Employer Identification Number (EIN)
The EIN identification for your company is used to charge you for state and federal taxes.
Furthermore, with regard to most financial institutions, you are not allowed to open an account without an EIN.
Sole Proprietorships without employees are not required to possess an EIN. If a Sole Proprietorship does not have any co-workers, then the Social Security Number of the business owner is used.
If you have an American company that is registered as a Corporation, Partnership, Limited Liability Company, or as a Sole Proprietorship that has employees; you must have an EIN. In the event that you render services, then the owner is also an employee of the Corporation and must pay income taxes.
In the event that you are a new owner of an already existing business, it is important to know that you can use the EIN that was used by the former business owner.
Furthermore, an established company who wishes to expand operations can still use the same EIN for the new operations. A new EIN number is only needed if a business owner wants to establish a new line of business, one in which the purpose of the company changes.
Do not forget that it is important to declare a broad purpose of your business in the Articles of Incorporation or the Articles of Organization, correctly, so that they can be used for future business expansion.
You can download the form to obtain an EIN Number by clicking HERE (SS-4 form).
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You should fully understand whether you want to be taxed in Germany, whether you want to be taxed as a Shareholder or Member and how you would like to be taxed with regard to your American company. You should do this in order to achieve the maximum tax benefits in Germany, as well as in the USA.