Comments by "dlukton" (@dlukton) on "Nomad Capitalist" channel.

  1. If this office had been set up in the US, NomadCapitalist would get sued for gender discrimination, age discrimination, racial discrimination, and God knows what else. And there would be all manner of expensive legal mandates to comply with. Plus, the rent payment on the office would be 10X higher.
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  2. The US is broke. It's now just living off the treasury debt-fueled fumes of its former glory.
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  3. What an appropriate video for so-called "Independence" day.
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  4. Brian Williams may be saying that the US is "unrecognizable"; but he sure as hell isn't trying to criticize anyone on the left when he says that.
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  5. This is all well and good for someone who's willing and able to do a lot of traveling. But... not so good for those who aren't. Problems inevitably arise in managing real estate.... repairs are needed, tenants refuse to pay rent, etc. Of course, one can hire a property manager. But then one has to "manage the manager"; otherwise there's the risk that the property manager will try to "overstate" the expenses. For those who don't want to have to spend much time in the country subsequent to the real estate purchase, there might be merit to the idea of purchasing farmland (for lease), or just raw land.
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  6. If not for FATCA, I doubt there would be nearly as much interest in cryptocurrencies as there currently is. Also, the US government is able to impose FATCA requirements on foreign banks only because of its control over the SWIFT system. One of these days, an alternative to SWIFT will be developed, at which point there may be many more banks willing to accept US citizens as customers.
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  7. One way for Americans to "stash money" overseas, without (necessarily) having to report it to the US government.
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  8. For me, it's not a binary choice, i.e., "taxation" versus "no taxation". It's more a question of a continuum. If the Federal government spent a mere 5% of GDP on essential services (including the military), I'd say that is not theft. But, of course, the Federal government has gone far, far beyond that. In any case, the question is largely academic.
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  9. Yeah, Cambodian farmland might be a good investment. But $250K for one of their passports is not.
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  10. If I ever become a Russian oligarch, I may become interested in this.
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  11. Yes; plus... money for wars; don't forget about the wars.
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  12. If the socialists (or the "Democratic Socialists") ever get control of the US government, Andrew Henderson will get more business than he'll be able to handle.
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  13. Any country that develops an "eat the rich" mentality is going to pay a price for that.
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  14. "Strike while the iron's hot".
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  15. If the taxman doesn't get you, the inflation genie will (or maybe both of them working together).
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  16. Yeah, sometimes I think about renouncing my citizenship, and then living in California as an illegal alien. As a "foreigner" (at least on paper) living in the US, I could retain my brokerage accounts, and then pay no capital gains taxes; I could have a California driver's license; I could even vote in US elections. On top of that, Biden is probably going to legalize all the illegal aliens, so I could get my citizenship back... and then renounce a second time if I wanted to.
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  17. Two issues: A) does the wealth tax apply to people who spend less than 180 days in Colombia; and B) if a person keeps 99% of his assets outside of Colombia, how is the government going to figure out who owns what assets... in foreign countries?
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  18. Brexit is good. I've never liked the idea of unelected bureaucrats in Brussels dictating to the plebes how much tax they should have to pay, and how they must live their lives. Better to have elected politicians do it... politicians who can be removed from Office by the voters.
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  19. I recall the movie "Die Hard" in which Hans Gruber tried to get at the $640 million in bearer bonds that were located inside the vault at Nakatomi Plaza.
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  20. If Peter Schiff were commenting, he'd point out that, over the last two years, the price of citizenship in St. Lucia has declined from 81 ounces of gold to 51 ounces of gold.... a 37% reduction in price.
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  21. In a related vein, Justin Trudeau issued a statement a few days ago saying that a Canadian trucker could "lose his ability to travel internationally" if he didn't stop participating in the protest.
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  22. I believe it's the case that if a US citizen has a brokerage account (in the US), and then renounces his US citizenship, the renunciation of his US citizenship is effective to eliminate his tax obligation on capital gains that are subsequently realized within his brokerage account. Or, to put it another way, I'm pretty sure that the IRS welcomes investment capital from foreigners, and doesn't try to "punish" them by taxing capital gains that are realized within their US-domiciled brokerage accounts.
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  23. The Turkish citizenship-by-investment in real estate is quite intriguing. The question would be that of how easy it would be to find a competent, reputable, honest property manager to manage the property.
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  24. Income tax in Montenegro is 9%... up to an income of about $10,600 per year; above which the tax is 11%. The municipalities impose an additional tax of 15%. Still good, but not extraordinary.
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  25. I think he likes to spread his wealth around in different countries.
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  26. For me, the benefits of US citizenship outweigh the costs. HOWEVER, I'm not at all convinced that it'll always be that way. Change is coming to the US; and it won't necessarily be good.
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  27. I'm curious about how many people are actually paying this amount of money for citizenship.
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  28. That's certainly true for residents of California. But if a resident of California wanted to move to, say, Panama, he could have (first) just rented an apartment in Nevada for a month or two... and then gotten a Nevada driver's license. That would have made him a legal resident of Nevada, without ever having to spend any time in the state. As another example, it's possible to become a resident of South Dakota after having spent a mere 24 hours in the state.
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  29. It's not just about the skills of the workers, it's also about the propensity for (frivolous) litigation in the US; and all of the costly and burdensome regulations in the US as well.
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  30. I'm hoping that a few of the BRICS-allied countries will decide that they don't need/want to comply with FATCA.
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  31. It's often said that the number of people who renounce US citizenship is very small (relative to the US population); but I would counter this with the question: in what other country do the number of renunciations come REMOTELY CLOSE to what they are for the US (relative to population)...?
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  32. One of the best videos yet.
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  33. This video actually helps to make the case for getting a CBI sooner rather than later. A person could, at a given point in time, be in good health, have no involvement in any civil litigation, be free of any allegations of criminal wrongdoing; and have suffered no rejection of a visa application. But the reality is that, in life, sh*t happens. And sh*t can happen to "good" people. So a person may be eyeing a CBI program thinking that he can just wait until he needs it. But what if he later develops a serious chronic illness? What if he gets drawn into civil litigation? What if....? And even applying for... and then getting rejected by.... a CBI program can provide information that is, in and of itself, of some value.
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  34. Breaking up the US into three countries would be a GOOD thing in many ways.
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  35. His multiple citizenships came in handy.
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  36. In the US, politicians on the left want to chase away the high-earners (i.e., chase them away with high taxes), while letting in impoverished, unskilled illegal aliens.
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  37. @oneswipelifestyle7587  the wealth tax in Colombia is certainly going to harm people who have large real estate holdings ... in Colombia. But for a wealthy foreigner contemplating a move to Colombia, it just seems that he has nothing to fear from the wealth tax, because the Colombian government will have no way of knowing what his assets are outside of Colombia.
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  38. There's one other asset that one can own without having to report, and that would be cryptocurrency. If a US citizen buys a crypto in his own name, and later sells that crypto (with a gain), he is obligated to report it to the IRS. But if the crypto is merely GIVEN to the US citizen, I don't think he really has to report it. So it would seem that a US citizen... call him "Mr. Smith".... could set up an offshore corporation, and pay himself a salary of $107K/year, and his wife a salary of $107K/yr; both of those would be reportable, but exempt from IRS taxation. And for amounts above that, Mr. Smith could form a partnership with a person who is NOT a US citizen; he could then pay that person unlimited amounts of money (using revenues from his corporation), and that person could use the money to buy gold and to put the gold in a vault in the name of Mr. Smith. Alternatively, the business partner of Mr. Smith could purchase cryptocurrency, and then give the cryptocurrency to Mr. Smith. Also, if Mr. Smith owned rental property outside of the US, he could set up a corporation in the name of his business partner (who, again, is not a US citizen). That corporation would be responsible for collecting rental income and managing the property. It would seem then, that Mr. Smith could own rental property without having to report it. Such strategies could be useful for reducing one's tax obligation "in the here and now". But in addition, Joe Biden has proposed to increase the estate tax by eliminating the "stepped up basis cost" provision of current estate law; he has proposed to force heirs of assets to pay capital gains tax on those assets WITHOUT the benefit of a stepped-up basis cost. So a US citizen could (if Biden gets his way) benefit his heirs by holding non-reportable assets outside the US.
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  39. Yes. Government backing of student loans (in the US) has caused universities to raise tuition prices to absurd levels. Similarly, government programs designed to encourage home ownership in the US (e.g., Fannie Mae, preferential treatment of capital gains, and tax deductibility of interest) has caused house prices to be much higher than they would have been without such programs. Government involvement in those markets hasn't necessarily improved matters.
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  40. Bitcoin cash may be quite good for small transactions. But that doesn't make it a superior "reserve asset".
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  41. Yeah, the European governments could very easily implement this; and almost everyone would pay. Of course, they might start off with a tax of 5%; but it wouldn't take long for that tax to rise to 10%, 12%, etc.
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  42. Not a bad idea to hold BOTH gold and bitcoin.
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  43. Of course, as Ben Franklin said (more than 225 years ago): "Where liberty dwells, there is my country"
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  44. Yeah... just visit Europe on a tourist visa.
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  45.  @Beachgirl1  Yes, a less intrusive government is better.
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  46. I'd probably take Argentinean citizenship if i could get it easily. That said, I've never set foot in the country.
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  47. Quote attributed to Thomas Paine: “My country is wherever liberty lives.”
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  48. Yeah, although quite a lot of people have no federal tax obligation at all; many in fact RECEIVE money from the IRS (e.g., the EITC benefits).
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  49. Turkey is quite intriguing. Over time, the economy will recover; the currency will rise... and in the meantime, one can obtain (via investment) a citizenship from a "real country". Still, if I were actually going to invest in property there, I'd want a competent (and honest) property management company to manage it.
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  50. "Democratic socialism" is just a way of "sugar-coating" the reality of socialism.... because it "sells" better to the voters.
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  51. Yeah, the IRS can impose pretty hefty penalties just for failing to submit a given IRS form, even if no tax is owed.
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  52. That's PROBABLY true; although it is POSSIBLE that a few other countries would then "step into the fray" and offer CBI (or at least offer a much faster naturalization process in exchange for money; a country like Paraguay, for example, could offer citizenship in exchange for $100,000 and 9 months of residency, and an easy-to-pass language test).
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  53. In nearly all of the big cities throughout the world, there's lots and lots of government controls. If freedom is your priority, you'll have to seek out rural areas; preferably rural areas in small countries with even smaller governments.
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  54. Not much to disagree with there. I'm reminded of the quote by Ernest Hemingway (The Sun Also Rises): “How did you go bankrupt? Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”
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  55. It's not just the virus itself that is at issue; it's also the tyrannical response of some governments to it.
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  56. If they were to cut the price of their passport in half, I'd buy one TODAY.
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  57. Just today, Senator Elizabeth Warren announced that she wants to impose, not only a tax on assets (of very wealthy people), but also, a hefty TAX ON PERSONS WHO ARE TRYING TO RENOUNCE their US citizenship. If the left gets control of the US government, we can expect to see more of this over time.
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  58. "FUBAR" is another acronym that's out there (effed up beyond all recognition)
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  59. Also, a Chilean passport would be very nice to have.
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  60. The people who subscribe to left-wing ideology will never understand that fully ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of all costs imposed ... by government...on business (the costs being both taxes and regulations) are BORN BY INDIVIDUALS. Every last penny of it.
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  61. Way too expensive.
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  62.  Independent Thinker  There will probably always be small, low-tax countries that leave their residents alone.
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  63. From what I've heard, US public schools have become political indoctrination centers.
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  64. I largely agree...except perhaps in the case where one is an employee of a company that provides matching funds within a 401K (and which company, at the same time, provides acceptable investment options).
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  65. If Comoros Islands citizenship were still available for $50K, I'd buy it... IMMEDIATELY.
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  66.  @NickDemski  But the tax system in Uruguay appears to be more favorable than that in Columbia; Uruguay has a territorial tax system, whereas Colombia taxes worldwide income. So paying twice as much for an apartment in Uruguay could be well worth it.
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  67. Rush Limbaugh has said that after he moved from NY to Florida, the tax authorities in NY hounded him.... FOR YEARS after the move.
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  68. Yeah, I think that the US may be headed for mediocrity as a nation. Too much of a "gimmee my free stuff" attitude; that... combined with the enormous levels of debt... and the $200 trillion in unfunded liabilities... means that the US is likely to become less prosperous in the future than it has been in the past.
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  69.  @ib9511  Yes; and the other attractive attribute about Turkey is that they give you Turkish citizenship just for buying a house. The country of St. Kitts, for example, offers the same deal; but St. Kitts is an extremely boring place, and moreover has minimal healthcare facilities.
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  70. As I heard one tax adviser explain it, there are three categories of states (from the perspective of expats): the good, the bad, and the ugly. The sole member of the "ugly" category is California.
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  71. The ban on evictions (i.e., eviction for failure to pay rent) was disturbing.
