I signed up for Stripe Atlast in 2017, and pretty much just forgot about it.<p>In Canada, if your company don't make any money, you don't file anything, and the company dissolves.<p>So imagine my surprise at the Rocket Lawyer letter stating I owe 100k+ USD in taxes for a corporate registry that has not turned any revenue to speak of or expenses.<p>am I going to get extradited over this shit? God damn, I really wish they would've been clear that if you register through Stripe Atlas, you will somehow owe 100k+ in taxes. I thought taxes can only be collected if your company made the money, how can they expect me to pay this?<p>I'm absolutely freaking out right now. There's no way I can pay this. It's fucking ridiculous that I have to pay taxes just for registering a delware company.<p>edit: MODS, why did this get flagged? I'm trying to find fucking answers, this is not helping me.
Same thing happened to me last year and I had exactly the same reaction :) It’s just the default information the franchise tax board uses to estimate your taxes. When you file to pay your minimum $500 you can update the information to show $0 revenue, and 0 shares issued in the 12 month period which should bring the amount down to the minimum $500. If you have any problems you can call the Delaware tax board and they can walk you through it (that’s what I did).
I work on Stripe Atlas. We've gotten in touch with `browsercoin privately, but I wanted to provide some context for other founders here, since many people get this letter every year. I have to make the obligatory "I am not an accountant and I am not your accountant" disclaimer.<p>The state of Delaware has something called franchise taxes, which there are two ways to calculate. <a href="https://corp.delaware.gov/frtaxcalc/" rel="nofollow">https://corp.delaware.gov/frtaxcalc/</a> Revenue is not a factor under either method; you can think of this more as a renewal fee than an income tax.<p>If a company does not file their franchise taxes, Delaware will send them a letter demanding taxes. To put a number on that letter, Delaware uses the Authorized Shares Method. This returns a different number than the Assumed Par Value Capital Method.<p>Since companies are allowed to pick whichever is in their interest when they file their taxes, companies receiving that letter will often not pay the number on it.<p>Stripe Atlas companies can calculate, file, and pay their Delaware franchise tax through our tax tool. Overwhelmingly, they pay the minimum tax when filing on time: $400. There is a minor additional charge for late filed taxes.<p>Since we are aware that the state of Delaware sends letters on this matter which are confusing to many founders if those founders fail to file their taxes, we aggressively get in touch with Atlas founders around tax time.
Relax :)<p>This is what you need to know:
<a href="https://www.cooleygo.com/so-you-owe-thousands-in-delaware-franchise-tax/" rel="nofollow">https://www.cooleygo.com/so-you-owe-thousands-in-delaware-fr...</a><p>You should owe $400 ish based on issued shares and assets.
<a href="https://flagtheory.com/stripe-atlas/" rel="nofollow">https://flagtheory.com/stripe-atlas/</a><p>>Besides the high rate of corporate taxation (one of the highest of all developed economies), the IRS tax code has huge penalties for noncompliance. For instance, if you intentionally disregard filing a bank reporting form (the FBAR), you’ll face serious penalties, including jail time, a $50,000 fine<p>Were you required to file a bank reporting form and didn't over 2 years? (ie $100k ) ??
No way you should owe $100k. Sounds like a scam.<p>I don't think there is a minimum cost for federal, but Delaware does accumulate fees if you don't dissolve the corporation:<p>There is a minimum tax of $175 and a minimum filing fee of $50; so there is a minimum Delaware franchise tax and annual report payment total of $225 a year for Delaware domestic corporations. Domestic corporations must file by March 1 or face a $200 penalty, and a 1.5% interest rate on the amount due. Source: <a href="https://www.delawareregisteredagent.com/how-to/file-delaware-corporate-franchise-taxes" rel="nofollow">https://www.delawareregisteredagent.com/how-to/file-delaware...</a>
Unpopular opinion but I think you should find the services of a lawyer who understands this area of law. If you are concerned about paying $100,000 and being forcibly removed from your country of residence to stand trial in another country... now is the time to get a lawyer, not later.
