Legal Options for Opening a Small Business in Portugal ...
And their application in obtaining residence visas By Rosário Vital Portugal, a historically bureaucratic country, has made a huge effort in the last decade to speed up the incorporation of companies and the opening of businesses. With a business fabric mostly made up of microenterprises (companies that employ fewer than 10 people and whose annual turnover or balance sheet total does not exceed 2 million euros) and comprising most family-owned businesses, it was urgent to expedite the turnaround time and soften the requirements … even though they follow very strict legal rules in force to protect creditors and the socio-economic balance. There are two ways for anyone to incorporate his or her business: as a self-employed professional or through the constitution of a company. Which option depends on one’s personal situation and aim; type of business; license(s) necessary; business risk; and billing value.
Although incorporating a business as a self-employed professional allows you to save on certain operating costs, the self-employed professional—unless he or she develops an activity regulated by law for which there is specific insurance—tends to respond unlimitedly with personal assets. In turn, although the development of a business under a corporate identity entails higher operating costs, it also allows for greater tax deductions with these same costs … but limits the company’s liability to its shareowners. Only in the event of a judicial conviction for intentional insolvency, or if there is a mixing of the partners’ personal and corporate assets, can the personal assets of the partners be sought by creditors. As a self-employed professional, you are required to begin business activity with the Tax Services (Finanças) and register it at the Social Security Services. For each service provided or sold, you must bill a customer by issuing an
photo: public domain
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