Lawyer's Blogs

Merchant account - what is it, who needs it and why? Merchant account is a special merchant account that allows the merchant company to accept payments from its clients 24 hours a day and 7 days a week without reference to the opening hours of the financial institution where the account is opened. Merchant accounts are opened for companies to be able to accept payments from clients of the company that pay with debit and credit cards (Visa, Mastercard and others). The availability of such an account at the company allows its customers to pay for goods at any time. Besides, existence of merchant account allows business to step boldly beyond geographical boundaries, since payments can be made from anywhere in the world. Both traditional banks and digital neo-banks open such accounts. Types of merchant accounts. Depending on the level of business risks accounts are divided into high-risk (high risk) and low-risk (low risk) groups. Often, high risk business includes such activities as dating sites and adult services (adult service); astrology, fortune telling, horoscopes; lotteries; travel services and air travel; gambling, betting, gaming; activities related to smoking and tobacco;...

What is an offshore company? To understand the definition of an offshore company, we must first understand what a "company" is and what is meant by "offshore". We can then better focus on a detailed understanding of the offshore company. We may define a company as any legal entity engaged in a legitimate business activity such as a property, partnership or corporation (whether public or private). Companies have various rights under the law. Offshore is a term that means outside of your own jurisdiction (i.e. offshore jurisdiction). Being on the water is not necessary to provide individuals with the security tax benefits that come with managing money in such companies. As a rule, offshore companies are located in another country/other countries with low or no tax. An offshore company structure is a legal offshore entity created in a particular jurisdiction, tax haven or offshore financial center, protected by special legislation that guarantees all the benefits of full tax exemption, except for a small annual license fee and, as a rule, a high level. privacy. This is a legal entity or company registered or created specifically for use by non-residents...

Digital banks (other names: neobanks, payment systems) have become significant players in the world of financial services in recent years, and in many respects even confidently pushed conservative banks. This became possible due to the fact that digital banks open accounts faster, do not need to immerse themselves in bureaucratic procedures, are quite client-oriented and, in addition, make payments quickly and at fairly low rates compared to banks. Digital banks have become a powerful tool for international business and it is now rare to find a company operating in the global market with a single account in a traditional bank. Often corporate clients have a set of accounts in a bank and a payment system, or several accounts in different non-banks. But, sometimes in payment systems, client accounts are blocked / limited, and sometimes they are completely closed. In contrast to the limitation of the account, the closure is a non-returnable event and is the termination of the client's cooperation with the financial institution. Why this happens and how to avoid it for the client - these are the questions we will consider with you in our article. Suspicious operations and...

For the first time, the issue of compensation for damages to individuals and legal entities arose back in 2014, after the annexation of the Crimean Autonomous Republic of Crimea and parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions by the Russian Federation. Today, the topic of receiving compensation or compensation for individuals or legal entities as a result of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine is the most urgent. Only after the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the state adopted a number of legal acts that provide a mechanism for compensation and compensation. In turn, the Supreme Court gave the green light to Ukrainian courts to consider cases of compensation for property (moral) damage in which the Russian Federation is the defendant (the Supreme Court stated that the aggressor state cannot be covered by judicial immunity in view of the damage caused). Also, let's talk further about the procedure for recording and compensating damages caused to legal entities by the Russian Federation. Algorithm for recording damages caused to legal entities: 1) In the event of an active...

The US corporate tax system is very complex, so the taxation of a US company depends on many factors that cannot be covered in one blog. Therefore, we offer a series of articles on corporate taxation in the United States, in which we will focus on a comparative analysis of the most common corporate structures used by businesses - C-Corp, LLC and S-Corp. In the first blog of our series, we will draw parallels and highlight the main differences between these frameworks. C-Corp C-Corp is a full-fledged legal entity that can own its own assets, receive income, and pay income taxes. A C-Corp is taxed at the company level and then at the founders' level when the profits are distributed. The company's federal income tax is 21%, plus state tax (0%-9%) and sales tax. The personal tax rate on dividends received from a corporation depends on the residency, income of the owner and the duration of ownership of the shares. One of the main advantages of a corporation is the limited liability of the founders, who are not personally liable for the company's obligations, as well as an unlimited number of shareholders, so it is excellent for activities that require the involvement of investors....

When you contact us to open an account, one of the first questions we ask you is who and where the payments will go to the account, because this is one of the key points when choosing the best options for financial partners for you. Interestingly enough, it is very important for banks (both traditional and digital) to know the name of the partner's servicing bank and the SWIFT code of the bank itself. So why is this question being given so much attention? The answer is simple: the bank, like you, is interested in an actively working account and a satisfied client. If the bank is faced with the fact that it will not be able to accept a payment to your company's account or make a payment from your account to the supplier, this will only lead to inconvenience and problems for you, and the bank risks losing not only commission income, but also the client as a whole. So, when banks are informed in advance about the "address points" of your financial flows, it allows them to build and check the availability of the necessary payment routes in advance. This is where we move to global money transfer systems. The most common are SWIFT and SEPA. Let's figure out what is the difference...

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, many millions of people were forced to leave the territory of Ukraine, businesses were forced to move and adapt to new conditions of doing business in new territories. Such a large number of IT specialists are abroad for more than 183 days, so the country of stay considers them their tax residents. Depending on the specifics of the tax legislation of each country, the place of tax payment depends on many factors. In connection with the great complexity of this issue, you and I will consider the conditions of tax residence in Ukraine and Spain, and as a result, we will determine where IT specialists still have the right to pay taxes. Tax resident of Ukraine As a general rule, the Tax Code of Ukraine recognizes a person as a tax resident as a natural person who has a place of residence in Ukraine. However, this is not the only criterion, additional criteria are (the list is not exhaustive): staying in Ukraine for at least 183 days (including the day of arrival and departure) during the period or periods of the tax year; presence of closer personal or economic ties...

Currently, many types of fraud with bank accounts (both in classic and digital banks) have been identified and explained, numerous recommendations and warnings have been issued to prevent losses from fraudsters. The vast majority of bank clients have accepted the fact that million winnings or an unrealistic amount of inheritance is a complete deception. However, the continuous progress of modern technologies, unfortunately, encourages criminals to intensify their efforts in fraudulent schemes, the goal of which is their own enrichment through the theft of money. Therefore, we would like to remind you of the key safety rules in such tools for managing your non-cash finances as Internet banking (a service for remote access to all your accounts in a financial institution) and payment cards. When you log in to Internet banking, you get to your personal account. Usually, in Internet banking, fund transfer operations are available, and for this you do not even need a computer, but a mobile phone with an installed banking program is enough. For the safe use of Internet banking, it is important to follow the following rules: 1) Minimize the use of Internet banking from a mobile phone...

The focus of today's blog is the peculiarities of tax residency conflicts, in which several countries consider a person to be their tax resident, and, accordingly, double taxation and the role of bilateral agreements in the settlement of these issues. For clarity, let's take as an example the provisions of the Cypriot legislation regarding tax residency. This is especially relevant for Ukrainians who were forced to go abroad due to the war and chose Cyprus as their country of residence. When will I become a Cyprus resident? Perhaps, for many, the concepts of "resident", "domicile" and "non-domiciled residents" are already familiar. In this block, we offer to recall them and understand how these concepts affect taxation in practice. To determine a natural person as a resident of Cyprus, two tests of length of stay are used - the 183-day test and the 60-day test. First, a person is recognized as a resident of Cyprus if he is on the territory of Cyprus for more than 183 days during a calendar year. At the same time, other criteria, for example, the center of vital interests, are not taken into account. Secondly, a person can become a resident of Cyprus if he stays in the...