Peter Kay

What I meant is that I would charge VAT to my Dutch client. Then I would pay that to the Dutch government. But on the South African side, I understand that the invoice they send me would be without VAT. They would state something like “VAT shifted to Netherlands” and quote my KVK number. But you did say: I won't dig any further. Thank you for your reply!

I have a friend in South Africa that has access to some IT services. He invited me to try outsource them to Dutch companies and we share the profit. I'm a complete entrepreneur beginner and have the following concerns. I expect the following expenses: forex to pay my SA suppliers. Business insurance. A business bank account. Possibly an accountant? What did I miss? I think that VAT returns will complicate monthly profit payouts to me and my partner. I would receive payment from my customers, then send money to South Africa. It's at this point that I could send my partner his share of the profit. But I think I would also get money back from VAT because I am paying for services from South Africa and would not need to charge VAT to them. How would my quarterly tax returns work? If my partner starts a company in South Africa, we would lose the VAT benefits of paying directly to the supplier. That is because if I send money to a company my SA partner starts, he doesn't need to charge me VAT. But then he'd send an invoice to the supplier and they would charge him VAT. Therefore the optimal flow of money would be the Dutch customer pays me, and I pay the supplier in SA. Then the supplier wouldn't need to charge me VAT and we increase our profit. What are my options and what should I consider? I plan to start an eenmanschap until I can afford the fees for a BV upgrade, if that's relevant? Thank you for your time and expertise.