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  72. Roger Ver has said that a lot of merchants in that country accept bitcoin cash... which could be a way for people to avoid having to sell crypto for fiat; they can just use the crypto directly.
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  73. Absolutely. If you have no interest in spending time in the US (apart from short visits), then give up your US citizenship.
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  74. Smart dad.
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  75.  @mrmc2465  Indeed. One cannot be a "libertarian" if he wants the government to tax and regulate all economic activity.
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  76. If the socialists ever get control of the US government, and if they then try to turn the US into a Venezuelan paradise, wealthy people will begin giving up their citizenship.
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  77. Good weather & lots of nice beaches.
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  78. Sure, I'd love to have Mexican citizenship. But at this point in my life... if I had the opportunity to exchange my US citizenship for Mexican citizenship, I wouldn't do it.
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  79. Dead people vote.... all the time; they SHOULD be taxed.
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  80. One doesn't need UAE citizenship in order to be a legal resident there.
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  81. So the US is at 38. I think that, in the future, it's got nowhere to go but down, given that taxes in the US have nowhere to go but up.
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  82. Why not just get a passport from St. Lucia, or from Antigua, and then get legal residency/tax residency in the Bahamas?
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  83. Relatively easy to get a residence permit in Georgia; in addition, foreign-source personal income in Georgia is tax-exempt.
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  84. Caymans
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  85. “[a country like Canada or Switzerland is an] overrated, overpriced brand name... living off the fumes of an era that no longer exists”. Yes. And economic/social/political problems stemming from unfunded liabilities and a high tax burden may render the “developed countries” even less desirable as the populations of those countries age. https://bit.ly/2BHMaLU
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  86. Not under current law. But who knows how the law may be changed in the future.
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  87. Still, for many people, New Hampshire is "dirt cheap" compared to California.
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  88. "$130,000 to buy the tip of a missile". LOL
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  89. The nightmare scenario (for crypto investors in the US) would be that the government does the following: (a) puts in place a "FATCA-type" law for crypto... meaning that all crypto holders would have to declare their crypto assets every year or face severe penalties, and (b) the government would use "mark to market" accounting when assessing one's tax obligation... meaning that crypto holders would have to pay taxes on unrealized gains every single year.
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  90. It's hard for me to believe this wealth tax will actually happen (in the US); I'm thinking it's all about political posturing... for the next election. But if it actually DOES happen, it'll induce an exodus of wealthy people out of the US... not only those directly targeted at the outset, but those who would BECOME targeted (later) as the threshold for taxation were inevitably lowered.
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  91. crypto also.
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  92. The US government could seek extradition of a US citizen who has a large tax obligation; or instead of outright extradition, the US government might be able to convince a foreign government to freeze the bank accounts of the US citizen who owes back taxes. The only way to really get out from under the control of the IRS is to renounce US citizenship.
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  93.  @oskar6607  Point is, there may be a benefit.... from a tax perspective.... for Americans to purchase farmland in foreign countries... ESPECIALLY if Biden dramatically increases the "death tax", as he has proposed to do.
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  94. The other situation that may be coming to the US is negative interest rates.... negative interest rates coupled with penalties for cash hoarding.
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  95. The loan isn't taxable. But bear in mind that, at some point, there's going to be a big, bad bear market in crypto; bitcoin could potentially drop 70% or more. That's not a problem for people who are simply "hodling", without having to pay interest. But if you've got to pay 10% interest on the loan during a bear market, it'll test your resolve.
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  96. the level of taxation of cigarettes is often a useful barometer of the attitudes of politicians.... attitudes with respect to taxes per se, but also with respect to the extent to which they embrace a "nanny state" mentality.
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  97. I've been putting in some effort over the last two years to learn Spanish... with the idea that I could spend time.... maybe a lot of time.... in Mexico, or some other Latin American country.
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  98. If there's a divorce, and the judge finds out that there were unreported assets (of significance), he could potentially toss out the entire prenup.
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  99. Yes, given the high levels of government debt around the world.... and the unfunded liabilities... I'm surprised that more governments don't try to tax (their) citizens who are residing in foreign countries.
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  100.  @patienceisalpha  That does raise an interesting legal question.
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  101.  @Bonanzaking  If you're a US citizen, and you're living in Portugal, you're obligated to report your crypto gains to the US government. That said, you MIGHT be able to get away with not reporting your gains, as long as you never have more than $10,000 US dollars in your Portuguese bank account at any given moment. (PROBABLY no one in Portugal will "rat you out" to the IRS, but you never know).
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  102.  @747-pilot  "you will have to spend at least a good 6 to 8 months in your new state". I agree that a person who wants to "shed" his California residency, and replace it with Nevada residency, will have to completely eliminate all legal and financial ties to California; but once he's done that, and... in addition.... obtained the Nevada license and Nevada car registration, I think he could, at that point, go ahead and move to another country without his residency reverting to California. [That said, it wouldn't hurt for the person to continue using a mail-forwarding service for several months so that, in the eyes of the Post Office, he's still a resident of Nevada].
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  103. And if Biden gets his way, your heirs will be "punished" when you die (via the tax code, I mean).
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  104. Yes, he's been predicting a Biden win since March, although he has never invoked the word "fraud" or "steal" in describing Biden's electoral prospects. (Maybe he just doesn't want to be inflammatory).
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  105.  @AmericanMayan  The US government has revoked passports because of failure to pay child support?
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  106. Is that good.... or bad? One could argue it either way.
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  107. Good video. Andrew talks about BANK accounts all the time.... but never about brokerage accounts.
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  108. Wealth tax? Bitcoin fixes this.
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  109.  @charlesmcdonald1465  I'm going to wait until at least 11/4/2020. And really, I could wait longer than that. "Control" of the government would require "control" of the Supreme Court.
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  110. "FEIE doesn't apply to capital gains" Strictly speaking, that's probably true. But if you own a corporation that is located in a foreign country (let's say British Virgin Islands, for example), and if that corporation holds a brokerage account, and if that brokerage account generates capital gains, you could pay yourself a salary of $106K per year (and you could pay your spouse a separate salary as well). And so the question at that point will NOT be whether capital gains can be shielded from taxation; rather, the question will be, can the SALARY be shielded from federal income taxes?
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  111. Indeed. I could renounce my citizenship, and then live in California as an illegal alien; I'd be able to vote, get free medical care, and probably get other freebies from the government.... AND, I wouldn't have to pay any federal income tax. The only downside would be that getting out of the US... and then back in again.... would be a hassle.
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  112. I lost all my crypto in a tragic boating accident. So sad.
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  113. Very useful and specific information there.
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  114. My bet is that the CBI program won't exist in Turkey in the year 2035. If the economy is doing well at that point, they won't have much motivation to give away citizenship so easily.
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  115. In that case, I would think that some wealthy Colombians will be selling some of their real estate.
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  116. In spite of the high taxes, US federal debt currently stands at $22 trillion... and growing; and that doesn't include unfunded liabilities, or debt at the state level. If the political left ever gets control of the government, their "solution" will be.... ....what else?..... HIGHER TAXES.
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  117. Peter Schiff in a nutshell: buy gold, sell bitcoin, and move to Puerto Rico.
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  118. If tyrants on the left ever begin to take hold of the US government, citizenship insurance will become a "must have".
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  119. No question that "cash is king" during a period of falling asset prices.
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  120. Good to know..... for those who might consider relinquishing their US citizenship.
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  121. Yeah, although in Europe, it seems that the people love to be ruled over by unelected bureaucrats in Brussels.
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  122. The two certainties in life: death and taxes. At least ONE of those can be mitigated.
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  123. "Geo-Arbitrage". Clever term. Trademark it.
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  124. That's me, an "option collector". But, I will act if one of a few circumstances presents itself.
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  125. I could see the point of eliminating 1031 exchanges if it were done in some sort of revenue-neutral way; for example, eliminate the 1031 exchange, but then limit the capital gains tax to 10%. Of course, revenue-neutrality is the LAST thing that Biden wants.
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  126. If I'm not mistaken, the government of Antigua & Barbuda offers an option to residents whereby they can be granted tax residency... and yet only have to spend a mere 30 days per year on the island. (Of course, those who avail themselves of this option must take steps to avoid becoming tax-resident somewhere else).
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  127. Yeah, my issue is that if large numbers of unskilled, indigent people are allowed to enter the US..... and if they are allowed to vote (in at least some of the states).... that's going to push the political center-of-gravity to the left; which means higher taxes and bigger government.
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  128. No brokerage accounts?
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  129. Yeah, if Argentina implements this tax, and if they get even 1/3 of what they're projecting, other countries will imitate it.
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  130. Taking the example of a guy who's earning $100K per month.... he'd have to give up his US citizenship in order to significantly reduce his federal tax obligation. But I think that it would be worth giving up his US citizenship in such a case, as long as he's confident that he'd be able to continue earning that income without being physically present in the US. (Or maybe there's a way around the "controlled foreign corporation" tax rules that I don't know about).
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  131. "It will be very expensive to just keep the passport" Only if you spend enough time in Turkey to be tax-resident. Probably a person could spend at least four months per year in that country without being tax resident
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  132. You guys make a good team, particularly where real estate is concerned.
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  133. I don't disagree with any of this. But what HAS happened in certain places is that the WEALTHY people left in response to the high taxes, leaving the not-so-wealthy to assume a greater share of the tax burden. For example, over a period of decades, the French government managed to chase out large numbers of wealthy people, and the middle class has remained in the country to assume the tax burden.
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  134. Oh darn; I was all ready to move to Antarctica... and now THIS.
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  135. Next time the Democrats get a three-House sweep, the US corporate tax rate will go up, up and up.
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  136.  @ALCAN52  Prop 13 helps those (of any age) who have owned the house for a long time... and it helps those who have inherited a house from their parents. But it doesn't help boomers who have only recently purchased a house in California. Any way you slice it, the resulting taxes are totally irrational. If it were up to me, I'd impose a statewide property tax at a rate of 0.5%, with the counties permitted (but not required) to add on another 0.2% tax. (And I'd make BIG changes to the income tax if I had the power to do that).
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  137. What about the case of someone who has a net worth of $5 million... and, about a year before renouncing, he takes $4 million of that and puts it in gold and cryptocurrency; and then upon renouncing, he "neglects" to tell the IRS about the gold and cryptocurrency. Of course, in order to buy all that gold and crypto, he'd have to go through the banking system, and the banks would have a record; indeed, the banks might even just inform the IRS at the time of the transaction, because it could be viewed as a "suspicious activity".
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  138.  @patienceisalpha  That does raise an interesting legal (tax) question.
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  139. The fee to renounce is about $2300. Then, you've got to pay taxes on unrealized capital gains (although the first $750K in unrealized gains is exempt); and you've got to pay taxes on you IRA accounts. That's about it, I think.
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  140. Yeah, I had a feeling that the Puerto Rican government would eventually become less generous (with Acts 20 & 22) over time.
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  141.  @billjefferson3092  The key word there being "apparently".
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  142. UNDER CURRENT RULES, the answer is an unequivocal "yes". The only question is whether the rules will be changed in the future. At some point, there's going to have to be an overhaul of the social security system (the US simply can't afford it), and at that point, they might decide to "shaft" people who gave up their US citizenship.
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  143. Under current law... YES, you're still entitled to benefits. The only thing is, at some point, there's going to have to be an overhaul of the laws and policies concerning social security (since the system is going to be totally broke in a few years); and it wouldn't shock me if they were to change the law to eliminate benefits for those (former) Americans who've renounced their citizenship.
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  144. I agree with every one of the points made in the video... but it is a question of time frame. I think that the political left will need to control 5 seats on the SCOTUS in order to make a federal tax on assets a reality. A federal tax on assets will probably happen sooner or later; but it'll probably take at least 5 years.
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  145. US citizenship beats Chilean citizenship for those who intend to have a location-based source of income; but for those who are able to achieve a location-INDEPENDENT source of income.... and who are able to achieve a lot OF it (income, that is)... Chilean citizenship could well be superior.
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  146. Yes; and there's also the "Reed Amendment" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_Amendment_(immigration)
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  147. US citizens have to report the bank account if they have more than $10,000 in the account at any point in time.
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  148. Yeah, the "unrealized capital gains tax" is one place where I would draw the line (never mind the wealth tax). At that point, the cost of US citizenship would definitely be too high.
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  149. Yeah, that was my question also. I'm pretty sure that US citizens are out of luck on this (although there may be an option for Americans who can set up a legitimate business in Puerto Rico, and also live there 6 months/year).
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  150. If the political left ever gets control of the US government (including the SCOTUS), they'll not only increase the tax burden, they'll "water down" gun rights to the point where it'll be very difficult to legally purchase (or carry) a gun.
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  151. The government can keep the people sedated by printing money, and doling it out.
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  152. Yes, "the rich will always be rich"; but at no time in human history have the socialists taken control of a country that imposes citizenship-based taxation. If the socialists ever get control of the US government, the wealthy may have to give up their US citizenship if they want to stay wealthy.
