I'm from South Africa, and thus cannot recieve payments by Paypal. However I have family in the US and UK. What I want to do is to make them a partner in my business, with their only responsibility to accept Paypal payments - can I do that? They will recieve the payments, and every now and again pay me the balance by check. What are the implications eg for tax, legal etc that I should know about?
Yes and no. They can do it without even Paypal's knowledge but they are liable for that Paypal account. If they trust you and you trust them, then it should be no problem. But things always happens especially when it comes to money and relatives. I really do not recommend it. As far as tax implications, you need to have them contact a CPA and ask him / her what your relative would be responsible for.
I dont see any problem in this as long both of you trust each other About the Legal ..paypal not gonna come to know that // they will recieve the payment in paypal and can easily transfer it in the bank and then pay you < by whatever mode you people decide > About the tax ... both of you need to think about it . ~ If your country is not Supported then I will say better to go with Some other payment processor .. or if you happen to continue this way then dont access that paypal account from your Unsupported Country .
Corey pointed out your biggest problem, working with relatives! In your case, it's no money vs. some money and possible family issues. Not sure how tax works there, but if you live in the US, it is illegal not to claim the income you receive from the family. The only way the government would find out is if a family member became upset and reported you. As for the family, it jacks up their total income. If the total income goes too high, they move to a different tax bracket. That can mean no more Roth IRA, quarterly payments, and a whole host of other issues. It is a hard path to walk. You must spell out everything upfront; cover all the bases and get them to sign something that they understand exactly what this means, now and when they reach the top tax bracket. This document is certainly not for legal purposes, but rather to clear things up when they change their lifestyle and then decide they need more money or claim they didn't understand. Honestly, you are better off getting something set up in the states legally. The whole damn system is screwed. It penalizes those of us who think outside the box, but it is the way it is. Find legal loopholes and be honest so you can sleep at night.