What is included in the fee for PE / structure opinion?
A written opinion on whether the activity creates a taxable presence, what would be attributable to it if it did, and what could be changed to alter the answer.
What would make PE / structure opinion cost more than the standard tier?
How many people and places are involved. One employee working from home is one analysis; a sales team, a warehouse and a contractor with signing authority is several.
Is the fee really fixed?
Yes, for the scope quoted. If the scope changes — another year appears, an entity turns up, a certificate becomes necessary — we re-quote before doing the work, so there is never an invoice you have not already agreed to.
When does a business actually need a formal permanent-establishment opinion rather than an informal assessment?
A formal opinion is worth commissioning when the activity in question is significant enough, or ambiguous enough on the facts, that a documented, reasoned position would matter if the activity were ever reviewed — a brief, clearly minor activity may not warrant the same level of formality as an ongoing, substantial presence.
What facts does a PE opinion actually need to work from?
A clear description of the activity itself — what is being done, by whom, how often, and under what contractual arrangement — is the starting point, since the opinion is only as reliable as the facts it is built on, and vague or incomplete facts produce a vague or qualified opinion.
Can a structure opinion address more than one country's PE test at once?
Yes, where a business's activity spans several countries, an opinion can address each jurisdiction's own PE threshold and treaty article against the same underlying facts, though each country's test is applied separately rather than assumed to produce the same answer everywhere.
Does a PE opinion change if the underlying activity changes after the opinion is delivered?
Yes — an opinion is built on the facts as they stood when it was prepared, so a material change in the activity afterwards means the opinion should be revisited rather than relied on indefinitely as though the facts had stayed fixed.
Does a foreign-owned US entity need an EIN?
Yes, for almost anything it must do: file its returns, operate payroll, open a bank account, and act as a withholding agent on payments abroad. It is applied for on Form SS-4, and the part that stalls foreign owners is the responsible party — a real person with a US identification number is expected, and where none exists the application route and the supporting explanation both change. It is worth starting early because downstream registrations queue behind it. See EIN applications.
What is a permanent establishment?
The threshold at which a country may tax a foreign company's business profits. It is met by a fixed place of business — an office, a branch, a workshop — and also by a dependent agent habitually concluding contracts on your behalf, with separate rules for construction sites and, in some treaties, for services performed over a period. Cross it unnoticed and you owe returns and tax in a country you never registered in. See permanent establishment risk.
