AETHERION Worldwide is the fundraising and landing practice of AETHERION Capital.
Which European country should you set up in?
There is no single best country, because the rule that decides it is different for every company. Five things separate the options in practice: who may own and direct the company, what the entity demands before it exists, how staff from outside the EU get in, what happens to profit sent home, and which language the state deals with you in.
Ask which European country is best to start a company in and you get a ranking. A ranking is the wrong shape for this question: it scores countries for an average founder who does not exist, and rarely sources a figure.
Five things actually differ, and only some will apply to you. Below they are set out for the Netherlands, Ireland and Germany, each as that country's own government or statute book writes it. Estonia and Belgium appear where they change the answer. We plan and run landings in the Netherlands, and the section near the end says when the answer is somewhere else.
| What differs | Netherlands | Ireland | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|
| Directing it from abroad | Directors and shareholders may live anywhere; a power of attorney replaces the trip | One director must live in the European Economic Area, or the company holds a bond worth EUR 25,000 | Notarial deed, possible by video call |
| Capital and registration fee | EUR 0.01 paid in, plus EUR 85.15 once at KVK | Form A1 filed electronically, EUR 50 | EUR 25,000 of share capital, half paid in before registration |
| Staff from outside the EU | Recognised sponsor first; the IND then aims at 2 weeks per permit, legal period 90 days | A permit per employee; EUR 40,904 a year for a listed occupation | EU Blue Card at 50% of the yearly state pension contribution ceiling, 45.3% in shortage occupations |
| Corporate tax, and profit sent to the parent | 19% to EUR 200,000, 25.8% above; dividend tax 15% before treaties | 12.5% on trading income, 25% otherwise; dividend withholding 25% | 15% to 2027, plus 5.5% surcharge and municipal trade tax; dividends 25% |
| Language of the state | KVK and Business.gov.nl publish in English; deed and forms in Dutch | Register and forms in English | The register sits with the local courts, whose language is German |
Sources:
Business.gov.nl, Private limited company (bv)
KVK, Registration fee
CRO, Company officers: directors and secretaries
CRO, Company fees
Revenue, Corporation Tax basis of charge
GmbHG, article 5, minimum share capital
KStG, article 23, rate of corporation tax
Can you own and direct it from outside Europe?
In the Netherlands, yes. KVK, the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, registers directors who live abroad as a matter of routine, and the deed can be signed on a power of attorney. Ireland is the one to read twice. According to the Companies Registration Office, one director has to live in the European Economic Area, unless the company holds a bond worth EUR 25,000.
The bond runs for at least two years and comes from a bank or an insurer; a certificate of a real and continuous link with economic activities in the State lifts the requirement instead. Germany sets a different obstacle: article 2 GmbHG puts the articles in notarial form, though the deed may now be made by video call. Estonia removed the appointment and registers a company online for EUR 265, against a local contact person and address.
Sources:
KVK, Inschrijven buitenlandse rechtspersoon of vennootschap
CRO, Company officers: directors and secretaries
GmbHG, article 2, form of the articles of association
Republic of Estonia e-Residency, Start a company
What the entity demands before it exists
A Dutch BV is paid up with a minimum of EUR 0.01 and KVK charges EUR 85.15 once, so the entity costs almost nothing. Germany is the outlier: article 5 GmbHG sets GmbH share capital at EUR 25,000 and article 7 wants half of that minimum paid in before registration, so the money exists before the company does. Article 5a allows a lighter form below that level, against a reserve that locks up a quarter of each year's profit.
Notary fees sit on top in both, no register publishes them, and this page quotes none. The Dutch side of that bill is in what it costs to start a company in the Netherlands.
Sources:
GmbHG, articles 5, 5a and 7
KVK, Registration fee
CRO, Company fees
How do you bring in staff from outside the EU?
This is a company question before it is an employee question, which most comparisons miss. According to the IND, the Dutch immigration service, a company has to be recognised as a sponsor before it can file a highly skilled migrant application at all, and the IND then aims to decide that application within 2 weeks, against a legal period of 90 days.
