NON-CONFIDENTIAL
FOR EXTERNAL USE
ESTABLISHING A U.S.
COMPANY
May 2014
Business Sweden USA
BUSINESS SWEDEN MAKES IT EASIER FOR SWEDISH
COMPANIES TO GROW INTERNATIONALLY
 Operations in Sweden
 Headquarters in Stockholm
Step 1
EXAMINE OPPORTUNITIES
Step 2
CHOOSE STRATEGY
Step 3
ESTABLISH PRESENCE
Step 4
DEVELOP BUSINESS
 Regional Export Advisors across Sweden
 Trade Commissioners and Managers regularly visit
different parts of Sweden
 Operations Abroad
 Nearly 400 employees in over 50 countries
 Through our partner network we cover more than 100
countries worldwide
 Business Sweden USA
 Operational since 1949
 Offices in Chicago, New York and San Francisco
 Nearly 20 local and Swedish employees
BUSINESS SWEDEN AIMS TO BE THE PRIMARY CONSULTING PARTNER FOR SWEDISH FIRMS DOING BUSINESS IN THE U.S.
BUSINESS SWEDEN
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THE UNITED STATES, IN BRIEF
 Area: 9.8 million square kilometers – almost 22 times the size of Sweden
 Population: 316 million people
 Government: Constitution-based federal republic with a strong democratic tradition
 Head of government: President Barack Obama
 Legislature: U.S. Congress, comprised of Senate (upper house) and House of Representatives
(lower house)
 Languages spoken: English (82.1%), Spanish (10.7%), other European languages (3.8%), Asian or
Pacific Island languages (2.7%), other languages (0.7%)
 Currency: U.S. Dollar, $
 GDP per capita: $51,749*
 Inflation rate: 1.5%*
 Main exports and imports: Agricultural products, industrial supplies, capital goods, consumer goods
 Swedish exports to the U.S. in 2013: 68 billion SEK
 Swedish imports from the U.S. in 2013: 28 billion SEK
SOURCES: CIA WORLD FACTBOOK, STATISTICS SWEDEN
BUSINESS SWEDEN
*2013 ESTIMATED AVERAGES
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THERE ARE FOUR MAIN BUSINESS ENTITY TYPES
ONE ENTITY TYPE, THE CORPORATION, HAS TWO SUBTYPES
Corporation
A separate legal entity owned by shareholders who enjoy protection from personal liability
C Corporation
S Corporation
 Files and pays corporate income taxes directly
 Closed corporation, shares held by members of
a family or by relatively few persons
 Must pay taxes on income left over after the
payment of business taxes
 Typically no U.S. residency requirement for
shareholders, officers or directors
 However, a resident U.S. “registered agent”
must be provided in order to establish a C
Corporation
BUSINESS SWEDEN
 No shareholder may be a nonresident alien
 S Corporations are generally not taxed on
income; rather profits or losses “pass through”
to the shareholders, based on their percentage
of ownership
 The shareholders then must personally pay
taxes on that income in a similar manner to C
Corporations
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THE OTHER ENTITY TYPES ARE LIMITED LIABILITY
COMPANIES AND MULTIPLE PARTNERSHIP OPTIONS
General Partnership
Limited Partnership (LP)
 Not a separately taxed entity, where profit or
loss flows through to the partners
 This entity features general partners, who have
management authority and personal liability
 This type of entity must be formed by two or
more partners
 At least one person, however, must be in the
limited partner role, and this partner does not
have management authority
 Contracts are key in all partnership
arrangements in the U.S.
Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
 Partners enjoy some protection against
personal liability
 These partners must be licensed under state
law to engage in accounting, law or architecture
 An LLP is not a separate entity for income tax
purpose; profits and losses are passed through
to partners and reports on each one’s tax return
BUSINESS SWEDEN
 Tax on income derived in this entity is paid at
the rate applicable to the partner
Limited Liability Company (LLC)
 This is a hybrid business entity
 It has a separate legal existence and generally
offers liability protection to its owners
 It can be classified as either a partnership or a
corporation for tax purposes
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BUSINESS SWEDEN USA CAN GUIDE YOUR COMPANY
THROUGH THE INCORPORATION PROCESS
 With an attorney, Business Sweden will register your company in the appropriate state(s)
State
Registration
 State registration can take between one day and three weeks to complete
 Business Sweden monitors this process on your behalf
Ownership
Structure
 Business Sweden will help determine the appropriate ownership arrangement
 This arrangement depends upon your company’s existing structure
 A Tax ID or Federal Employer ID Number (FEIN) will be assigned to your company
Federal
Employer ID
 This is the equivalent of the Swedish organisationsnummer
 Business Sweden helps obtain the ID number after your company has been incorporated
SWEDISH COMPANIES SHOULD BUDGET BETWEEN FOUR AND SIX WEEKS FOR THE ENTIRE U.S. REGISTRATION PROCESS
BUSINESS SWEDEN
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BUSINESS SWEDEN USA CAN OFFER ASSISTANCE WITH
A RANGE OF IMPORTANT ISSUES
Insurance and Law
 In the U.S., it is important to carry insurance for
personal liability, product liability, office space, and
for a company’s officers and directors
 Contracts in the U.S. are much more detailed than
in Sweden, and there is no such thing as a
“standard” contract
 A company may need several attorneys for different
purposes, including immigration and contracts
Finances and Accounting
 Local accounting and bookkeeping must be in order
to comply with U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
audits
 Bank accounts with local banks are required in
order to make payments and to do payroll
processing
BUSINESS SWEDEN
Employee Benefits
 Most employers in the U.S. offer benefits packages
that comprise health and dental insurance
 Employers typically offer retirement savings plans
for employees, as there is no U.S. national pension
 Commissions, bonuses and profit-sharing plans are
also quite common, especially for salespeople
 Business Sweden can help enlist local professional
help for designing these employee packages
Intellectual Property
 Intellectual property rights in the U.S. are very
strong, but they require significant paperwork
 Copyrights, patents, trademarks, internet domains,
and non-disclosure agreements with suppliers and
employees all must be filed separately
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ANY OF BUSINESS SWEDEN’S THREE U.S. OFFICE
LOCATIONS CAN ASSIST AND SUPPORT YOUR COMPANY
SAN FRANCISCO
CHICAGO
NEW YORK CITY
100 Montgomery Street
150 N. Michigan Avenue
220 E. 42nd Street
Suite 1780
Suite 1950
Suite 409A
San Francisco, CA 94104
Chicago, IL 60601
New York, NY 10017
USA
USA
USA
+1 415 835 3000
+1 312 781 6222
+1 212 507 9001
usa@business-sweden.se
usa@business-sweden.se
usa@business-sweden.se
(9 hours behind Sweden)
(7 hours behind Sweden)
(6 hours behind Sweden)
BUSINESS SWEDEN
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