glitterball - 1:33 pm on Aug 26, 2010 (gmt 0)

How about some opinions on Ireland and Canary Islands. I vacationed in Ireland once and loved the place and I understand they are business friendly with low corporate taxes and they especially like businesses with a slant toward publishing. This is just the impression I have from reading about the place. Anyone have first hand experience? Don't know a lot about the Canary Islands either except the weather is supposed to beautiful all year round and a great place to holiday.

I'm from Ireland, but have been living in the Canary Islands for several years.
The biggest disadvantage to Ireland is the climate - which is the reason that I left.

The Canary Islands do have a fantastic climate and I think that it's a great place to live. You can rent a small villa with a pool for as little as €800 - €1000 per month (rental prices have halved since I moved here).
With taxes you pay at least €250 per month in Social Security contributions plus income tax (percentage of your worldwide income).

Alcohol, Tobacco and Petrol are very cheap, fresh fruit and veg are expensive and eating out is relatively good value.

There is a lot of bureaucracy (as elsewhere in Spain), but if your business is all outside Spain, there shouldn't be too many problems. One problem is that, since the Canary Islands lie outside the EU VAT agreement, you will have to add the local sales tax (IGIC @ 5%) to your services - no matter where the client/customer is.