AIR × METAL FINGERS

Metal Fingers was founded by Rhys Paku, a veteran tattoo artist who turned his industry knowledge into an e-commerce business supplying high-quality tattoo cartridges to artists around the world.

What began with a deep understanding of the trade has grown into a global Shopify business, with particularly strong momentum in the United States and further international expansion on the horizon.

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The Challenge

As US sales grew, the structure behind Metal Fingers had not kept pace with the direction of the business. The Australian trading company was owned directly by Rhys, while a US LLC had also been established in his personal name.

With a dedicated US Shopify store, US-dollar payments and local logistics being introduced, Metal Fingers needed a structure that could support its expansion while appropriately managing tax and risk across both jurisdictions.

Growing US sales also brought state-based sales tax obligations, leaving Rhys with Shopify notifications but limited clarity around where registrations and ongoing compliance were required.

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The Solution

Air worked with Rhys to design an international structure around where Metal Fingers was heading, rather than simply where the business was today.

Working alongside a specialist US tax partner, Air restructured the ownership and tax treatment of the US operation, creating a clearer framework for US revenue, operating costs and the movement of funds between Australia and the United States.

Air also connected Metal Fingers with specialist sales tax support to manage its state-based obligations as US sales continued to grow. By coordinating the Australian and US advisers, Air gave Rhys a connected team that could manage the cross-border detail without requiring him to sit between multiple specialists.

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