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  153. Do brokerage firms in Asia tend to be more willing to open a brokerage account for a US citizen than they are to open a bank account (for the same)...?
    4
  154. Yeah, when I re-entered the US after having been in one of the Latin American countries, the immigration agent asked my why I had gone to that country.
    4
  155.  @crocky69  On "DeFi", there's no record of the transaction. But if you do it on a centralized, "KYC exchange", and if the exchange sends a 1099 form to the IRS, then yes... you'll be obligated to pay a capital gains tax on that conversion.
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  156. Depends what you mean by "transferable". If you're referring to transfer upon death, one option would be to use a custodial service (such as Fidelity digital assets). The problem with that option is that you'll then be at the whims of the politicians.... with their various tax schemes. Alternatively, you could trust your heirs with the password to your wallet.
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  157. This will become more of an issue as the "cap" on income... income that is subject to social security tax.... increases. Currently, that cap is around $133K. The political left has made no secret of the fact that it wants to see that cap go quite a bit higher.
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  158. No; you'd still be eligible to receive social security benefits after you renounce (unless they change the law... which they might).
    4
  159. "Surfboard in your mother's basement". I'll have to remember to watch out for that one.
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  160. The next two years should be OK. But after that.... who knows.
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  161. Some cities in the US are quite "nanny state".
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  162. It's a mistake to conflate tax RATES with overall tax BURDEN.
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  163.  @qamarzahid  That only "begs the question". Anyway, I don't want to have to work for an employer... I've done enough of that.
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  164. Yet another example of "inflation".... not being reflected in the CPI.
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  165. Good information, especially for "option collectors".
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  166. If you're only going to spend two months per year in the US, it might be worth considering becoming a resident of a "no income tax" state; you could then rent an "Airbnb" house for the summer in Michigan.
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  167. Certainly, the more power the political left acquires in the US, the more the government will try to "redistribute the wealth". (To say nothing of attacks by the government on the 1st and 2nd Amendments).
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  168. I think that the political center of gravity in the US will be moving inexorably to the left in coming years; with that will come an ever higher tax burden. As that process unfolds, the cost of US citizenship will rise relative to the benefits.... at least for some people. And there's also the question of the point at which the US dollar will begin to lose its reserve currency status.... along with the question of how that will affect the costs and benefits of retaining US citizenship.
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  169.  @j.lizbardo  "citizenship by investment" costs a lot less in St. Lucia (and in Dominica) than it does in St. Kitts. As for how Caribbean citizenship might affect one's tax situation, that's only an issue for people who chose to reside in the Caribbean. I think the Caribbean citizenship has potential value, regardless of whether one lives in the Caribbean or not.
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  170. Whatever it is, it's not a CRYPTOcurrency; i.e., Zuckerberg will know everyone's identity, and will sell the information to the highest bidder (or he'll give it for free to politicians who share his ideology).
    4
  171. Singapore & Switzerland might be the best places for bank accounts, but what about gold storage ONLY...? It seems to me, there would be benefit to storing gold in a country that doesn't make it a policy to report gold storage to the US government.
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  172. And yet, don't you... "Nomad Dad".... still reside in the US....? Perhaps you should set an example by moving to another country.
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  173. As long as only 20,000 people per year are renouncing, the US government will just let them go. Even 50,000 per year. But if the number ever gets much higher than that, the US government could just increase the exit tax (to be a certain percentage of the person's assets, in addition to a tax on unrealized capital gains).
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  174. The US did go through an entire decade (in the 1970's) of stagflation. I think the US could be facing another similar decade; but the difference is that this time, the national debt will be orders of magnitude greater, as will the unfunded liabilities. Accordingly, getting out of the stagflationary period (the one that may be coming) will be far more difficult and painful than was the process of getting out of the 70's stagflation. So while I am optimistic about the LONG TERM prospects for the US, I think that Americans are going to be in for a rough ride for many years to come... potentially 10 years or so.
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  175. Very.
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  176. “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21)
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  177. For US citizens, the point of the 2nd passport is just to have the ability to "flip a switch" and turn off the US tax obligations.
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  178.  @nomadcapitalist  Intriguing.
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  179. I have no idea how much those guys pay in tax. But if Bezos simply holds on to his stock, and doesn't sell it, he'd only have to pay tax on his salary (Amazon doesn't pay a dividend on its stock). There is no federal tax on assets.
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  180. If you were to spend 27 weeks per year in the Bahamas, and 25 weeks per year in Mexico, that should make you tax resident in the Bahamas; PROVIDED that the Mexican government doesn't think that you're "working" (and earning money) while in Mexico (Mexico's criteria for assessing tax residency go beyond a simple physical residence test).
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  181.  @financialprivacy4425  Escaping French taxes is as simple as packing one's bags and moving somewhere else. In the US, one has to renounce citizenship.
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  182. Elizabeth Warren just came out with her tax plan. If she were to win the Presidential election, and if she were actually able to implement her tax plan and her healthcare plan, the case for renouncing citizenship would become compelling.
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  183. Here's Jim Rogers saying (about 25 seconds in) that "having only one passport could be very dangerous [in the future]": https://youtu.be/p-Qm-5-Q8rs
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  184. I would happily accept a 25% national sales tax (in the US) in exchange for elimination of the federal income tax.
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  185. There's also a 27% VAT tax in Hungary; also, this website implies that the social security tax rate (employer + employee contribution) is 35%: https://bit.ly/37CqFea
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  186.  @DanTheQueasy-Fisherman  Depends what you mean by "illegal". I think it's unlikely that the US government will get to the point where it is actually putting people in prison merely for owning bitcoin. But if the US government ever does get to that point, it'll be because it has otherwise become highly tyrannical and despotic.... in which case, the decision about whether to own cryptocurrency would be the least of everyone's concerns.
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  187. Even someone making $100K per year could potentially save a few bucks by living in another country and filing under the FEIE (foreign earned income exclusion).
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  188. The politicians in high-tax countries aren't going to like this; they're going to put pressure on these countries to refrain from being tax havens.... or even semi-havens.
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  189. There are also payroll taxes to watch out for.
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  190. George and Andrew have done a few videos together.
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  191. Yeah, there's no way that the US government will ever change the laws to eliminate citizenship-based taxation. And on another point, if/when inflation begins to take off, those who have capital to invest are really going to be punished for having US citizenship, since capital gains will be taxed on "phantom" gains that are due solely to inflation. Meanwhile, those who have citizenship of ANY OTHER COUNTRY have the option of avoiding capital gains taxes altogether.
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  192. You'd be able to convert from bitcoin to dollars... without the US government finding out about it.
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  193. Some good information there.
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  194. Depends what you mean by “freedom”. Heritage.org discusses the issue of economic freedom here: https://www.heritage.org/index/about It ranks the United States #12 in the world. Insofar as taxes are concerned, the argument could be made that the US is the least free country in the entire world, as a consequence of its “citizenship based” tax system.
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  195.  @supermonk3y07  I know... BUT, if your goal is to establish residency in a given US state... and to THEN live in a foreign country, residency in Texas would be perfectly OK. One could just rent an apartment there (and, of course, if the stay outside the US were to be very lengthy, one could just stop paying rent in Texas altogether).
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  196.  @maverickcapitalist1  I'm not sure exactly what you're getting at, but it seems to me that the only people who should consider renouncing are those who are able to generate a good income without having to be physically present in the US. If a person has assets having a large value ($10-20 million, let's say), he COULD, if he wanted to, invest it in such a way that it would throw off only small amounts in capital gains and/or dividends and/or rental income. In such a case.... and given tax laws as they are..... there would little benefit in renouncing. On the other hand, if he WANTS to invest or trade so as to throw off a large amount of capital gains...... or if the tax laws of the US were to become highly unfavorable for those who have capital.... then renunciation could make financial sense.
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  197.  @bodyloverz30  As I posted in an earlier comment, I don't understand the "ins and outs" of the laws of territorial tax countries. I'm pretty sure that some of them impose a tax on remittances; so if you take money out of an offshore company (and import it into your country of residence), you might have to pay tax on it. And if you DON'T take the money out, the IRS will tax your corporate profits. You shouldn't be too certain that you know what a given government will regard as "foreign-sourced income", absent consultation with a tax expert.
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  198. I've heard it said that "the B students" tend to be the most successful (which is actually not surprising to me).
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  199. I believe so. If you have a residence permit in a zero-tax country, I believe that you could spend as much as 5 months per year in the US, and still take advantage of the FEIE (foreign earned income exclusion). So you could set up a corporation in a country that imposes no income tax or corporate tax; and then pay yourself a salary of $107K in the zero-tax country that you're going to be a resident of (you could also pay your spouse a salary of $107K tax-free). You'd have to live in the zero-tax country for 7 months per year.
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  200. If that's really true, then there might be almost as much of a motivation for an Australian to renounce his citizenship as it is for some Americans (to renounce their citizenship).
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  201. @Philip Alexander The tax situation in PR is quite good for US citizens.
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  202.  @peppersghosttheater  "If people want to come then pay the fee". My answer to that would be a resounding "NO". Because there ARE ways of avoiding some of the taxes that Spain imposes (or that any other country imposes). What the politicians are saying to people in any given case is "if you want to reside in such-and-such tax jurisdiction for 'X' period of time, you have to pay a tax; but if you don't want to pay the tax, then either limit your time, or reside in a different jurisdiction". And so as long as a given person is complying with the tax laws, he has no moral obligation to remain within "the tax net"; he has every right... not just legally, but morally.... to take whatever steps are necessary to stay out of the tax net. The simplest way to avoid taxes in Spain (while still enjoying some of its benefits) is to just go there on a tourist visa... stay three months.... and then leave. But, of course, there are more complicated strategies as well.
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  203. There is the EB-5 immigrant investor program. I don't know the details, but if you've got money, it would probably be pretty easy to get a green card.
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  204. Under current law (in the US), borrowing against crypto doesn't trigger a tax obligation.
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  205. 7:20: "Things can change in a hurry". 8:13: "if something happens to the United States... have a plan B..." Yes. There are powerful forces at work that could eventually cause enormous political, economic and social upheaval in the US. History is replete with examples of countries that underwent radical transformations.... and not for the better.
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  206. Illuminating.
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  207. If you have US citizenship.... and you want to keep it.... Puerto Rico is probably your best bet.
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  208. If Biden wins the White House, but the GOP retains the senate, I doubt we'll see any big tax increases. But yes; a three-House sweep by the Dems will mean higher taxes for sure.
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  209. Not hard to find them on Youtube. For example, type in "puerto rico and act 20" (or "puerto rico and act 22") in the search query box, and a lot of videos come up.
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  210. There are the "rising countries"... and there are the "declining countries". It's increasingly looking as if the US is in the latter category.
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  211. IRS has the power to seize assets.
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  212. If you're a dual citizen of the US and St. Lucia, they've got to report your bank account to the US government.
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  213. Have to add: ease of getting a residence permit.
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  214.  Khay McBride  Yeah; the countries of Central America have territorial tax systems.... which could be a great option for many people (though it doesn't hurt to know a little Spanish).
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  215.  @maverick5646  Hell YES, US citizens have to pay capital gains taxes. The tax is 15% on amounts up to $200K; 19% on amounts above $200K, and 24% on amounts above $441K (In citing these numbers, I have applied the "Obamacare" tax where applicable). And that's for positions that are held for at least one year. For positions held LESS than a year, the tax burden can be quite a bit higher. Furthermore, Joe Biden wants to INCREASE the capital gains tax. And so, as I posted in my initial comment, a US citizen who has significant investment capital can significantly lower his tax burden by renouncing his citizenship; although in some cases he may be able to benefit from the FEIE (foreign earned income exclusion) without having to renounce.
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  216. It often pays to "think outside the box".
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  217. True. And in some states, like California, it's easy to maintain residence.... to get a bank account.... and a driver's license... and even to vote.... without ever obtaining a visa or green card.
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  218. Interesting.
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  219. Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world.
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  220.  @shotelco  Important to distinguish the MARGINAL tax rate from the overall effective tax rate. Incentives are determined at the margin.
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  221. Trump won't raise taxes; he'll just devalue the dollar (as will Biden).
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  222. One of my concerns is that, at some point in the future, the US will go through a period of inflation that is even worse than what occurred during the 1970's. If that were to happen, it would be easy enough to hedge against that.... ON A PRE-TAX BASIS.... by investing in tangible assets. But what about on an AFTER-TAX basis? One of the nightmare scenarios is that the political left gets control of the US government; they then raise the capital gains tax rate to 40%; they then appoint a guy to head the Federal Reserve with instructions to devalue the US dollar at a rapid rate (e.g., 15-20%... in the hopes of "stimulating" the economy). Under that scenario, an investment in precious metals or commodities would do just fine on a PRE-TAX basis, but there would likely be significant losses on an after-tax basis. Under such a scenario, people (outside the US) who are not under the control of the IRS would have an enormous advantage over those who ARE under the control of the IRS (i.e., US citizens).
