Visa Europe collab brings together a communicty of people with ideas and the stamina to implement the ideas -- about payment: how to make it, how to make it simple, safe, soft, hard, you name it -- and it may happen! So, there is a community and a new hub is being created in SE EUrope -- in Sofia Bulgaria.
Why Sofia, Bulgaria?
Apart fromaesthetic reasons, subjective reasons and the fact that basically Sofia is a nice place and is populated by nice, hospitable people, and the living is very reasonable in Sofia, I can offer other reasons as well. More objective ones and more specific to Bulgaria as opposed to, say, Greece.
FOr that matter, why choose Sofia and not Athens?
On the latter, I can give many reasons - but, basically, two:
1) It is illegal to operate such lose "collab" communities in Greece and labour inspection can barge in at any time and fine everything & everyone in site at 10k a pop, for any number of reasons. For example: have these people been declared, where is their contract, how many hours are they working, what is the job title, have their hourly schedule been filed with appropriate authorities, are there foreigners here???...
In Greece, there is no legislation favouring or simplifying studetns employment - they have to be declared offically, the social security declared in addition to their insurance as students - there is confusion which of teh two regimes applies -- and at the end of the day, there is a danger that a minimum expected income will apply in the next fiscla year when the studetn is not working but is expected to pre-pay taxes!
2) What is the fiscal situation? Does it apply?
Well, we don't know. For income accrued in the year 2015 it is not known yet. Let alone for future years? And what is the status of such a "collab community"?
Better leave it.
Sofia is great, tax is officially low, labour law is flexible - all you have to do is pay your dues when and if they are due.
Exactly.
That's why most Greek start-ups move outside the country OR are actually born outside the country.
In Bulgaria, for example, to where a record 160,000 businesses have moved from Greece. Which means that some of their people have also moved there.
That's a third reason why a Visa Collab would *not* choose Athens.
It is unfortunate that Athens needs such initiatives, desperately.
Thursday 3 March 2016
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