I’ll Take On The Modern World—And Dominate It—Relying On No One But Myself. - Chapter 6: Company Establishment.

Company Establishment.

“So much to do… way too much to do…!!”

Kagetaka was running around tirelessly in preparation for establishing the company.

While Hiiragi was responsible for preparing the necessary documents, it was Kagetaka who personally handled the procedures at the relevant government offices.

According to Hiiragi, he wasn’t able to take time off due to being hospitalized after getting caught up in an assault incident.

(What the hell is that guy doing…)

Kagetaka had never had any reason to deal with the Legal Affairs Bureau before, so the experience felt fresh and unfamiliar. He didn’t mind going to public offices.

—At least, that’s what he thought at the time.

With the company name finalized, the first step was to prepare an official seal.

Hiiragi mentioned that electronic signatures would become the norm in the future, so a physical seal didn’t matter much. Kagetaka just ordered a cheap one online.

“You’ll need to go to the ward office.”

Since both the company’s representative seal and Kagetaka’s personal seal registration certificate were required, he went to the ward office to obtain them.

Next, he drafted the Articles of Incorporation.

This document outlines the company’s trade name, location, business objectives, and more, and must be certified by a notary office.

The certification fee is quite steep, but by opting for an electronic version, they were able to avoid the cost of revenue stamps.

Certification also required a “Declaration of the Ultimate Beneficial Owner,” which in this case referred to Kagetaka.

After that came the deposit of capital.

Since they couldn’t open a corporate bank account at this stage, the capital had to be deposited into a personal account.

Both Kagetaka and Hiiragi transferred funds into a newly opened personal account under Kagetaka’s name. A copy of the passbook showing the deposit was attached as part of the required documentation.

“Next is the Legal Affairs Bureau.”

Using the application form Hiiragi had prepared, Kagetaka filed for registration at the Legal Affairs Bureau.

Hiiragi had said that in the near future, company registrations would be done online, but Kagetaka preferred the sense of reality that came from physically going to the office.

He submitted the application for company registration, Articles of Incorporation, seal certificate, proof of capital payment, and other required documents.

And with that, Shoudou Inc. was officially established.

“Next is the tax office.”

Now came the procedures at the tax office.

He submitted a slew of documents: Notification of Incorporation, Notification of Establishment of a Salary Paying Office, Application for Approval of Special Tax Payment Deadlines for Withholding Income Tax, Application for Blue Return Approval, and more.

“This is a pain in the ass…”

Even though Hiiragi had prepared the paperwork, the sheer volume of forms required by the National Tax Agency overwhelmed Kagetaka.

“Now the Tokyo Metropolitan Tax Office.”

In addition to national taxes, he needed to file paperwork related to local taxes. He submitted a Notification of Business Start (or Discontinuation) to the metropolitan tax office.

“Next is the pension office.”

Then came the pension office procedures.

Since Kagetaka was currently the only employee, he submitted the notification for new enrollment in Health Insurance and Welfare Pension Insurance.

“Cheers.”

The clink of beer mugs echoed in Kagetaka’s apartment.

It was a modest launch party for the two founders.

“Phew… starting a company is seriously a hassle…”

“This was the easy part. Tax filings and accounting are an even bigger headache.”

“Ugh, seriously…? I already couldn’t make sense of all that tax office paperwork.”

“Once we start making real money, let’s hire a tax accountant.”

“Please do… writing a technical spec sheet is a hundred times easier than this.”

“Well, you’ll get used to it. Once you understand how taxes work, it actually reveals some interesting aspects of how society operates.”

“By the way, was this location okay?”

By “location,” Kagetaka was referring to the company’s registered head office.

Shoudou Inc. was officially registered at Kagetaka’s rental apartment.

“Yeah, as long as the rental agreement doesn’t prohibit it, there’s no problem.
As long as we can receive mail and have a phone number for the time being, it’ll do.”

Hiiragi had checked the terms of Kagetaka’s lease agreement in advance.

Hiiragi had also considered using a virtual office, but such services were virtually nonexistent in this era.

“Well, once the business takes off, we can look into renting an office—or even setting up a company housing unit.”

“Would there be any benefit to having company housing?”

“It counts as a business expense, so it reduces corporate income tax. For employees too, it decreases their taxable income since it lowers their rent burden. It’s a win-win.”

“The company and employees both benefit? Why doesn’t everyone do it then?”

“There are extra admin costs, plus things like deposits and key money upfront. It’s not for every business.”

“But if it’s your own company, it’s probably worth doing, right?”

“Exactly. Once you start learning about taxes, it actually gets kind of fun, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, I guess it does.”

Hiiragi understood Kagetaka better than anyone else—perhaps too well. He had a way of persuading him almost too easily.

(I’d better stay on guard…)

“So, do we actually have any work lined up?”

Although Kagetaka felt a bit uneasy about how dependent the company was on Hiiragi, he decided to hold off on voicing his frustration.

“Yeah, we do.”

Hiiragi responded without a moment’s hesitation.