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  223.  @YungMono0  P2P is fine for small amounts. But if you sell a large amount of crypto on a P2P exchange, you'll wind up with a large deposit (electronic funds transfer) in your bank account (or fintech account). If the amount is large enough, FinCEN will know about it.
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  224. Nice interview.
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  225.  @ninozah  Citizenship-based taxation.... or lack thereof
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  226. A person can avoid paying off a student loan merely by moving to another country (and staying there); there's no need for him to give up his citizenship in order to avoid paying off the loan.
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  227. There's a big, big difference between a situation where property taxes are rising.... while the tax RATE remains constant..... and a situation where property taxes are rising at least in part because of an increase in the tax RATE. One of those is a "good" problem to have; the other one isn't.
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  228. One thing I've wondered about is, what happens if a US citizen is married to another US citizen, and ONE of the two marriage partners renounces his/her citizenship.... might it then be easier to (at least) get a green card later, as a consequence of being married to a US citizen? I would think the answer is in the affirmative. And, as mentioned in the video, there is the option of an E-2 or E-5 visa; and of course, after renouncing US citizenship, one can generally obtain a multiple-entry visa. My point being that while it may well be true that once US citizenship is renounced, it's difficult to get it back; but the fact of that is separate and apart from the fact that subsequent to renouncing US citizenship it's still possible to spend a lot of time in the US (even if regaining that citizenship is not easy).
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  229.  @petersmith2040  Yes; also, some have been cancelled (e.g., Moldova, Belize and Cyprus); in other cases the price has been raised (Malta, I believe).
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  230. In the US, the vast majority of spending (at the federal level) is entitlements & defense.
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  231. It would be fine to own a company that is domiciled in Hong Kong; or to have some money in an account at a Hong Kong bank, but I wouldn't invest in Hong Kong real estate at current prices.
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  232.  @Patrick_in_Korea  Gold & crypto... both.
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  233.  @Patrick_in_Korea  "Uncle Joe and Comrade Kamala will be all over those Coinbase transactions" Well, you see... I bought a lot of crypto, and took it off the exchange; but then... sadly.... I lost it all in a boating accident.
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  234. If you buy bitcoin on an exchange, you can use a limit order to purchase it.
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  235.  @BossChronicles  Yeah, there's no real "escape" from the IRS.... short of renouncing US citizenship.
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  236. At the very least, the Silicon Valley tech companies should move to Texas (and some of them do). It's silly to pay all those taxes in California.
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  237. Of course, one could buy a house in Detroit, Michigan for 6,000 Euros as well.
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  238. I think the US healthcare system is OK as it is; but if the political left gets control of the government, they'll eliminate the current system, and replace it with a single-payer system. That'll mean lower quality, and longer wait times for medical procedures.
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  239. Spain also imposes a tax on assets.... various assets in addition to real estate; although the rules are somewhat complicated, and the rules vary from city to city within Spain.
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  240.  @amir5593  Does Guatemala allow dual citizenship?
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  241. Citizenship obtained by CIB is only good for 10 years (in most or all cases); yes, it's like a "call option", but one must still have a reasonable expectation of exercising that call option in order to justify the "premium" paid on that call option.
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  242. According to what Andrew Henderson has said on many occasions, that isn't true. He has said that it IS indeed possible for an Australian citizen to escape the Australian tax system... but it requires severing EVERY LAST VESTIGE of financial and legal ties to the country (not even "a surfboard in your mother's basement", as he put it).
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  243. Certainly, the far left in the US has a rather condescending attitude towards white people (especially white heterosexual males).
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  244. I think that part of the answer is that it's not ONLY a question of how things look to the politicians of the country that is granting the citizenship.... but ALSO to the governments of the various countries (100 or so) that is granting visa-free access to citizens of that country. I don't think that Europeans, for example, want a bunch of "sleazeballs" getting citizenship from the Caribbean, and then using the passports thus obtained to go to Europe to hang out.
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  245.  @brianmarshall3931  funny
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  246. Indeed. Liberalism is a mental disorder.
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  247. No guarantees; but it wouldn't happen suddenly... it would happen only after social spending (free stuff) had been increased to high levels for many years. The point being a resident there could see it coming... over a period of many years.... and have plenty of time to get out.
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  248.  @Ban00  If the government of Paraguay were to offer a passport for $100K, it would "sell like hotcakes".
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  249. Some politicians in India are talking openly about moving to a citizenship-based taxation system.
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  250. US citizens who reside in a foreign country can exclude $106K (per year) from federal taxation. https://bit.ly/2qXXBgK FICA taxes still have to be paid, however.
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  251.  @raybod1775  There's no disagreement between us on the matter of airline bailouts.
    3
  252. Thomas Jefferson, 1787: "what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? ...The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants" I think that, in the present day, the US government can only become more tyrannical.... not less so.... absent a violent revolution.
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  253. Yes; but worse: global governance. A world that is governed by unaccountable bureaucrats who cannot be dislodged via the electoral process.
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  254. No; as I understand it, the government there is pretty strict about requiring a full five years of residency (6 months per year for the 5 years).
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  255. Raising taxes on real estate (property tax, or real estate sales tax) seems to be a popular pastime among politicians. They did it in Chicago.... suddenly and with little notice.... and they're about to institute a "mansion tax" in NY City. These taxes are.... in effect... retroactive.
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  256. Yes; although very few of them will be in the 13% tax bracket.
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  257. Yeah, I highly doubt there'll be any reduction in the "base price" of CBI programs. The only way that that could even become a possibility would be if several countries.... not currently offering CBI.... decide to jump into the fray; and I don't see that as likely.
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  258. Yeah, if there's a global recession (which appears to be increasingly likely).
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  259. There are a few countries in Latin America that make it relatively easy.
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  260. Taking a long view of history, one is tempted to include that free societies eventually move in the direction of tyranny.... at least "soft tyranny".
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  261.  @bebop54  this is the $64 trillion question. I think that the US dollar holds up pretty well in the forex markets for at least another year... maybe two; and the Swiss franc will probably not move that much relative to USD during that time. I think the more important question is how the dollar moves relative to gold; relative to oil; and relative to other commodities. I think your're much better off in gold than either USD or CHF; silver is another place to put money (and possibly bitcoin). If you like to hold currencies, a long AUD position against the Yen could become profitable once inflation begins to rise.
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  262.  @stevesinglenomad5683  California and Virginia are "tax friendly" for US citizens who want to go live in a foreign country? No way.
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  263. If the communists take over.... and I think they might.... then yes. A LOT of wealthy people moved out of France over the years due to the wealth tax there.
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  264. Two points: (a) it's not in the interest of the citizens of the US to allow unfettered immigration, i.e., to allow any person from anywhere in the world to enter the US and to be given legal status, and (b) it's not in the interest of the US to allow China to steal US intellectual property, nor is it in the interest of the US to tolerate "forced technology transfer" by the Chinese government.
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  265. Yes... but it's for a residence permit; however, that permit that will lead to citizenship if you put in the requisite residence time (and can demonstrate proficiency in Spanish).
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  266. Yeah, it could be a bit risky for a person to have a Caribbean citizenship as his "one and only" citizenship.
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  267. Not a territorial tax system.
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  268. In countries where the economy is heavily dependent on manufacturing, only a small fraction of the population will be able to work remotely. But that situation can be exploited by people who invest in real estate in the big cities of such countries.
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  269. Fix things in the US....? Not much chance of that.
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  270. Eritrea, not Ethiopia.
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  271.  @alphaleo7025  Don't count on the Panamanian government giving you citizenship... even after 10 years of living there.
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  272.  @DanTheQueasy-Fisherman  The US government will eventually adopt a CBDC; I don't doubt that. Potentially, it'll be "programmable money"; but also a vehicle by which the government can spy on people. As such, there'll continue to be demand for privately produced digital currencies that are not under government control.
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  273. Yeah, the government of NY state... and the government of NY City... treated Trump pretty badly.
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  274. The water looks inviting.
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  275.  nazsmith  To where?
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  276. This answers questions that I've had for some time.
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  277. The "best" to have.... or the "best" in terms of the process (and cost) of obtaining it?
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  278.  @Crusder1000  Grenada is OK; citizenship there does cost somewhat more than is the case with Dominica or St. Lucia.
    3
  279. Yes; as a consequence of all this debt creation by the US Treasury.... and the debt monetization by the Fed.... there'll be some combination of higher taxes and higher inflation in future years. Neither of those will be good for US citizens who have capital to invest.
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  280. Another statistic: Debt-to-GDP for the US is 120%.... whereas for Mexico its only 45%.
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  281. I thought the Maltese CBI was too expensive to begin with. Now it's really absurd. Nevertheless, the politics of the situation is somewhat interesting.
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  282.  @QuantumNoir  Yeah, I get SuperHolly's Twitter feed; and I've watched many videos of the other three that you listed.
    2
  283.  @chrisgiles5653  I don't know the answer exactly, but as a general proposition, there tends to be a correlation between temperature and ozone levels (with higher temperature resulting in more ozone production).
    2
  284. Given all the debt and the unfunded liabilities (and the Fed balance sheet), the US dollar could... at some point... go into a long period of decline (relative to commodities & other currencies). Were that to happen, the only way to preserve wealth on a pre-tax basis would be to hold tangible assets. But those assets would be subject to capital gains taxes upon selling. So a "nomad capitalist" would have an advantage over a US citizen if he were able to eliminate, or sharply reduce, his capital gains tax obligation.
    2
  285.  @brainymagnet  No way the US dollar retains its reserve currency status for another 50 years; nothing close to that.
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  286. Bitcoin fixes this.
    2
  287. Peter Schiff, Jim Rogers and Jim Rickards all say that the price of bitcoin will eventually go to zero. I actually lean towards the bullish side on bitcoin, at least on the time scale of the next 5 years; although I think that gold and/or silver and/or gold mining stocks will outperform.
    2
  288. Heidi? My guess is that nothing less than a zero tax on crypto.... coupled with an end to citizenship-based taxation.... would do it for her.
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  289. Yeah.... ALTHOUGH, there's the whole question of how members of Congress may have "monetized" their position in writing tax legislation... and to the extent that THAT may have been legal.
    2
  290.  @KennethITGuru  If it's just a "business arrangement", then it IS illegal in many countries... and SHOULD be illegal, particularly in those countries that offer a lot of entitlements.
    2
  291.  @The7dioses  For those who want a 2nd citizenship, the ease of obtaining such is a big factor. From what I can gather.... and putting aside all of the "citizenship by investment" options... it's easier to obtain citizenship in Argentina than it is in many other countries. And of course, once you've obtained the citizenship, you don't have to live there.
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  292.  @bodyloverz30  Depends on one's federal tax obligation. Mine isn't nearly high enough to justify renouncing. Regarding the FEIE, one can exclude $107K from federal taxation.... and that's great if you're living in a country with no income tax; but I don't understand the tax laws of territorial tax countries well enough to know how easy it is for US citizens to avoid taxation by the host country (when the host country is a territorial tax country like Panama).
    2
  293.  @bodyloverz30  Which ones of those would YOU want to live in (other than Monaco, which is absurdly expensive)...?
    2
  294. ¿hablas español muy bien?
    2
  295.  @baratobarato5056  Yes; and the corollary is that a government that is corrupt but small beats a government that is large and corrupt any day.
    2
  296. The process for getting Argentinian citizenship doesn't look onerous at all (e.g., demonstrate pension income of at least 30,000 Argentine Pesos, or invest 30,000 Pesos in a business), although from what I can gather, CONTINUOUS RESIDENCE is required for two years. Apart from that, the process (and the passport) appear to be desirable. Nevertheless, Mexico would be better for those who are not in a hurry; less residence time is required, and it doesn't have to be continuous.
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  297.  @ReplicantTrades  If you swap out your crypto for a stablecoin, you are obligated to pay tax to the IRS at that point. That said, if the IRS never receives a 1099 (tax form) for the transaction, you could "take your chances" if you want to go that way. OTOH, if you have put a significant amount of money into crypto, FinCen will probably know that you've done that.... even if they don't know how large your capital gain is.
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  298.  @ReplicantTrades  Yeah, 6% is way too high.
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  299. Buying raw land in an emerging market might also be a way for a US citizen to "park" his money somewhere without having to report it to the IRS.
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  300. "its very hard for US persons to give up". Patriotism is one thing; but having to renounce citizenship in order to escape taxation is quite another.
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  301.  @jon8864  I've been to El Salvador a few times; and I know a few people there. If and when bitcoin becomes widely accepted as a method of payment, I'd be inclined to spend more time & money there. [The way it looks now is that the US government is going to try to make it MORE difficult to spend bitcoin without paying capital gains taxes; and so it might make sense to spend the bitcoin in countries that welcome it].
