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?


Asked on 11/19/09, 7:15 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

Mark Saltzman, MBA, JD Law Offices of Mark E. Saltzman

Yes

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Answered on 11/24/09, 7:44 pm
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Yes, the potential of criminal fraud charges if the business is operated for improper purposes.

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Answered on 11/24/09, 8:41 pm
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

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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Answered on 11/24/09, 9:27 pm


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