Where there should be unity, there is fracture. Where there should be love, there is cruelty. And where there should be forgiveness there is only isolation.
What is this tragic tale you may wonder?
It began with the birth of Corporate Blawg UK on 13 August 2006. A happy day - A day of laughter and disclaimers. Corporate Blawg grew rapidly, nurtured and entertained by the wit and wisdom of his fellow bloggers. It was only a few days later, just after losing his google-virginity, as blogjoy piled on blogjoy, as Corporate Blawg discovered analytics, widgets and technorati; it was on this busy trail that Corporate Blawg UK discovered he had a little brother, a little brother in the EU.
Corporate Blawg was delighted at the opportunity to use his GCSE and reach out to his German Blogmate. A few days younger, a few words of disproportionableness length, this German counterpart called himself Corporate BLawG - a strangely English title to one so German in substance ("Korporativ BlGezetzG" would have been more appropriate, though less catchy).
This oddity was overcome by the glee in Corporate Blawg's microchip. What a splendid day to discover a short-lost younger sibling - what a joyous day to know he had been one of two minds, several thousand miles apart, who had thought of more or less the same thing at more or less the same time.
Thrilled by the prospect of trading sausages and ale with his doppelganger (a German word) Corporate Blawg contacted his kleine bruder. But it was not to be. Time and time again, over and over, Corporate Blawg wept as his long emails of love and light were met with darkness and silence… not even a stale schwartzwalderkirschtorte of a reply.
Despite therapy, massage and an all over body rub of seaweed and cucumber, the relationship smelt none the sweeter. It is with this ardent sadness that Corporate Blawg UK wishes to gloat over the fact that it is widely recognised that setting up a company in the UK is easier than setting up a company in Germany (a small victory, admittedly, but one which quickens the breath of both Corporate Blawg and Corporate BLawG).
Corporate Blawg read recently that German legislators are now amending their domestic legislation to encourage German entrepreneurs to be German and not to start up as a UK company, thus taking their auditor's business abroad. Corporate Blawg UK has only one thing left to say to Corporate BLaWG – put that in your post and smoke it.
Apparently (because I am not a German lawyer) in order to set up a German GmbH Company, the prospective company must have a minimum paid up equity capital of € 25,000. The UK has no such minimum equity requirement and due to EU law, may trade throughout the EU. The UK also has considerably less bureaucracy than in Germany and other parts of the EU.
In March this year, the Council of Europe discussed the vital role that small and medium-sized enterprises play in creating jobs and growth. The faults they pointed out were that on average it takes 24 working days to set up a company in the EU. Worthy of special note were Portugal at 54 days and Slovenia at 60 days.
The Commission set out in its formal submission to the EU leaders’ meeting – Time to move up a gear – that among the fundamental obstacles preventing Europe’s business sector from realising its full potential were the problems of start-up. In its report the Commission decided that:
- By 2007, Member States should each set up a “one-stop shop” to assist future entrepreneurs so that businesses can fulfil all administrative requirements in one place.
- The average time for setting up a business should be cut by half by the end of 2007 and then to one week or less.
- Every Member State should set up a system to properly measure administrative burdens. The Commission will launch a major exercise of its own to identify and propose how to reduce costs arising from EU rules or their implementation at national level.
- The Commission will remove the obligation to notify certain categories of small state aids, which should help SMEs.
Although the gloat may have got his goat, it's not all roses in the UK - the UK has number of particular provisions which help businesses start and grow, but also the highest VAT registration threshold in Europe at about a £60,000 turnover.
There are signs that the Commission's push has worked. On 6 October 2006, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, Moving up a gear for Growth and Jobs: Progress on implementing the new Lisbon Strategy, Seminar "Excellence and Partnerships for an Innovative Europe, pointed out that in Protugal, the "Empresa na hora" project (a company in one hour) had by mid-2006 led to eight thousand companies being set up in an average time of 55 minutes. This is a big improvement on 54 days. Corporate Blawg is sceptical of any statistic that sits so imperfectly perfect as a reduction of 54 days to 55 minutes.
It shall be noted that Corporate Blawg does not hold grudges or chips or candles in the wind. Corporate Blawg wishes Corporate BLawG all the best for the future, a happy life in the Blogosphere, and to know, deep down, that Corporate Blawg will always be there if Corporate BLawG ever needs him.
It's pretty easy setting one up in the UK. Certain companies would charge you no more than £30 for the entire process and setup.
Posted by: Company Formations | 13 July 2009 at 05:21 PM