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  302. At the state level, voters will usually vote for higher taxes if the higher taxes are accompanied by a promise from the politicians that the money will be used for "infrastructure". The idiot voters fall for it almost every time.
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  303. Shame is the least of it. If fraudulent elections are going to be "the new normal", tyranny is sure to follow.
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  304. As long as you avoid the wealth tax, it could make sense for you to live there.
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  305.  @peppersghosttheater  The wealth tax in Spain is within the range of 0.2% to 3.5%. Paying that for one year wouldn't matter, but over 10 years it WOULD matter.
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  306.  @peppersghosttheater  One other point: I have US citizenship; and if a wealth tax were ever imposed in the US, it's likely that I would renounce my US citizenship in response.
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  307.  @peppersghosttheater  OK then, I promise that I will stop causing problems.
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  308. Citizenship-based taxation was not a "temporary" measure; it comes from the 16th Amendment (together with a subsequent SCOTUS decision on the meaning of the 16th Amendment). "Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, FROM WHATEVER SOURCE DERIVED"
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  309. You can't fight city hall.
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  310. Depending on your income source, you might be able to take advantage of the FEIE (foreign earned income exclusion), since Uruguay has a territorial tax system. If you can run your income through a foreign corporation, then.... in theory.... you should be able to avoid taxation by the government of Uruguay, while at the same time shielding $108K/year of income from the IRS (and you may be able to shield as much as $216K/year from the IRS if you're married and filing a joint tax return).
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  311. OK then; you twisted my arm.
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  312.  @tentimetex  Of the people who purchase Caribbean citizenship, how many do you suppose actually end up becoming a resident of the Caribbean country where they have acquired the citizenship? I'd be surprised if it were even as much as 1%. I think that it's BECAUSE so few people relocate to the (Caribbean) country where they've acquired citizenship, that the governments of those countries are so willing to sell citizenship to begin with.
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  313.  @AmericanMayan  I think that the policy is that if a person owes more than $2500 in child support, the State Dept can refuse to issue a new passport; but it's unlikely that they would REVOKE a passport for that reason. (A driver's license is an entirely separate question)
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  314.  @bbpersonalpage1613  you know how Andrew Henderson would answer that question.
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  315. The website is taxnotes.com; and the title of the article might be the following (from 8/5/19): "IRS Pushes for Virtual Currency Transaction Tax Compliance" But you'll need a subscription in order to read it.
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  316.  @thedvxs6915  At a price of only $50K, it would be somewhat tempting, were it still available.
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  317. The issue isn't bitcoin per se (which could well go to zero), but rather, capital gains taxes and how best to avoid them
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  318. I don't know the answer, but if you were a tax resident in a country (at the time you finally realized the capital gains) that has a tax treaty with the US, they'd probably give you credit for the tax that you had already paid. Of course, the simplest option would be to just go ahead and realize the capital gains at about the same time that you renounce, thereby starting with "a clean slate" in the new country of residence.
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  319. Given the "political center of gravity" as it exists in the US today, given the makeup of the Supreme Court as it exists today, given the entitlement programs as they exist today, given the inflation rate as it exists today, given the laws (in general) of the US as they exist today, given the tax laws that exist today, and given the reserve currency status of the US dollar as it exists... I'm inclined to remain in the US. HOWEVER, I think that all of that is at risk. Any or all of those could change in a big way. And I am increasingly coming around to the idea of obtaining a 2nd citizenship (most likely from a Caribbean country).
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  320. The US is a good place to live... for people who have a location-based job (or business) and who have no interest acquiring a location-INDEPENDENT job (or business).
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  321. The question of "freedom of the press" is, IMO, intertwined with that of the power of the media companies. The political left has a near-monopoly on television media, and on print media (i.e., newspapers). The left does NOT have the upper hand when it comes to talk radio, however. As for the internet... Facebook, Youtube, Google, and Twitter do most definitely censor comments and videos (from the political right) that they don't like.
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  322. Do high taxes make "us" happier? "Us" is not a monolith. Under a progressive tax system, I would say YES.... those at the low end of the income scale ARE happier when OTHER PEOPLE are paying high taxes. But for those among the wealthiest 2%.... it's a mixed bag. Hollywood liberals, for example, LOVE high taxes.
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  323. Yes; the greater the wealth disparity becomes (in western countries), the greater is the likelihood that socialism will become transcendent.
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  324.  @jdhjimbo  I don't disagree with your comment. But one should also consider the role of the Fed in inflating asset prices; those who have capital have seen their wealth rise significantly, while those without capital have... at best.... treaded water. That wealth disparity creates envy on a grand scale.
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  325. What may “work” is spending 183 days (or more) in a TTC (territorial tax country). So, you would (a) set up a corporation in a country that imposes no taxes on corporations; (b) you would establish a forex account in the name of the corporation; and… (c) you would pay yourself a “salary” every year. You would then have to pay payroll tax on that “salary”; but the salary that you pay yourself would be… or could be… substantially less than the capital gains of your “corporation”. Of course, you’ve got to have a bank account also that will act as a conduit between yourself and the corporation. What could potentially go “wrong” here is that the government of the TTC (of which you are a resident) could potentially say that since all of the “work” is being done by you… and only you… within the TTC, you’ll have to pay taxes on 100% of the profits of the corporation… even though the corporation is located in another country. (They could revoke your residence permit if they’re unhappy with you). And so, depending on which TTC you choose to live in, the issue will become, not only that of what the official laws are... but also… the enforcement of those laws. My guess is that you could set up a corporation in, e.g., the Virgin Islands, and then find some guy there who is willing to claim (for a small fee) that he’s the guy doing the transactions, and then the government of the TTC would let it go at that. Ultimately, however, you’ll have to consult with a tax expert to be sure.
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  326. When it comes to the subject of taxation, the 1st question always has to be: are you a US citizen?
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  327. Given the income taxes and property taxes at the state level, one shouldn't be comparing "the United States" with Mexico; one should be doing a state-by-state comparison. For example, if one wants a low tax burden (at the state level), one could move to Nevada or South Dakota; but then the comparison has to be between Nevada and Mexico, or S. Dakota vs Mexico.
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  328.  @MrAsianman987  Yes; but Schiff ALSO said that if his father had merely refrained from paying his taxes.... but had kept quiet about it, he probably would have gotten away with it, and certainly would not have been sent to prison. And of course, Schiff advocates for being a resident of Puerto Rico in order to avoid US taxes.
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  329. Yeah, I've got one of those; but I'm still curious as to which other countries would allow me... as a US citizen... to open a brokerage account.
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  330. I suspect that that was the case with Roger Ver.
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  331. After renouncing, and then returning to the US, one could just live as an illegal alien in a "sanctuary city". Hell, in some states, an illegal alien/ex-US citizen could probably even vote.
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  332.  @santiagopuentep  I often think about it; if my tax burden is raised significantly from its current levels, and/or if the US government becomes a lot more tyrannical, I'll be prepared to move.
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  333.  @johnmcafee2751  "If an action is morally justified..." I don't see taxation as moral. And, as much as the globalists would love to see a "one world government" that imposes a tax on EVERY COUNTRY, I don't think we'll ever see it.
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  334.  @Jim_Curtis  maybe; but there are phony excuses one can give that will be sufficient.
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  335. From what I can gather, there is no capital gains tax on the sale of financial assets in Malaysia (there is, however, a capital gains tax on the sale of real estate). Whether or not that exemption (i.e., absence of a capital gains tax) would apply to Malaysian residents who "day trade" foreign stock markets, I'm not sure.
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  336. "Americans"....? Donald Trump doesn't speak for all Americans on this particular issue.
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  337. If the Dems ever "pack" the Supreme Court with radical leftists, then yes... a civil war will soon follow.
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  338. Yes; exempt from federal INCOME taxes (up to about $106K), but you may still have to pay PAYROLL taxes, depending on where your corporation is domiciled. If you own a company, and you're paying yourself as an employee, it's likely that you'll have to pay payroll taxes BOTH as an employee AND as an employer (however, it may be possible to avoid payroll taxes by incorporating the company in certain jurisdictions). Also, with regard to number of days per year that one has to remain outside the US, I think there are circumstances under which you can be in the US for as many as four months per year. I don't know the details, but it has to do with WHERE you've got a residence permit.
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  339. I'm interested in the tax angle on this. For example, if a person were to live in a low-tax country like Montenegro for 5 months of the year... but to then reside in, say, Mexico for 4 months of the year, and then Columbia for the remaining 3 months, would the Mexican and Colombian governments be willing to refrain from demanding income tax payments?
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  340. Supposedly Singapore is pretty strict about prohibiting a 2nd citizenship.
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  341. The information in this video answered some of the questions I've had (for some time) about IBC's.
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  342. Most likely the "stepped up basis cost" provision of the tax code would apply; and so if you renounced your citizenship soon after inheriting the assets within the trust, you would owe little or nothing to the IRS (at least with respect to the assets that had been held in the trust).
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  343. It's very difficult to find a person who'll take the other side of the argument.
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  344. კარგი პერსონალი
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  345.  @patriotpioneer  That's probably true; ALTHOUGH they'd start with a tax on assets FIRST, and only later go to outright confiscation. Which means, I'd have time to get out of the country with my money intact.
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  346.  @heyoa7714  One of the many reasons.
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  347.  @UtubeAW  Those "individuals" include the fat-cat shareholders; but STILL, 100% of the cost is born by individuals.
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  348. Yeah, I have no problem paying sales taxes and property taxes. But it ticks me off to be punished (by the government) for earning money.
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  349. Certainly John Templeton was an enthusiastic advocate of looking globally for investment opportunities.
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  350. Ain't gonna happen in the US. Just move to a country with a low tax rate.
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  351. "People don't mind paying tax" SOME tax is OK; but it's a question of how much.
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  352. The EU just ended visa-free access for Vanuatu citizens. So it's no longer worth the price.
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  353. Tina Turner acquired Swiss citizenship, and "relinquished" her US citizenship ("relinquishing" is a bit different from "renouncing", I think).
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  354. California has started to lose its tax base; the aggregate incomes of those leaving is greater than the aggregate incomes of those entering the state. Any further tax burden increases will accelerate that trend.
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  355.  @hs961  I'm not here to advocate for higher taxes; the best tax is zero, in my opinion. But the reality in most countries is that politicians like to spend a lot of money; and so the question is that of how to structure the taxes. And more specifically, how much would you like to increase property taxes in exchange for reducing income taxes; or how much would you like to increase income taxes in exchange for reducing property taxes? It's a question that governments all over the world have to grapple with.
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  356. As long as you're able to get a visa to reenter the US whenever you need to, there shouldn't be a problem.
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  357. First of all, it's possible for some people to "cut their taxes to the bone" by being a resident of a territorial tax country, rather than a low-tax country; and second, one can achieve "tax residency" in a given country by spending just 27 weeks per year there, thereby giving him an opportunity to spend 25 weeks per year in a high tax country, without necessarily having to pay income tax there.
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  358. Valuable contribution to the discussion.
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  359.  @liquidmath4045  Yes; most likely, Biden will "win" any state that uses "vote by mail".
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  360.    So if the governor of New York shuts down the economy of NY, it's Trump's fault that the economy of NY is shut down?
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  361.  @spicysalsaking791  Of course; but if he's willing and able to do what it takes to become tax resident in the Bahamas, and if he's got a second passport, he'll be in a position where he could just "flip the switch" and exit the US tax system.
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  362. Just wait 'till the political left gets control of the government... and puts in draconian tax hikes... and puts in a "single payer" healthcare system... and "neuters" the 1st and 2nd amendments.
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  363. We're all aware of the problem; the question is that of solutions.
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  364.  @zzyzx686  If you can speak seven languages, you'll certainly have no shortage of options. But if you want low taxes, and you're a US citizen, you'll probably have to give up that citizenship.
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  365.  @morelife7625  If you're going to store a large amount, it would be better to store it in Switzerland or Singapore; which would mean that you could use a gold dealer in the US or Europe.
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  366.  @Timithos  Perhaps; but one could avoid that by spending 4 months/year in Mexico, and 8 months per year in Panama or Guatemala.
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  367.  @grapplerke  "tax burden has actually increased with the Trump administration". That is totally false. It is true that a small percentage of taxpayers will see their income tax burden increase because of the limit on SALT deductions; but the income tax burden has declined... over the last two years... for the vast majority of Americans. And that's even before getting into the issue of the reduced tax burden on corporations (under the 2017 tax act). Fully 100% of the tax burden imposed (by government) on corporations is born by individuals. Every penny of it. Similarly, all reductions in tax burdens on US corporations accrues to the benefit of INDIVIDUALS.
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  368. There are countries in Latin America where it can be done... but it'll take at least 5 years.
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  369.  @GrandChessboard  Allowing Americans to keep more of their own money does not amount to a transfer of wealth. You should be looking at the reasons why asset prices have increased so much over the last 10-15 years; it's got nothing to do with taxation.