I was about to make a comment on a stackoverflow question but then I held my self back. The user tried to do something in php, and an error occurred. The sensible thing to do would be to read the error (which states the syntax error by the way). Instead, that person posted the question on SO, using similar language then OP.<p>Now the sensible thing for you to do would be to contact stripes. Nothing else.
It could be helpful to understand that there are multiple governmental entities that could tax the income of a Delaware corporation: (1) Federal Corporation Income taxes -- through the IRS; and (2) State Corporate Income/Franchise Taxes -- through the relevant State agency. (There may be other local taxes such as business license and sales taxes, but that is not relevant here to your franchise tax issue).<p>You are required to file separate tax returns each year to each entity (so you pay both federal and state taxes). (If you are from Canada, "states" are roughly equivalent to "provinces".)<p>Since you mentioned "franchise taxes", it looks like you are looking at the State of Delaware's taxes (and not the IRS).<p>In Delaware, franchise taxes can generally be calculated using two different methods: (1) Authorized Shares Method (number of shares you authorized); and (2) Assumed Par Value Capital Method (generally based on the value of the assets in your company). See <a href="https://corp.delaware.gov/frtaxcalc/" rel="nofollow">https://corp.delaware.gov/frtaxcalc/</a>.<p>Most startups have been told to authorize 10 million shares in their incorporation paperwork. In Delaware, if you select the calculation method based on the number of shares, and you authorized 10 million shares, you could be surprised by a very expensive "initial" franchise tax calculation.<p>Others have already linked to a good article discussing this "surprise" bill: <a href="https://www.cooleygo.com/so-you-owe-thousands-in-delaware-franchise-tax/" rel="nofollow">https://www.cooleygo.com/so-you-owe-thousands-in-delaware-fr...</a>.<p>The solution is to look closely at your franchise tax bill and read about the option to calculate your taxes using the Assumed Par Value method.<p>If you cannot afford a lawyer, contact the State of Delaware Division of Corporations directly to discuss how to use the Assumed Par Value method to calculate your franchise taxes. See <a href="https://corp.delaware.gov/contact/" rel="nofollow">https://corp.delaware.gov/contact/</a> (the Franchise Tax contact number is (302) 739-3073 option 3).<p>Good luck.
I don't understand how you could owe taxes on a company that didn't have revenue. Can you explain how you came to owe 100k? Is it some sort of penalty for not remitting forms?
just going to leave this here: <a href="https://www.cooleygo.com/so-you-owe-thousands-in-delaware-franchise-tax/" rel="nofollow">https://www.cooleygo.com/so-you-owe-thousands-in-delaware-fr...</a>
"A franchise tax is not based on income. Rather, the typical franchise tax calculation is based on the net worth of or capital held by the entity".<p>Did you transfer large amount of money to your business?
seems like you should have done some homework, <a href="https://flagtheory.com/stripe-atlas/" rel="nofollow">https://flagtheory.com/stripe-atlas/</a>
It could be related to the number of shares you allocated to your corporation when you incorporated. I can't speak more about it, as I'm no expert... but I've heard similar horror stories of Delaware companies... where its critical to pay attention to the number of shares, else you might find yourself screwed.<p>So like everyone else said.... get a lawyer.<p>... or fake your death..
USA is architected to screw you over for trying to get something started legally ;)<p>The good news is you will be fine. It's just clerical. You won't be extradited and they won't drain your account.<p>In addition to the other advise, look up free legal hotlines. They're really friendly and can sometimes give you information that isn't easily googleable.<p>Good luck. The national sport in America is ignoring bills.
so it seems that I need to hire my own accountant and lawyers according to stripe.....what the fuck is the point of Atlas if you are not American?<p>waht if I don't pay? are they gonna come after me?<p>edit: just went to the delaware website, it says to wire them 80,000 USD or else. sent them an email to get clarification.