Countries around the world continue to look at Silicon Valley as a model for creating their own innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems – or the next Silicon Valley. But less talked about in this conversation is that companies often incorporate in Delaware, a state on the east coast of the USA. Even companies like Facebook, though headquartered in California, are incorporated in Delaware. In fact it is claimed that 83 percent of all U.S. initial public offerings were incorporated in Delaware in 2013.
According to the Invest Delaware web site, the state ranked first in the nation for business friendliness, with its straightforward incorporation process, an expert corporate legal community, and award-winning courts, including the Delaware Court of Chancery and the Delaware Supreme Court. The cost of doing business in Delaware is 9.3 percent below the U.S. national average, and it doesn’t charge sales or inventory taxes, plus it offers many tax credit opportunities.
