Many foreign businessmen are thinking about opening a private enterprise in another country as the simplest and most cost-effective option for doing business. In order to become an individual entrepreneur (Slovenian: samostojni podjetnik, sp) in Slovenia, you need to legally reside here for at least one year having a residence permit, which can be issued in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law. Since 2015, a student residence permit is also suitable for this purpose, which our students have already successfully used many times.
Choosing the form of individual enterprise, you need to estimate your future amount of finance in advance – tax liabilities will also depend thereon. Thus, if the income of individual entrepreneur does not go beyond the level of the minimum wage, then monthly only social contributions will need to be paid in a fixed amount. If the income of an individual entrepreneur turns out to be higher, it may be more expedient to choose the LLC (d.o.o.) option, rather than an individual entrepreneur status.
If the sole proprietor has a family with unemployed members (children or a wife/husband), its income should provide a living wage for each family member. It is obvious that the expenses for the maintenance of an individual enterprise will depend on the number of family members. This point is also worth evaluating in advance.
The tax rate for sole proprietors is calculated individually and depends on many factors. Slovenia also offers a simplified form of taxation for individual entrepreneurs, when only 20% is recognized as profit and taxed. 80% of the income in this case is written off as expenses. Every month, the entrepreneur also makes payments to the social, pension and medical insurance funds.
One more important aspect is that in Slovenia, an individual entrepreneur cannot register real estate for his/her name. Thus, if you need to purchase an office or an apartment in order to conduct business, it is better to immediately choose the d.o.o. type.
To summarise the above, if you decide to launch a business in Slovenia without being an EU citizen and have not yet lived in the country for at least one year, you can register a company only under the LLC (d.o.o.) legal form. Analyse in advance all the pros and cons of choosing the form of a legal entity for yourself – often it is d.o.o. that wins financially. We wish you good luck!