Recognition has a decision period of its own, so a first hire waits twice, as set out in how a company becomes an IND recognised sponsor. Ireland has no sponsor step: the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment issues a permit per employee, and the critical skills permit asks at least EUR 40,904 a year for a listed occupation. Germany states its threshold as a share, not an amount: article 18g of the residence act asks at least 50% of the yearly ceiling for state pension contributions, or 45.3% for listed occupations and recent graduates, so the German figure moves on its own each year.
Sources:
IND, Decision periods
IND, Apply for recognition as sponsor
Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Critical Skills Employment Permit
AufenthG, article 18g, EU Blue Card
What happens to profit that goes home
Two rates matter, and founders usually read only the first. The Netherlands Tax Administration puts corporate income tax at 19% on profit up to EUR 200,000 and 25.8% above it, with the earlier years in the Dutch corporate income tax rate in 2026. Irish Revenue puts corporation tax at 12.5% on trading income and 25% on the rest, and German corporation tax is 15% for periods up to 2027, with a solidarity surcharge of 5.5% on it and municipal trade tax above that.
The second rate is what the money loses on the way up: dividend tax 15% in the Netherlands, 25% in Ireland, 25% plus the surcharge in Germany, before any treaty with the parent's country reduces or removes it.
Sources:
Belastingdienst, Tarieven voor de vennootschapsbelasting
Business.gov.nl, Dividend and dividend tax in the Netherlands
Revenue, Dividend Withholding Tax
SolzG 1995, article 4, rate of the solidarity surcharge
EStG, article 43a, rate of tax on capital income
When the Netherlands is not the answer
Four cases come up often enough to name. If your customers are German, the entity usually follows them, and German trade tax is set municipality by municipality, so the city matters as much as the country. If your group runs in English end to end, Ireland removes a layer: its register and its forms are in English, while article 8 HGB puts the German register in the hands of the courts and article 184 GVG makes German the language of the court.
If you want a company you can open and run from a laptop, Estonia is built for that and the Netherlands is not: a BV needs a notarial deed and a real Dutch address, and a post office box is not accepted. And if you sell into Europe without hiring there, you may not need a European company yet: see do you need an EU company to raise in Europe, the lighter branch or subsidiary in the Netherlands, and the case for and against this country in why foreign companies pick the Netherlands.
Sources:
GVG, article 184, language of the court
HGB, article 8, the commercial register
Business.gov.nl, Start a business in the Netherlands from abroad
Where to check any of this yourself
Netherlands: business.gov.nl, kvk.nl, belastingdienst.nl, ind.nl, wetten.overheid.nl. Ireland: cro.ie, revenue.ie, enterprise.gov.ie. Germany: gesetze-im-internet.de, handelsregister.de, make-it-in-germany.de. Estonia: e-resident.gov.ee. Belgium: economie.fgov.be. A rate for this year with none of these behind it is unverified.
Sources
- Business.gov.nl, Private limited company (bv) in the Netherlands, checked 23 September 2026
- Business.gov.nl, Start a business in the Netherlands from abroad, checked 23 September 2026
- KVK, Registration fee, checked 23 September 2026
- Belastingdienst, Tarieven voor de vennootschapsbelasting (in Dutch), checked 23 September 2026
- IND, Decision periods, checked 23 September 2026
- CRO, Company officers: directors and secretaries, checked 23 September 2026
- CRO, Company fees, checked 23 September 2026
- Revenue, Corporation Tax basis of charge, checked 23 September 2026
- Revenue, Dividend Withholding Tax, checked 23 September 2026
- Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Critical Skills Employment Permit, checked 23 September 2026
- GmbH-Gesetz, articles 2, 5, 5a and 7 (gesetze-im-internet.de, in German), checked 23 September 2026
- Aufenthaltsgesetz, article 18g (gesetze-im-internet.de, in German), checked 23 September 2026
- Körperschaftsteuergesetz, article 23 (gesetze-im-internet.de, in German), checked 23 September 2026
- Gerichtsverfassungsgesetz, article 184 (gesetze-im-internet.de, in German), checked 23 September 2026
- Handelsgesetzbuch, article 8 (gesetze-im-internet.de, in German), checked 23 September 2026
- Republic of Estonia e-Residency, Start a company, checked 23 September 2026
Checked on 23 September 2026. This page is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice. Rules change: check the official source, or ask an adviser, before you act on it.
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