Do you register your business with the government?

[maad]

What are the advantages of registering your hosting services with the government for tax purposes or that sort of legal stuff? Are there any advantages or is it just not worth it?

 

[Lesli]

You have business ID to sign up for business services, should you choose to sign up for any of them.

With some company structures (examples: corporation, LLC), your personal assets can be protected from any legal actions brought against your company.

And registering your company as a legal entity, and paying taxes on your income, keeps you from having to pay penalties later down the line. The government may estimate what you would have been earning, based on your industry - and if you're a small hosting company, do you really want your income estimated as being equal to, say HostGator? Especially if that's the figure the govt. uses to come up with your back taxes and penalties?

 

[The Hosting Team]

With all the weirdness on the Internet, I wouldn't want to operate as a host without a business structure to separate the business from my persoanl life.

 

[handsonhosting]

Also, some contracts REQUIRE that you have certain certificates and recognized by entities in order to do business. Some of our contracts with public works and hospitals require certification at the data center level too.

Registering for tax purposes, depending on the volume you are doing, and the liablities you are willing to take is a very good reason to register an LLC, C-Corp, S-Corp and others. Check with your accountant for further details.

 

[Kaumil]

What are the advantages of registering your hosting services with the government for tax purposes or that sort of legal stuff? Are there any advantages or is it just not worth it?

If you're serious about your business, I would suggest getting incorporated. Here is a pretty good article about the advantages:

http://sbinformation.about.com/cs/ownership1/a/corporation.htm

 

[CougarDomain]

I did. Register your business with the state to get a Permit to make sales at retail. For hosting companies it may not be a huge deal but I also have a craft business so this allows me to buy items tax exempt. Make sure you do a trademark search on your company name too.

 

[engineerroy2008]

Advantages ? Registering with the government shows your credibility and long standing business methodology.

Always a registered company will be prefered by clients in all verticals