What Constitutes Doing Business in Pennsylvania

To start a business in Pennsylvania, you`ll likely have to pay filing and licensing fees. For example, obtaining a Pennsylvania LLC organization certificate costs about $125. Additional fees may be charged if your business is structured as a corporation, sole proprietorship or partnership. You`ll also have to pay for a fictitious name if you want to do business under a brand name other than the legal name you`ve registered with the state (see below). A foreign company must register in Pennsylvania if it is “doing business” or “doing business” in the state. Both terms are used in Pennsylvania law, but neither is clearly defined when it comes to foreign company registration. No general jurisdiction. This decision resolved a division between the federal and New York state courts on the issue. New York Governor Kathy Hochul also recently vetoed a bill11 that would present the registration of a foreign corporation to do business in the state as consent to the jurisdiction of New York courts. You should also choose a business name and make sure it hasn`t already been adopted by another company.

To do this, use the Pennsylvania Business Name Finder. Before a foreign company can do business in Pennsylvania, it must obtain State Department (DOS) approval called a “Certificate of Authority.” This process is called foreign qualification. Submit the following forms to DOS to register your business: If you`re interested in starting a business in Pennsylvania, you won`t run out of opportunities. The state`s proximity to major business centers and the abundance of large universities can make your small business a success. “It was a real challenge to pay taxes in the first few years of opening our business because taxes were so high,” Szamborski said. “Despite this, I have found that, despite tax issues, our industry generally performs well when the economic environment is good.” “While the region has many good workers and skilled talent, it doesn`t seem to have enough to meet the demand for growing businesses and healthy economic prospects,” said Kornel Kurtz, president and CEO of web design and marketing firm WebTek. 10 Cf. Aybar v. Aybar, 37 N.Y.3d 274, 280-83 (October 7, 2021). The New York courts had already interpreted Bagdon v.

Phila. & Reading Coal & Iron Co., 217 N.Y. 432 (N.Y. 1916) as a long-standing precedent for bus registration. Corp. Law § 1301(a) constitutes consent to the general jurisdiction of the courts of New York. Aybar concluded that the lower courts had “misinterpreted” Baghdad, which decided only the narrow question of whether the appointment of a public official for service of proceedings by a foreign company “extended to pleas unrelated to the New York cases.” The general jurisdiction was not disputed and existed in Baghdad because the foreign company was “doing business” in New York, which was sufficient to ensure due process at the time. Nevertheless, some companies perceive the tax burden as a challenge. Diane Szamborski, owner of a Royersford-based Primrose School franchise, said local taxes can have a significant impact on a company`s tax bill.

Overall, she added, the local economy appears to be strong. A Pennsylvania foreign corporation is a corporation incorporated in another state. These companies must be registered in Pennsylvania before they can do business in the state. Instead of having separate laws for registering different types of companies, Pennsylvania has a general set of rules for registering foreign companies. The state calls these companies “foreign associations.” Innovation and startup growth are critical to Pennsylvania`s continued success, as they are in all growth markets across the country. Small businesses that aren`t directly involved in tech startups or disrupting long-standing industries can also participate in the growth-oriented atmosphere that fosters business, investment, and profitability. Pennsylvania is home to Philadelphia, a huge city with a reasonable cost of living. In addition, it is located in the same geographical area as some of the largest cities on the East Coast. This proximity facilitates the expansion of professional networks, the opening of other large markets and the presentation of business ideas to potential investors.

“Instead of progressive tax rates like most of our border states, Pennsylvania has a flat corporate tax rate of 9.99 percent and a personal tax rate of 3.07 percent,” said Dane Janas, currently a senior tax analyst at Lehigh Valley Health Network and former owner of Boundless Advisors. “[Boundless Advisors] was legally structured as a single-member LLC that is treated as an unaccounted entity for federal and state tax purposes, applying lower individual tax rates for our business.” You can file sales tax returns with the state in three ways: online with the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, by phone at (800) 748-8299, or by mail.