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  370. Getting legal residence there... not so easy.
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  371.  Diem Golightly  There might be a few smart computer geeks in the Dallas area; but in any case, if a lot more tech companies moved to Texas (whether Austin or Dallas), more skilled people would move there for the jobs.
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  372. 5:30: Mexico continues taxing its citizens when they move to a tax haven. So my question would be this: What would be the tax consequences of a US citizen obtaining Mexican citizenship, and then renouncing his US citizenship? Would he then have to pay taxes to Mexico, even if he were residing in another country?
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  373. I just like to know that there's an escape hatch (and preferably, several escape hatches), in case the situation in the US gets really bad; by "bad", I mean a tyrannical government, and/or a government that imposes confiscatory taxes.
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  374.  @tinglestingles  Yes, the N. Korean govt makes it nearly impossible; and the govt of the former Soviet Union made it very difficult; and I suppose the Nazis made it difficult to leave (back in the 1940's) but... for example... residents of Venezuela can still leave that country. But, to your point, I would certainly not wait until the govt made it impossible to leave; there's a lot of really bad stuff they'd do before they got to that point; and so I wouldn't wait until the last minute to leave. One interesting question here is whether or not the US govt would ever make it impossible to renounce US citizenship.... while at the same time taxing US citizens who are residing in foreign countries. Certainly, the far left would do such a thing if it ever got control of the US govt.
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  375. As I understand it, real estate in the Chicago area has not done well, mainly because the politicians keep hiking property taxes, and other taxes.
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  376.  @indetif839  My point isn't so much about whether the US healthcare system is "good" or "bad"..... but rather, whether it would be a lot worse under a single-payer system.
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  377. ​@autonomous_collective nice to know; but for someone who only wants the passport, that's sort of a moot issue; hell, I'd take a SOMALI passport if the price were low enough.
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  378. Yes; although for anyone other than a US citizen, going back to the country of one's (original) citizenship is a very simple, straightforward process.... no visa required. It's only Americans.... who give up their citizenship.... that risk being cut off from family and friends.
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  379.  @jefferyjeffery1707  Thanks for that extensive reply.
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  380.  @NickDemski  Supposedly, getting residence in South Dakota is exceptionally easy and fast.
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  381.  @SachaBernasconi  OK, thanks.
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  382. The taxes CAN indeed be "escaped" from. It's just a question of what sacrifices one is willing to make in order to do that.
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  383. @Sovereign Agent Partly as a result of listening to him, I did make a big bet on gold mining stocks.... which has paid off. And I think they've got a lot more room to run.
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  384. If you're going to get citizenship by naturalization, it seems to me that Mexico or Argentina would be better.
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  385. He briefly discussed Serbia in one of his videos. See this one, starting at 1:54: https://youtu.be/pdPvzGFRz68
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  386. No doubt this video will be of great interest to most regular viewers of this channel. It seems to me that... to the extent it is possible to shield $212K of income from federal taxation ($106K for the owner; $106K for the spouse)... and assuming that the "self-employment tax" can be avoided... moving to a foreign country (i.e., not Puerto Rico) will be the better option for the vast majority of US citizens who own a business.
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  387. California most assuredly does not have the lowest property tax rate in the country; moreover, almost everyone makes the mistake of looking at the average STATEWIDE property tax rate, and disregards the fact that in many counties, the tax rate can be a lot higher than the statewide average. Also, because of Prop 13, the rate varies depending on how long a person has owned the house. As it happens, a 1.5% tax rate in some counties is not uncommon; on a one million dollar house, a 1.5% rate can add up to a lot of money over 10 years.
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  388. The capital gains tax in Colombia is just 10%.... which is good.... but that low rate might not apply in the case of very short-term holding periods.
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  389. The only way you can do it legally... without giving up your US citizenship... is to move to Puerto Rico.
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  390.  @KennethITGuru  Yeah, Cape Verde could be a good one in that it provides instant citizenship upon marriage.
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  391.  @heavenismydomicile3280  The reason the government put his father in prison (IMO) is that he was openly defying the rules, and encouraging others to do the same. If he had simply refused to pay his taxes, but had kept very quiet about it, I think that the government would not have put him in prison. They might have confiscated every asset of his that they could find, but they wouldn't have put him in prison. And for his part, Peter Schiff does not tell people to disobey the rules.
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  392. Turkish lira not doing so good.
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  393.  @billhennessey6374  I've heard that it takes quite a few years to get citizenship in Panama. And also, I've heard that the government of Panama imposes a remittance tax on money that's brought in from an offshore business. But from a tax perspective, Panama is certainly better than the US.
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  394. For a person who is both elderly... and wealthy... the "death tax" will be an issue. Right now, the death tax in the US isn't unreasonable; but I think that the death tax will be going up in the future, and the level of assets that is exempt from the death tax will likely be reduced. So in the event that the death tax is increased substantially, there could be benefit for an elderly wealthy person to move all his assets to a foreign country, and to then renounce his US citizenship.
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  395.  @mela6046  No; some politicians in India want to tax the citizens of India no matter where they live. Under the proposal, Indian citizens would get credit for the tax they're paying in other countries (much like the US government does with US citizens); but there would be no more escaping taxation merely by moving to another country. (The proposal in India hasn't yet become law).
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  396.  @clintrichardsonclintfromny203  OK, I see what you're saying; although I suppose a person could purchase gold bullion from a dealer in Panama, and then transport it (personally) to a vault... also in Panama.
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  397. "Mexico isn’t good with taxes". The way it looks to me, the tax burden in Mexico is no worse than the federal tax burden is in the US; and when taxes at the state level are considered, Mexico looks better.
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  398.  @KJ-bc3de  If you spend only 30 days per year in St. Kitts, the government of that country will not grant you tax residency status. But in any case, as I wrote in my comment above: "those who avail themselves of this option must take steps to avoid becoming tax-resident somewhere else" So a person could get tax residency in Antigua after only 30 days residency (if he meets certain other conditions that are set forth by the government of that country); and if he's willing to lead a nomadic life, he could... if he wanted to.... spend a lot of time in high-tax countries (e.g., Spain & France) without paying any income tax. [Again, I not saying that avoidance of tax is automatic; it only happens as a result of knowledge of steps that have to be taken to avoid becoming tax resident in each country that the person is staying in].
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  399.  @b__w_4565  No; from the government perspective, cryptocurrencies... and stocks... are very, very different. In one case (stocks), all holdings are totally and completely transparent to the IRS; in the other case... not so much.
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  400.  @dickielarue1451  My understanding is that a US citizen can move to PR from one of the 50 states.... and that he can maintain Puerto Rican tax residency with A LOT LESS THAN 6 months residency per year.... as long as he spends little or no time in any of the 50 states. So, a US citizen could get all the tax benefits of PR, while spending very little time there.... as long as he spends most of his time outside of BOTH Puerto Rico AND the 50 states. For a person who's facing a 35% federal income tax, and a 10% state income tax, it could make a lot of sense to become a tax resident of PR, but to then spend most of his time in some other country.
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  401. Airbnb executives planning to take the company public next year. https://www.barrons.com/articles/airbnb-will-go-public-2020-ipo-51568908485
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  402.  @jlm3744  Yes, he's back in the US mainland..... Los Angeles, I believe.
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  403.  @-bnqe-3119  In most countries, you can escape taxation merely by becoming a resident of another country. Of course, there may be new taxes in that other country... but they might also be a lot lower than they were in the country that you left.
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  404. One can put money in a brokerage account... and using that platform, purchase sovereign debt (e.g., debt of Germany or Japan or Sweden or the US).
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  405.  @dbanks128  Bitcoin is quite popular in countries like Venezuela and Argentina, where the value of the fiat currency drops rapidly. And bitcoin (or other crypto) can be quite useful for a resident of China who's trying to get money out of the country. For people in many countries, poor people (as well as wealthy people) can benefit from holding some crypto.
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  406.  @PauloGaetathe_original  Bitcoin is more than just a "note on a ledger". Bitcoin is, in part, an immutable ledger; a ledger which is maintained via the expenditure of a large amount of energy (electricity running computers worldwide). It is of value to people who want censorship-resistant money; and a form of money that is scarce, and that is outside the control of any government or any bank. As for gold, the vast, vast majority of the gold that is purchased is either for jewelry, or for its "store of wealth" attribute.... NOT because it can be used in electronics. [That being said, I've got a substantial investment in gold mining stocks].
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  407.  @VitoFrazier  10% flat tax on income (although the social security tax appears to be high); which is pretty good. Also, I would bet that there's a significant "underground economy" in that country. Plus, a person who limits his time in the country to just 25 weeks per year might not have to pay any income tax at all. (Also, the country is supposedly very gun-friendly).
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  408. It won't pass this year or next; but the next time the Dems have control of the House, the White House.... and at least 52 senate seats.... it just might.
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  409.  @davelawson2564  Tyranny in response to COVID.
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  410. Jim Cramer is a clown.
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  411. Migration of residents from Hong Kong to Taiwan has increased 28% over the last seven months. https://bit.ly/2HguPgp
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  412. And if the Dems can manage a "three House sweep", all the tax laws will change, including those for GILTI.
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  413. There are websites you can go to that'll do the mp4 to mp3 conversion; I do that quite frequently.
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  414. Yeah, if you're already outside of the US when the IRS decides to revoke your passport, you could probably continue to use your US passport. Of course, on returning to the US, they'd confiscate it.
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  415. Plus, they've got a territorial tax system there; you can come out WAY ahead from a tax perspective. Not to mention that you won't have to suffer through any cold winters.
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  416.  @mrslcom  OK fine; but in order for your tax proposal to be "revenue-neutral", taxes on income would have to rise considerably... or taxes on businesses. If someone were to "put a gun to my head" and force me to choose between "being punished" for earning money, or "being punished" for owning a house, I'd have to go with the latter.
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  417. The US government (factions of it, anyway) often treat illegal aliens better than it does US citizens; certainly it demands far more from its citizens than it does from the illegal aliens, while at the same time giving illegal aliens many benefits.
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  418.  @nomadcapitalist  I realize that it’s possible to set up a business in Puerto Rico, and live there for at least 6 months per year; the result will be a very low tax rate on the business. One can also work in a foreign country (outside the US) and exclude about $100K in EARNED income from taxation; in both cases, one can retain his US citizenship. But, apart from the Puerto Rico option, it’s not clear… under the provisions of the 2017 tax law…. how a US citizen can reduce taxes on so-called “unearned income”, either by residing in a foreign country, or by setting up a foreign corporation.
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  419. Not exactly "jurisdiction"... but ways of applying pressure nevertheless.
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  420.  @duraa161  First of all, I'm not sure that the EU imposed an outright "ban" on Vanuatu citizens; I think that what they did is to simply eliminate "visa-free" travel to the Schengen area. So maybe they'll issue you a visa if you apply for one (using your Vanuatu citizenship). Second, you had a citizenship ... from one country or another.... before you obtained Vanuatu citizenship; so you could apply for a visa using THAT citizenship. Finally, if you really want to spend a lot of time in the Schengen area, you could obtain a residence permit in one of the EU countries.
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  421. A good video; and one with a different slant than is usually the case. There are many people (in the US and elsewhere) who have a relatively modest tax obligation to begin with... and who could make their dollars go further by living in another country, without having to forego cultural amenities. This sort of information can be helpful to such people. Regarding Buenos Aires specifically, that city (and Argentina in general) could potentially be attractive even to a wealthy person (in spite of the wealth tax there).... if he is able to hide his assets from the government; and doing so might not be that difficult.
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  422. The performance of the Turkish lira vs USD has been quite abysmal over the last 10 years: https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=USD&to=TRY&view=10Y That said, I am long-term bullish on the country, and I think that real estate in Istanbul could do reasonably well in dollar terms over the next 5-10 years. And I think it would be great to have a Turkish passport. Still, I would have to be able to find an honest and competent property manager; trying to manage real estate from 7,000 miles away is not something I would undertake.
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  423. If a country like Spain wanted to impose a tax on Spanish citizens residing outside of Spain, it would be easy for them to enforce the tax, in either of two ways: (a) denying passport renewal for those who had failed to meet their tax obligations, and (b) for those who chose to return to Spain to live full time (or even part time), the government could get the money out of them at that point. And for those who NEVER returned to Spain and who NEVER renewed their passport then yes.... the Spanish government probably couldn't collect the taxes owed, but it wouldn't much matter either.
    2
  424.  @mouthpiece200  Yeah, several of America's billionaires have invested heavily in US farmland. [It's probably a good move for a few different reasons].
    2
  425. I don't disagree with any of the points made in the video. But I would not be inclined to commingle issues of a 2nd passport with issues of investing in "frontier markets" countries; in the case of the latter, one must not disregard "opportunity costs". Yes, money invested in raw land in, e.g., Cambodia would have appreciated a lot over the last 20 years; but that same money, invested in the S&P 500 stock index, would have done pretty well also. A 2nd passport? That's an entirely different analysis.
