California

According to the California Constitution, California Branches of Government consists of three branches: The executive, the legislative, and the judicial.

• The executive branch includes the Governor of California and elected and appointed officials. The branch is responsible to administer and enforce the laws of California.
• The legislative branch is composed of the Assembly and the Senate. The California legislative branch is responsible to enact legislation, vote, confirm or reject the state laws and draft legislation.
• The judicial branch consists of the California Supreme Court and all the lower courts in the state and is responsible to interpret the meaning of laws and apply the law at the state or local level.

California is a home of many of the country's largest banks and the world’s most valuable technology companies including Apple, Alphabet Inc., and Facebook.

The economy of California is the largest of any states in the United States, contributing $3.2 trillion gross state product in 2019. California would be the 5th largest economy in the world if the state stands alone as a country.

The economy of California is varied with many sectors from finance, business services, to government and manufacturing. Most of the economic activity is concentrated in coastal cities such as Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, and San Diego. These cities act as significant trade hubs to and from the United States.

Currency:

United States Dollar (USD)

Exchange Control:

California does not separately impose exchange control or currency regulations.

Financial services industry:

The financial services industry has become a key component of California’s economic strength and growth. The state has been home to many banks and financial services companies for years due to tax regulation on interest rates.

California has a common law system. The Corporate laws of California are familiar to many lawyers both in the United States and internationally.

Type of Company/Corporation:

One IBC provides incorporation in California service with the common type Limited Liability Company (LLC) and Corporation (C-Corp or S-Corp).

Business Restriction:

The use of the bank, trust, insurance, or reinsurance within the name of the LLC is generally prohibited as limited liability companies in most states are not allowed to engage in a banking or insurance business.

Company Name Restriction:

The name of each limited liability company and corporation cannot be the same as or deceptively similar to an existing limited liability company or corporate name.

The name of each limited liability company as set forth in its certificate of formation: Shall contain the words "Limited Liability Company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or the designation "LLC";

• May contain the name of a member or manager;
• Must be such as to distinguish it upon the records in the office of the Secretary of State from the name on such records of any corporation, partnership, limited partnership, statutory trust or limited liability company reserved, registered, formed or organized under the laws of the State of California or qualified to do business.
• May contain the following words: "Company," "Association," "Club," "Foundation," "Fund," "Institute," "Society," "Union," "Syndicate," "Limited" or "Trust" (or abbreviations of like import).

Company Information privacy:

Personal information such as telephone numbers, email addresses, and social security numbers of business entity members (e.g., officers, directors, managers, members, partners, agents, and employees) is not made of a record with the California Secretary of State.

Just 4 simple steps are given to start a business in California:

• Step 1: Select basic Resident/Founder nationality information and other additional services that you want (if any).
• Step 2: Register or log in and fill in the company names and director/ shareholder(s) and fill in the billing address and special request (if any).
• Step 3: Choose your payment method (We accept payment by Credit/Debit Card, PayPal, or Wire Transfer).
• Step 4: You will receive soft copies of necessary documents including Certificate of Incorporation, Business Registration, Memorandum and Articles of Association, etc. Then, your new company in California is ready to do business. You can bring the documents in the company kit to open a corporate bank account or we can help you with our long experience of Banking support service.

*These documents are required to incorporate a company in California:

• Passport of each shareholder/beneficial owner and director;
• Proof of residential address of each director and shareholder (Must be in English or certified translation version);
• The proposed company names;
• The issued share capital and par value of shares.

Read more:

How to start a business in California, USA

Share Capital:

There is no minimum or a maximum number of authorized shares since California incorporation fees are not based on the share structure.

Director:

Only one director is required

Shareholder:

Minimum number of shareholders is one

California company taxation:

Companies of primary interest to offshore investors are the corporation and the limited liability company (LLC). LLCs are a hybrid of a corporation and a partnership: they share the legal features of a corporation but may choose to be taxed as a corporation, partnership, or trust.

• Us Federal Taxation: US Limited Liability companies structured for partnership tax treatment with non-resident members and which conduct no business in the US and which have no US-source income are not subject to US federal income tax and are not required to file a US income tax return.
• State Taxation: US limited liability companies that conduct no business in the recommended states of formation with non-resident members are generally not subject to state income tax and are not required to file a state income tax return.

Financial statement

There is generally no requirement to file financial statements with the state of formation unless the corporation owns assets within that state or has conducted business within that state.

Local Agent:

California law requires that every business have Registered Agent in the State of California who may be either an individual resident or business that is authorised to do business in the State of California

Double Taxation Agreements:

California, as the state-level jurisdiction within the US, has no tax treaties with non-US jurisdictions or double tax treaties with other states in the US. Rather, in the case of individual taxpayers, double taxation is minimised by providing credits against California taxation for taxes paid in other states.

In the case of corporate taxpayers, double taxation is minimised through allocation and appointment rules related to the income of corporations engaged in multi-state business.

License Fee & Levy:

The California Franchise Tax Board requires all new LLC companies, S-corporations, C-corporations that is incorporated, registered or doing business in California must pay the $800 minimum franchise tax

• California trademark
• California business license

Payment, Company return due date:

All LLC companies, corporations are required to update their records, either annually or biannually, based on the year of registration and pay yearly $800 minimum franchise tax.

• Corporations:

A Statement of Information must be filed with the California Secretary of State within 90 days after filing the Articles of Incorporation and each year thereafter during the applicable filing period. The applicable filing period is the calendar month in which the Articles of Incorporation were filed and the immediately preceding five calendar months

Most corporations must pay a minimum tax of $800 to the California Franchise Tax Board each year. California Corporation Franchise or Income Tax Return is due on the 15th day of the 4th month after the close of the corporation’s tax year. California S Corporation Franchise or Income Tax Return is due on the 15th day of the 3rd month after the close of the corporation’s tax year.

• Limited Liability Company

Limited liability companies must file a complete Statement of Information within the first 90 days of registering with the SOS, and every 2 years thereafter before the end of the calendar month of the original registration date.

Once your limited liability company is registered with the SOS it is an active business. You are required to pay the minimum annual tax of $800 and file a tax return with FTB for each taxable year even if you are not conducting business or have no income. You have until the 15th day of the 4th month from the date you file with the SOS to pay your first-year annual tax.