‘Extreme digital living’ is the norm in the Baltic country of Estonia, which rebuilt itself from the ground up after the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union (and each citizen receiving a distribution of €10) to one of the most advanced online-only countries in the world, far ahead of the US, the UK, and the rest of the EU. Internet access is by law a basic human right in Estonia. Digital signatures are equal in every way to paper signatures, except for marriage and divorce (a nostalgic touch). Everyday living is paperless and programming is taught in early grades. Live in picturesque Tallinn and need a delivery? It may come to your door via Starship robot, founded by one of the former Skype team. (Did you know that former Skypers have funded much of the Estonian tech and investment boom?) They take data security seriously with the Russian Bear growling (and hacking) on the border, so they created a NATO-accredited cyberdefense center in Tallinn and a whole country backup in a Luxembourg ‘data embassy’. Blockchain is a large part of this–and the government is working on using it for mapping the genome data of its 1.3 million citizens and sell it (deidentified) to precision medicine researchers.
So if you are a US, UK, EU, or even Australian-based developer, or already have a small tech company, why is this of interest? Estonia has opened a door for foreigners that is a most attractive one–virtual residency, no matter where you live. Once you’re an e-resident, simply register your company (online of course) and pay a fee of €145. You now can do business in euros–and fully access the EU. Most companies pay monthly administrative and accounting fees in Estonia, providing the country with income. About 1,400 companies have taken advantage of e-residency. It isn’t a tax haven, but if you do have income in Estonia, their corporate taxes are low–20 percent, compared to 19 percent for the UK, 30 percent for Australia, and a shattering 39 percent for the US (at present). Trading Economics And there is that tech and digital-savvy workforce as an additional incentive. Is This Tiny European Nation a Preview of Our Tech Future? (Fortune) Hat tip to TTA Founder Steve Hards
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