    2
  426. If it's bitcoin you've got, it might go to $20,000.... or it might go to $2,000.
    2
  427.  @hughjass1044  "gold, food and ammunition ". That was a pretty good list.... .... before bitcoin came along.
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  428. I fear a rise in tyrannical government, and a decline of the US dollar.
    2
  429. Too much focus in the US on debating who's a ¡¡RACIST!!... and who isn't; not enough focus on a plan to achieve long-term, sustainable economic growth.
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  430. I don't claim to be an expert, but I'm pretty sure that all trusts have to be reported to the IRS.
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  431.  @masterchef2875  Yeah, although Honduras does have a territorial tax system; which makes it one of the better countries to be a resident of, at least from a tax perspective.
    2
  432. When you sold that gold (4 years ago), did the business entity that paid you cash (cash for the gold) report the sale to the IRS...?
    2
  433. Joe Biden is proposing to eliminate the "stepped up basis cost" provision of the tax code as it pertains to estates, and so the heirs to an estate would necessarily owe a tax on any assets, the value of which include an unrealized capital gain. Purchase of land in a place like Montenegro could make sense, if Biden becomes POTUS and gets this change to the tax code implemented. The reason is that the land that a US citizen owns in Montenegro (or other country) would not have to be reported, and so one's heirs could inherit the property without having to pay capital gains tax (or other estate tax) on it. (In Montenegro, the children or spouse of a decedent is not obligated to pay a tax on inherited assets).
    2
  434.  @Crusder1000  If you want "fast" (in the Caribbean), go with Dominica or St. Lucia. As for Latin America, the only one that's "fast" is Peru; and for that, you've got to pay $25K... then reside in the country for two years, and then demonstrate proficiency in Spanish. As far as I know, all the other countries of Latin America require a wait of at least 5 years, although the actual "time on the ground" varies. As with everything else in life, there are tradeoffs; so it will depend on what your priorities are WRT speed, financial cost, time on the ground, and requirement to learn Spanish.
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  435. Currently, California has no estate tax. So if they're going to now create an inheritance tax.... and to abstain from permitting a "stepped up basis cost" on the valuation of the assets, that would be a really, really big deal; any person who owned a lot of assets (under that scenario) would be foolish to remain in the state.
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  436.  @alc980  Yeah, most likely she disregarded the exhortations of her tax adviser.
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  437.  @Timithos  nothing illegal about "thinking out loud".
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  438. Biden's proposed tax plan would have the effect of significantly increasing the cost of renouncing US citizenship. He wants to dramatically increase the capital gains tax (on amounts above $400K). Upon renouncing, one has to pay tax on unrealized capital gains, and so a large increase in that tax will raise the cost of renouncing. That particular tax is unlikely to get through the senate over the course of the next two years, but it could happen any time after that.
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  439. Yeah, prop 13 has created an absurd tax system.
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  440. Yes; the legal hurdles for imposition of a wealth tax are high. But if the political left ever got control of the SCOTUS, the US Constitution would no longer be an impediment. If there were 5 Justices like Ruth Ginsburg on the Court, the left could do whatever it wanted. (Alternatively, the Dems could "pack the Court" by adding another 6 justices).
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  441. Of course, if an investor is renting a given property year-round, it shouldn't matter how high the property taxes are... as long as the tax laws apply equally to all property investors (citizen and non-citizen; resident and non-resident); in such a situation, the taxes are merely passed on to the renters.
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  442.  Vantum Noir  Depends how high bitcoin goes. Some think it could get up to $300K before the end of this year. Were THAT to happen, we'd get a 70% decline for sure. But if BTC only makes it to, say, $150K, then yes, I agree, the bear market will be shallow.
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  443. Good to know about. Just in case...
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  444. A few interesting tidbits there.
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  445. Yeah, because of the pollution, I wouldn't want to live in CDMX year-round.
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  446. A higher tax obligation is one thing; increased government surveillance is quite another. The latter concerns me even more than the former.
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  447. If someone were facing a 15% capital gains tax on his unrealized bitcoin gains, he should just go ahead, sell the bitcoin, and pay the 15% tax. But if someone really were facing a 40% tax on his unrealized bitcoin gains, what might work... at least in principle... would be for him to get together with someone from a country that takes a "hands off" approach to cryptocurrencies, and to then sell the bitcoin to him (or her) for 90 cents in the dollar (or some other amount that is agreed to). That other person could then convert the bitcoin to fiat (and realize an instant 10% gain). Yes, there's a CHANCE that federal agents would track down the blockchain records (and the various bank records) and figure out what happened; but they probably wouldn't bother unless they had motivation to target a specific person.
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  448. There's not a single politician, judge or bureaucrat... at the federal level.... who would be willing to allow a state to secede; it won't happen, absent a violent revolution.
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  449. Japan manufactures... and exports.... far more than the US does. Japan finances most of its government debt internally, whereas the US relies to a large extent on foreigners to finance its debt (foreigners hold more than $6 trillion of US debt). The big question isn't so much about the debt per se; it's more about how much longer the US dollar will maintain its reserve currency status.
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  450.  @juju10683  Democrat and Republican politicians do agree on quite a lot; but the two primary areas where they DISAGREE are those of taxes and gun control.
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  451. @Ricky Vanish I would draw a distinction between (a) a marriage in which the two people FULLY INTEND to make a life together, and (b) a marriage in which the two people understand that it is solely for the purpose of getting citizenship, and nothing more. If governments were to make it very, very easy to get citizenship by marriage, that would be tantamount to an "open borders" policy. I think it's a terrible idea to allow any person of any country to acquire citizenship in any other country.... REGARDLESS of his health status, REGARDLESS of his criminal record, and REGARDLESS of his ability to contribute to (or propensity to take from) that other country.
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  452. @Ricky Vanish I strongly disagree with the proposition that the "will of the citizens" should not matter. Rather than arguing over what "doesn't matter", perhaps we can agree that there are different interested parties in the immigration debate, and there will be pronounced differences in their respective views and preferences. And, FWIW, I am a US citizen... BUT, there is virtually no country on earth which I would NOT want to get a 2nd citizenship from... if it were easy to get. (And no, I don't see a contradiction here).
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  453. @Ricky Vanish I actually agree with you 100%... IF I ONLY CONSIDER THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE PERSON SEEKING CITIZENSHIP. Our disagreement appears to be over the question of whether anyone else's perspective matters.
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  454. Yeah, although Washington does have an estate tax... so I'm not sure what would happen there in the event of a death.
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  455.  @stevesinglenomad5683  Absolutely untrue.
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  456. I'm American, and believe me, I was quite horrified by what Trudeau did to the truckers. I really despise that piece of sh*t Trudeau.
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  457. I don't see a federal tax on assets coming to the US any time soon. For one thing, there would have to be a significant change in the composition of the Supreme Court in order for them to say that its Constitutional. But for sure, the Democrats want to dramatically increase the "death tax"; and THAT doesn't raise any Constitutional questions. Regarding FATCA, I think that at some point, there'll be a FATCA-type law for cryptocurrencies; the law being that if you own any crypto, and you fail to tell the IRS about it... and the IRS finds out about it... they can nail you with punitive fees (and possibly even prison).
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  458.  @mynamename5172  I know.
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  459.  @bodyloverz30  The Dominican Republic is quite a long way from being a zero tax country.
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  460.  @kidshappytunes-z1m  en primer lugar, use Spanishdict.com; es mejor que Google traduce. Pero más al punto, el gobierno del Perú le exigirá que demuestre fluidez en español... para obtener la ciudadanía. (Y tenga en cuenta que estoy lejos de ser fluido, pero he estado tratando de aprender).
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  461.  @yahnferral9163  Yeah, the US government is as corrupt as that of any third world banana republic; but in the US, politicians of both parties generally try to keep the public from finding out about their "dirty laundry" as much as possible.
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  462.  @Bonanzaking  For US citizens, Puerto Rico is far better than Portugal from a tax perspective. OTOH, after 5 years in Portugal, you can get citizenship there. (Personally, I'd rather pay the higher tax, but to then get the citizenship).
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  463. NomadCapitalist: covering all the angles.
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  464. From a purely financial standpoint, I'm inclined to agree. But to the extent that an investment in real estate (in a foreign country) can result in getting a residence permit, or citizenship, it might be worth considering. And in addition, there's something else. It might be the case that if a US citizen buys raw land in any of several foreign countries, and later sells that land at a profit, there will be no systematic mechanism under which the IRS would know about it (assuming that the US citizen keeps the land in his own name, and not under the name of a corporation).
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  465. I think that it DOES work if you're living in a zero-tax country or a low-tax country; you just set up a corporation in a zero-tax country (not necessarily the country that you're going to live in), then pay yourself a salary; you can then take advantage of the FEIE. What I'm NOT sure about is what the rules are for US citizens who own a corporation in a zero-tax country, and who live (at least 7 months/year) in a TERRITORIAL tax country.
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  466.  @bennyhanna6  OK, that's interesting; but an even more important issue is that of how many of those 36 months a person must actually stay in the country. Can a person leave for a few months each year... or would that restart the clock?
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  467.  @bennyhanna6  OK; thanks
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  468. I don't expect to see any radical tax increases over the next two years, even assuming that the Democrats get ahold of the two Georgia senate seats. HOWEVER, if the 2024 election is even HALF as fraudulent as the 2020 election was, US citizens will be living under increasingly higher levels of taxation.... and tyranny.
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  469.  @pattythegypsy  I know.
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  470. The rules (in the US) permit one to purchase real estate using a "self-directed IRA". The point here would be to purchase real estate... using money in an IRA account.... that would give rise to a 2nd citizenship. The country of Turkey, in particular, comes to mind. In the case of this country, there is risk of currency devaluation (i.e., the Turkish lira); but one of the points here is that to the extent that one incurred a loss on the ownership of a house in Turkey (i.e., a house purchase which would provide Turkish citizenship), the US government would.... in effect.... underwrite part of the loss, since taxes have to be paid on IRA withdrawals in any case.
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  471. What about short holding periods? For example, suppose that half a person's capital gains are from positions that were held for less than 30 days; and that the other half (of the gains) were for positions held for a period in the range of 3-6 months. At a minimum, I would expect the former (less than 30 days) to be taxed at the ordinary income rate; but I haven't been able to find any definitive information about this.
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  472.  @holeefuk8505  As long as you don't have US citizenship, Mexico could be a good place to be a short-term trader.
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  473.  @hmartin1976  I suppose that a high-income trader.... who has US citizenship, and who doesn't want to live in Puerto Rico..... might even consider giving up his US citizenship (and moving to Mexico) in order to be taxed at a rate of 10% rather than 40%.
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  474.  @hmartin1976  US citizens are taxed on their worldwide income, regardless of where they live. And so, if the person's tax obligation (to the IRS) on a given trade were 35% (or even higher under Biden), he could probably get credit for the 10% tax he paid to the Mexican government, but he'd still have to pay the rest (the rest of the 35%) to the IRS. That said, it MIGHT be possible, somehow, for a US citizen to take advantage of the FEIE (foreign earned income exclusion) by setting up an offshore corporation, and then moving to Mexico.
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  475. It's still a "work in progress". We need to see what the IMF is going to do (and the US government, if anything).
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  476.  @Jzarecta  I hope you're right; I hope that the IMF... and the US government... will allow ES to do as it pleases with bitcoin. But I think that the IMF... and the US government... are afraid of bitcoin.
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  477.  @alrent2992  Biden COULD threaten to cut off the Salvadoran banks from the SWIFT payment system. I doubt that Biden would take it that far, but one never knows.
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  478. No question that if the US government becomes tyrannical.... with regard to crypto or CBDC's or anything else.... it'll be reason enough to find another country to live in.
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  479.  @andrewhewerdine  Not true. The IRS will tax unrealized capital gains; and they'll tax IRA accounts (which may be conceptualized as a tax on an imputed withdrawal). But there is no "tax on assets" per se.
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  480.  @andrewhewerdine  OK; but if, for example, a person had $100 million in assets, but unrealized capital gains of just $5 million (i.e., an overall basis cost of $95 million), then he'd only owe capital gains tax on that $5 million; and so his overall tax... for this hypothetical... would be only about one million dollars.
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  481. In the US, a federal tax on assets would be problematic from a Constitutional standpoint. And if such a tax were to be implemented (despite the unconstitutionality of it), it would be imposed... INITIALLY.... on ultra-wealthy people; e.g., persons with assets exceeding $25 million. As such, the guy who has "only" $10 million in assets would have time to "get out of dodge" (before the threshold on taxable wealth were lowered). Closely related to the wealth tax is a tax on unrealized capital gains. Such a tax would NOT be prohibited by the US Constitution, and so the government may do it. That tax, if implemented, would significantly reduce the desirability of US citizenship.
