There's a note at the end

> You could, of course, sell or wind down your company, which would solve all problems outlined here. But this is not an option for most entrepreneurs.

For a software business, you could presumably:

- Incorporate a company in your country of choice

- Transfer subscribers from German company to new foreign company (depending on payments provider, this can be a massive effort, for example, not a simple form field in Stripe).

- If new company incorporated in a country you want to live in, use it to obtain an investor Visa

- German company now has 0 in revenue, wind it down and leave.

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FooBarWidget 6 days ago | parent | next [-]

> German company now has 0 in revenue, wind it down and leave.

You forgot about employees. If German employment law is anything like the Dutch one, then it means you can't wind down the company while you have employees. They may refuse to leave. Firing them may be subject to government approval, who may also refuse.

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tastyfreeze 6 days ago | parent | next [-]

Dumb American here but that sounds like a few steps too far in employee protections. A business can't even die without government approval?

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1718627440 6 days ago | parent | next [-]

It's because the government essentially takes over the employees, buy paying non-employment money. You deciding that some people don't work for you anymore creates costs for those people and also for the community.

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wizzwizz4 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It's sensible, to prevent… well, exactly this kind of situation: taking away people's livelihoods as part of a tax dodge is an abuse of power. The power of being an employer comes with responsibility.

If the company's dissolving for legitimate reasons (e.g. there's no longer a market for the services), then that's one thing – but "I've had the company send all its customers to a competitor, also owned by me" is an extremely obvious loophole to work around employee protections, and it's correct that it should be closed.

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da_chicken 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

It's not dumb. You're not allowed to close a business in the US until you check a lot of boxes, too. You have to show you don't have outstanding debts and so on. The banks won't let you do that because it's an easy way to escape debt. That's exactly why bankruptcy is an extended legal process.

If an employee is guaranteed X months salary upon notice of layoff in the contract, that's debt you have to resolve before you legally close. If you have a 5 year lease agreement for the property, that's also debt you have to resolve. It's exactly the same idea.

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refurb 6 days ago | parent [-]

You're confusing "winding a business down" with "bankruptcy" in the US.

As long as you follow the law, there is no government "approval" of a dissolution. You notify shareholders and creditors, then resolve any outstanding payments, then dissolve.

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da_chicken 5 days ago | parent [-]

You haven't said anything new. "As long as you follow the law" is basically what I described. You're taking the requirements of clearing your debts and burying them under a phrase, and then claiming you're saying something different.

In part, "following the law" means "clearing any outstanding debts."

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refurb 5 days ago | parent [-]

You seem to have ignored the important distinction - there is no government approval needed.

Even if you have outstanding debts, you can still dissolve the LLC. Of course creditors can cause trouble for doing that, but there is no government approval in the process.

	▲	da_chicken 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		In every state in the US I'm aware of, you must file for a certificate of dissolution with the state department. You can't do so unless you're in "good standing". In effect, you're not allowed to complete the dissolution until the state permits it.

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em-bee 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

a quick check says it isn't. you only have to consider the notice period which depends on how long people have been working there. which means you can't wind down in a hurry but there is no right to refuse to leave nor any refusal from government.

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devoutsalsa 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Better do it properly. Western countries have tax departments that can make your life a living hell if you do it wrong. If you have enough resources to be subject to an exit tax, I highly recommend paying for proper tax advice.

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f33d5173 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It applies to any company you own, regardless of where the company is incorporated

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csomar 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

This is fraud and you'll end up in jail. Your company is not "you". You are a shareholder but as a CEO, you should do what's best for the "company" and what you described is criminal activity to bankrupt the company.

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merek 6 days ago | parent | next [-]

It's not bankruptcy if the company has no liabilities. You're allowed to wind down a profitable company because you can't be bothered running it any more.

A question of legality might come from German authorities determining if this is solely to avoid tax, which is open-ended. It might be hard for them to make this argument if you can prove you transferred operations to country X to maximize company's growth, access local talent, closer proximity to customers etc.

Regardless, anther commenter pointed out that the exit tax applies to all companies that you own regardless of location. In that case, the approach isn't feasible.

Also it goes without saying, seek your own legal advice rather than trusting random comments on the internet.

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csomar 6 days ago | parent [-]

> You're allowed to wind down a profitable company

I can't speak for all jurisdiction but on one that I worked in, this is not legal. This might be more defensible if the company really is just you but not if it has employees and can operate with a different CEO than you.

	▲	kmlx 6 days ago \| parent [-]
		> > You're allowed to wind down a profitable company > I can't speak for all jurisdiction but on one that I worked in, this is not legal. which jurisdiction doesn’t allow you to shut down your own company?

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bluecalm 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

I guess if you have a limited liability company but in some countries at least you don't have such duty when running a one person or a small partnership shop.