Vancouver Mandarin Chinese Business Formation Lawyer

Vancouver is a city of opportunity, and many Chinese immigrants have taken advantage of that to form new companies here. If you are looking for help forming your company and Mandarin is your first language, you can now get the best of both worlds by getting help from Chinese Lawyer Vancouver.

Our team speaks Mandarin, so you can get business formation advice in the language you’re most comfortable with and proficient in. We also have decades of experience with business law, and can provide you with top-notch advice that protects your business.

Entity Formation for Your Business

There are several different entities that can form the foundation for your company. Each comes with different tax advantages and different amounts of liability exposure. The different options are:

• LLCs
• Sole proprietorships
• General partnerships
• LLPs
• Corporations
• Nonprofits
• Trusts
• Joint ventures
• Licensing agreements

We help you choose the right entity and file the right paperwork to form that entity.

Sole Proprietorships

The simplest type of business to set up, and chosen by many an entrepreneur. Sole proprietorships offer flexibility and the fewest filing and reporting requirements. Yet they can be dangerous, because they do not protect your personal assets and they do not convey any tax benefits. 

General Partnerships

Like Sole Proprietorships, Except Two or More People Share in the Liability Equally. 

LLCs

An LLC is suitable for one or more partners. This business is simple to form and comes with few compliance requirements. This structure protects the personal assets of each business owner, but provides few tax benefits.

LLPs

LLP stands for “Limited Liability Partnership.” Like an LLC, LLPs protect the personal assets of both partners. LLPs also ensure that both partners retain equal ownership and stake in the profits and losses of the business. Each partner is made responsible only for their own liabilities. Often used for law firms and accounting firms. 

Corporations

Corporations come with the most stringent filing and reporting requirements. They are governed by the most laws. Yet they do the best job of protecting most people from liability, and they convey the greatest tax benefits. They also tend to last longer, as an entity, than other types of business. They offer benefits to those who want to seek out sources of funding or who want to sell the business later. There are also different types of corporations. 

Corporations must adopt a set of “Articles” or bylaws by which they must abide. These must cover how shares are bought and sold, how meetings will be called, and how decisions are made. 

Nonprofits

Suitable for charities or organizations who need to make money to pursue a community goal, but who may still need to generate revenue to get the job done. Carries considerable tax benefits but are governed by almost as many laws as corporations are.

Trusts

While trusts are more often spoken of in the context of estate planning, they can be useful for business owners as well. When you form a trust, you create an entity that holds property or assets. The trustee then manages those assets, but the holder of the trust typically retains the right to use them. Using a trust can help you protect your assets from creditors. 

Joint Ventures 

These are temporary partnerships between professionals who seek to achieve a mutual, short-term goal. They require the use of extensive contracts and tough negotiations to manage and use properly. Every joint venture will be different, depending upon how well these agreements get negotiated. 

Licensing Agreements

If you have developed new software, created a new invention, or come up with a new idea you may be able ot use a license agreement to piggyback on another business without setting up your own. A company takes your product to market and pays you royalties in exchange. If you only have one product or have no interest in running a business this could be an excellent choice for you. This is a low-risk agreement, a one-time sale that can generate long-term benefits. 

Taxes

There are steps you can take to lower your taxes, protect your profits, and limit debt liability. 

For example, a Family Tax Structure lets you split your taxes with your spouse and adult children, saving tax. Using a holding corporation can help you lower your corporate tax rates. 

Owners of a Canadian Controlled Private Company (CCPC) can sell their shares and pay zero taxes on the first $750,000 of capital gains. 

Incorporating your business will generally result in the largest tax savings.

Public Incorporation vs. Private Incorporation

A public company is a company whose shares are bought and sold on the stock exchange. A private company is held only by its owners and partners.

There are advantages and disadvantages to either choice. On one hand, you get a lot  more money by going public and allowing people to buy stocks. On the other, you lose a measure of control. If certain individuals make the right legal moves, they may even manage to buy or take over your company against your will.

There are a series of requirements you’ll have to meet before going public.

Always consult with a Vancouver business lawyer like the ones found in our offices before making the decision of whether to go public or private. 

Why Use a Business Formation Lawyer?

A business formation lawyer can help your company in a variety of ways.

• Listening to your goals and determining which entity type will serve your long-term interests. Helping you decide when or if you should incorporate.
• Helping you decide whether to incorporate federally or provincially. 
• Preparing and filing the documentation that legally creates and maintains the entity.
• Helping you get your company name reserved and registered. 
• Identify and meet permit and licensing requirements.
• Helping you prepare your corporate records book. 
• Advising you on how to organize your new business entity. 
• Help you develop the articles or bylaws which will govern your new company.
• Help you draft and finalize partnership agreements and operating agreements.
• Helping you to create shareholder agreements.
• Helping you to create the basic contracts your new business will need to survive.
• Helping you engage in business succession planning.
• Helping you navigate business divorces or partnership breakups. 
• Helping you navigate cross-border issues or International laws that could impact your company. 
• Converting your company into a corporation if your business needs have changed.
• Making sure your company is compliant with the Company Act of British Columbia. 

Of course, our team helps with a lot more as well. We’re full-service business lawyers, which means that we can help you navigate major issues throughout the lifecycle of your business. We can help you identify potential liabilities and to avoid them, and we can help you defend your interests in court when necessary. 

What Makes a Corporation So Advantageous?

Corporations are advantageous because they exist as a separate legal entity from the shareholders. This entity can exist forever unless sold, merged, or dissolved by its shareholders. Shareholders elect directors who make decisions for the company, and this means that it can continue independent of any given shareholder or director.

Liability is extremely limited: for the most part a corporation can get sued but its shareholders won’t have to dip into their personal assets to pay debts. In addition, corporations enjoy a lower tax rate. This means the shareholders pay lower tax on corporate profits and then pay a lower income or capital gains tax than they’d pay if they were taking in all that money as pure income.

In addition, corporations are more attractive to buyers and investors. The money a company makes belongs to that legal entity. It’s easy to set up a corporation to pay everyone involved a paycheck, and it can keep making money to cover those paychecks. For the vast majority of our clients, corporations will be the way to go. 

Get Help Today

We are top-notch business lawyers with extensive experience in our field. We are both savvy negotiators and tough litigators. We have worked with a wide variety of companies and industries, and are passionate about helping you make your business as successful as it can possibly be.

You can also count on us to have an understanding of the international laws which might impact your business so that we can help you avoid cross-border issues and problems. We can help you stay on top of an ever-shifting regulatory environment and ensure you’re in compliance with both federal and provincial laws. 

Don’t try to navigate laws and regulations alone. Get legal help to guide you every step of the way so that your company can be successful. Call us to set up an appointment today. You’ll be matched to one of our skilled Mandarin Chinese-speaking lawyers. We’ll sit down with you and get to know your business, your goals, and your major concerns. 

Chinese Lawyer Vancouver serves clients in Vancouver, Abbotsford, Langley, Surrey, and White Rock. Call to set up an appointment today.