Expanding your business from national to international can be an incredibly exciting time. If it’s your first time, the prospect of taking your services or products abroad can seem like both an operational and logistical nightmare. Having the foresight to identify potential legal potholes when expanding into a new jurisdiction can make a huge difference to the impact you can make on a new market.
Taxation
Understanding the unique taxation requirements your expansion targets is of the utmost importance. Failure to report earnings to relevant authorities at both local and state level can lead to costly proceedings and unnecessary battles. Seeking ax-structuring advice before launching operations in a new jurisdiction can provide a wireframe for your continued success.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property is often forgotten by businesses excitedly expanding into greener pastures. It is of the utmost importance to protect your IP at all costs, and pre-registering in local jurisdictions can give you a head-start rather than a headache when launching into a new market.
Employment Law
Hiring your first global staff member will be a day you will never forget. Knowing you have feet on the ground in a foreign country is a sure sign that you are truly going global! Fortunate for British Businesses, employment law across Europe is very closely aligned with north America also. Before making an international hire, ensure you take time to pass your eyes over employment laws for the country of residence you intend to hire into. Seeking sound legal advice before embarking on a global business strategy is always recommended.
Legal Disputes
Despite having the best of intentions, legal disputes can be common when a business starts operating in a new jurisdiction. It can often be accidental but that will not earn you any favour with local authorities. If you find yourself, or your business embroiled in a legal dispute abroad, you should seek legal advice immediately.
Set up a Subsidiary
Many business owners fret over the value of establishing a subsidiary abroad, often believing that they will not be bound to foreign regulations by keeping their business based on home territory. Simply put, if you are seeking to sell to consumers and businesses in foreign jurisdictions, you are bound to employment, data, and consumer laws like any other business in that country. By establishing a subsidiary abroad, you can ensure you have necessary operational framework to keep expanding with the peace of mind that your business is in good legal health.