-5_visa

It might have changed, but the last time I've checked it was way easier then getting any Visa in the USA.

Speaking off, yes, we tried to get a B* visa but the 67000 visa they issue per year was filled within 3 days. One can apply again in June/July (not exactly sure).

No one challenges that US visas are difficult at times to get. But if it was such an issue, I've gotta ask -- how is your software company's offering and positioning so unique that only you could manage operations from the US?

Also, to note, B1/B2 visas are for "temporary" visits for work or pleasure. There were multiple EB-* visas for permanent relocation. Even so, B1 visas are granted by the millions and are valid for Europeans for 10 years...

Why should he prove someone else couldn't do that job? They probably could, but he can do it better and it's his money/equity after all.

Also, I'm a foreigner with a non-immigrant visa, but that didn't stop me from incorporating and I know that if I hire someone or did business in another state I'll have to register or incorporate in that state (I got that by my own research, if that wasn't given to you then you received bad counsel).

Not anyone can just come to Europe and just live there, In the countries you mentioned, I'll need a job offer before I can even start the process to get a work visa (I can't even visit Europe without a Schengen visa).

Where are you from? US citizens can freely come to Europe without the need for any Visa. You can even freely travel within the Schengen area without showing your passport once.

Now countries shouldn't make it too attractive for companies either; then you get a race to the bottom where companies get tax exemptions just for creating a handful of extra jobs. And this absolutely happens; I believe there are some European countries where taxes for foreign companies are ridiculously low. So the EU isn't doing everything right either. But shouldn't there be some sensible middle ground where it's easy to open up shop in a different country, without having to jump through insane hoops, while paying a normal, sane amount of tax?

No, Denmark. If you want paperwork, there's plenty to be had here in Italy!

There's a reason why the USA continues to drop in business freedom rankings. It's not just this one guy's whining.

As an American, I don't want to run away from this criticism. I think we should own it and make decisions about what to do about it based upon acceptance of it, not rationalization and denial.

'United'?

We have federal laws and state laws to accommodate regional preferences.

None of that was being a jerk.