Legal Question in Business Law in California
A company located in California is offering a very good rate on a mail forwarding service. My small business is located in WA. Are there any legal ramifications if I used the California address as my mailing address?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Yes, the potential of criminal fraud charges if the business is operated for improper purposes.
This is like asking "Are there any legal ramifications of my buying a carload of ammonium nitrate?"
If you are growing cotton in a nitrogen-deficient area of Mississippi, the answer is no. If you are planning to blow up the Murragh Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the answer is YES.
Before becoming a lawyer, I was an entrepreneur, and I have had occasion to use secretarial services to forward mail to my home address in California while setting up the appearance, at least, of a local presence in New Mexico or Washington.
This was to show commitment to the project, and was always accompanied by setting up a new corporation in the target state (NM, WA, etc.). There was never an intent to avoid taxes or conceal where I lived.
So, I think the issue is not that I am in State X and my mail is directed to State Y and then forwarded to me in X so much as it is whether the intent or effect of the setup is to cheat or defraud anyone.
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