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  482.  @jon8864  Homicide statistics can be misleading, whether you're talking about the US... or whether you're talking about El Salvador. In the US, the vast majority of homicides are concentrated in just a few cities (e.g., Chicago & Washington DC); and even then, the homicides are concentrated in just SELECTED PARTS of the cities. In El Salvador also, homicides tend to be concentrated in certain neighborhoods. And for people who are worried about crime in El Salvador, "gated communities" are much more the rule than the exception. If you bought (or rented) a house in El Salvador, most likely it would be within a small community of houses with a 24/7 guard who checks the identity of each person who enters. [Of course, if someone wants to kill you SPECIFICALLY, you're going to be at considerable risk... no matter which country you live in]. Regarding the bitcoin situation in El Salvador, it's still in a rudimentary stage of development, i.e., only a small portion of vendors/merchants are accepting it. But I would bet that in a year or two, it'll be easy to go to that country and spend bitcoin to pay for almost any good or service that's offered.
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  483.  @jon8864  The Chivo wallet has been available since September 7th, but the majority of vendors and service providers are still not (yet) accepting bitcoin. And there is no penalty (imposed by the government) for refusing to accept bitcoin. Maybe there will be eventually, but there isn't now. The process has to be slow and gradual; president Bukele doesn't want to generate a backlash.
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  484. How would the government know that you owned cryptocurrency?
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  485. Probably a lot more upside left for at least another 6 months. But there'll be a bear market at some point.
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  486. Yeah, I think that Hamza is probably correct. However, if you set up a corporation in a country with zero corporate tax/zero income tax, and put your assets in the name of the corporation, and then "pay yourself a salary" and then file taxes under the FEIE, you might be able to save SOME money in taxes, provided also you were residing in a country that is optimized for this strategy. (You'd still have to pay a self-employment tax if the assets were held by an LLC, and everything you're doing would have to be reported to the IRS)
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  487.  @patienceisalpha  I'm no expert on trusts, but I think there's a way to set it up so as to avoid taxes if the trust is put in the name of a trustee (a trustee other than the "true owner") and if the "true owner" of the trust is not named as the prime beneficiary. Basically, if the trust is set up so that the trustee could legally run off with the money, then taxes can be avoided. But then, one would have to really, really trust the trustee in that situation.
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  488.  @patienceisalpha  My comment was about trusts, not corporations. And with respect to trusts, the essence of my comment was that one could avoid US taxes by entrusting a trustee with the money (i.e., trusting him to refrain from stealing all the money).... which is not something that I would do.
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  489. Andrew addressed that very issue in a video a few months ago. Simple answer: not a good idea to try doing it.
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  490.  @sailingyachtlifevsyeanonot7621  If you're depositing $2900 per day... in cash... into your bank account, it won't take long before your bank files a "suspicious activity report" with the IRS (https://bit.ly/38eD34I)
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  491.  @sailingyachtlifevsyeanonot7621  Seems to me that if a US citizen held gold bars in a foreign country, and later sold some of those gold bars to a gold dealer in that foreign country, the dealer probably would not be obligated to report the sale to the IRS.
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  492. There's a significant residency requirement; and for those who arrive in the US unable to speak English, there's the matter of having to LEARN English. And there's the matter of having to pay taxes during the period of residency. There's also a citizenship test.... very easy for most lifelong Americans to pass; but would require some effort for those who've never spent any time in the US. So... quite different from "citizenship by investment".
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  493.  @nenu  Yeah, I think that's true; and supposedly also, if one puts one's assets in an offshore corporation, the wealth tax can be avoided that way also (I don't know any of the details, however).
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  494.  @peppersghosttheater  Right now there's only a small handful of countries that impose a wealth tax; I'm quite confidant that there will ALWAYS be a lot of countries that abstain from imposing a wealth tax. There will always be countries that impose a very light tax burden... and that are ABLE to do so because government expenditures are very small.
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  495.  @user-lq1ph9zo2q  Biden has proposed to eliminate the "stepped up basis cost" of estates (i.e., Biden wants to make heirs pay tax on the basis of the ORIGINAL COST of the assets); and this would be combined with big increases in the capital gains tax on amounts above $400K. This new tax will be a big deal if it becomes law.
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  496. Yeah, great bit of wisdom.... I've heard it many times over the years.
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  497. If Assembly Bill 2088 were to actually become law, several other states would become tempted to enact similar taxes of their own (i.e., taxing people after they've left the state). In general, I have very little faith in the willingness of judges to "do the right thing" and to follow the Constitution; but in this case, I think there's a better-than-even chance they'd strike down such a tax..... but the litigation could take years.
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  498. No.
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  499. There's also this: https://www.natlawreview.com/article/tax-man-cometh-irs-issues-sends-letters-to-over-10000-taxpayers-cryptocurrency
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  500. Depends on the situation. If you're a citizen of, let's say, Granada... and have no other citizenship.... and you're a legal resident of France; and you get on a plane and fly to Antarctica, and stay there for 9 months, I'm sure that the government of France will be happy to go on taxing you. The more interesting question for me would be this: suppose that you're a legal resident of Montenegro (which has a 9% income tax rate), and you spend just 5 months per year there.... and for the remaining 7 months, you travel to different countries, spending just one month in each country, do you still get to pay the 9% rate, even though you haven't met the requirement for tax residency in Montenegro (which is to be resident 183 days/year)?
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  501. Yeah, the long-term capital gains tax rate isn't that bad.
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  502. The current Congress is not going to pass any big tax increases on capital gains. Part of the reason for that is that the Democrats are very divided on what to do about the "SALT" deductions. Most Democrats in the House & Senate want to leave the SALT deduction where it is ($10,000 for married couple, $5,000 for an individual); but there are a sufficient number of Democrats who want to eliminate the cap on SALT deductions... such that they can block any tax increase that doesn't include an elimination of the cap. And so I think the end result will be one of the following: (a) no increase at all in capital gains tax or income tax, or (b) a very small increase in taxes on income or capital gains... accompanied by a raising of the cap on SALT deductions. So nothing dramatic will happen.... before the 2022 midterm election.... on capital gains taxes or on individual income taxes.
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  503. A the passage and implementation of wealth tax in the US is rather unlikely, at least during the next 5 years. But I do think that there's a realistic possibility... within the next 5-10 years.... of what Biden had proposed about 18 months ago; namely an elimination of the stepped-up basis cost of estates, and so heirs to estates would have to pay taxes on the unrealized capital gains; and, that would likely be coupled with an increase in the capital gains tax RATE. And if this were to get through the Congress, I think the Supreme Court would view it as fully compliant with the US Constitution.
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  504. @Free Man The case for renouncing US citizenship becomes compelling at tax rates well below 90%.
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  505. That would be true for someone seeking US citizenship, but it might not be true at all in the case of someone seeking citizenship from some other country.
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  506. There is no perfect place. Especially for someone whose primary goal is to mitigate his tax obligations.
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  507. Won't be a "mass exodus"; but yes, some within the upper middle class will leave the US if Biden & his cronies get the taxes that they want
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  508. A review of history would suggest that the period of additional time over which the US dollar will retain its reserve currency status will be limited. https://thistimeitisdifferent.com/reserve-currency-may-2018
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  509. Liz Warren is the bigger threat; she's actually got a chance of becoming POTUS; Alexandria Occassional-Cortex isn't old enough yet.
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  510.  @NP-io4ol  I'm all for "economically sound".... as long as the government doesn't take any more of my money than it already does.
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  511.  @NP-io4ol  There are a lot of different issues here. But I'll just make one point at the moment, and that is: Warren's proposed tax on assets scares me. Not that I have $50 million in assets, but if her proposal were to become law, it wouldn't take long for the socialists in government to lower the threshold for the asset tax to amounts of money well below one million dollars. If the feds were to apply a 2% tax to all my assets, it would be highly objectionable.... to say the least.
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  512.  @NP-io4ol  It is true that many people who live in "blue states" with high taxes and/or expensive real estate will pay more now than before the 2017 tax act. But the vast majority of people in "red" states and "swing" states will pay less, owing to the lower marginal rates. I don't have any major complaints with the CURRENT tax system; but I do fear the sort of tax regimes that Liz Warren would put in place... if she could. (And it's not just her... it's the political left in general).
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  513.  @NP-io4ol  If we exclude the states of MN, NY, CT, IL, NJ and CA, I see no evidence that the 2017 tax law imposes a higher federal tax on the majority of people (in the aggregate) in the remaining states. As for the people in the 6 states I listed, those people LOVE high taxes; they ALWAYS vote for politicians who want to impose high taxes; people in those states have no business complaining about taxes.
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  514.  @NP-io4ol  I was responding to your previous comment, i.e.: “the middle class [in the aggregate] are paying more under the new GOP tax code”. Now, in your latest comment, you’re “moving the goalpost”. Now, it’s no longer about the middle class, on average...or in the aggregate...but rather, it’s about the percentage of states in which taxes went up versus went down. So which is it? Which is your goal post? What we have now is a system in which the low tax states NO LONGER SUBSIDIZE the high tax states. I think that provides the greatest good to the greatest number of people. And people who love high taxes can always move to the high tax states if they want.
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  515.  @NP-io4ol  What scares me about Liz Warren's proposal is the federal TAX ON ASSETS, not the tax on income. (Her proposed tax would actually be unconstitutional, although some future SCOTUS might decide to rubber-stamp it anyway). At least with income taxes, or capital gains taxes, a person has the option of earning less income, or less cap gains. Not so with a federal tax on assets.
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  516. Americans Renouncing Citizenship Surges To Record Level https://www.zerohedge.com/political/huge-increase-americans-renouncing-citizenship-surges-record-level
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  517. These sites mention that persons lose their military pensions upon renouncing citizenship, but provide no rationale: https://bit.ly/2Fk2F22 and https://bit.ly/2TMaxUl
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  518.  @santiagopuentep  Almost any tax can be avoided; it's just a question of what price one is willing to pay in order to avoid it.
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  519.  @johnmcafee2751  I don't think that taxation is theft... provided that it's not retroactive. The reason is that almost any tax can be avoided; it's just a question of what price one is willing to pay. For a US citizen to get out of the US tax system, he's got to move to Puerto Rico... or even to renounce his citizenship altogether. Not everyone is willing to pay that price.
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  520.  @johnmcafee2751  First of all, I think you misunderstand my overall position. I hate taxes as much as the next person does.... and probably more so. But I'm not ready... at this point... to either move to Puerto Rico or to renounce my US citizenship. Moving on to your point about a retail store being robbed 5X per year.... if EVERY business within a geographical area were robbed.... according to a specific schedule (and, assuming no one's life were ever placed in danger) then I would say that the robbery is immoral and illegal, but if EVERY business within a geographical area were "robbed" 5X per year, the business owners could simply pass the cost on to the consumers, and so those businesses that derived 99+% of their income from local residents would actually not be affected very much by the "robbery" (their customers would end up paying the cost). And those businesses that had customers outside of the area of the "robbery" could... and should... move away to avoid the "robbery". Regarding the COVID virus, it is true that nearly every country went through a period of "lockdowns" and mask mandates; but governments didn't do that primarily because they were commanded to do so by a central authority. I do think that we could see the G20 countries adopt a "minimum corporate tax"; but that would still leave the majority of countries not complying. And I just don't think we'll ever see a global minimum tax on personal income.
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  521.  @MasterFeiFongWong  Nearly any tax can be avoided.... as long as it's not retroactively imposed. If you're a US citizen, move out of the US, and try to take advantage of the FEIE (foreign earned income exclusion). And if that doesn't work for you, renounce your citizenship.
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  522. Some people say that for US citizens living in foreign countries... and who have certain kinds of income... there are ways of avoiding US taxes (not all of which are legal)... that would not be available, were they still living in the US.
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  523. Frankly, as an American citizen, I wouldn't want to live there in any case (low taxes or not); at least while there are significant tensions between the US government and the Chinese government.
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  524.  @mhdhsn500  I'm sure HK was fine until the last year or two. But if there's going to be a "cold war" between the US and China, Hong Kong probably won't be a great place for US citizens. (Also, I'm rather skeptical of the real estate market in HK as well).
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  525. Got all the angles covered on this Youtube channel.
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  526. @skipperclinton1087  yes; not to mention FATCA, financial surveillance, and citizenship-based taxation.
    1
  527. @Brownkid422  GDP is one factor; GDP per capita is another. But there are many other factors; ultimately it's about the cost & benefits of living in one country vs another... from the perspective of a given individual.
    1
  528. "you can always return home if things go sideways" Not if you’ve given up your US citizenship… which is what tends to be required in order to minimize one’s tax obligation.
    1
  529.  @Firelion007  I'm not saying that I necessarily want to LIVE in Argentina; I'm just saying that I'd like to have an Argentinean PASSPORT.
    1
  530. None of this will pass this year; but it is very probable that there will be a significant increase in the "death tax" in coming years; probably it'll happen after the 2024 Presidential election (if not before). So yes, wealthy people should have a 2nd passport, if they want their heirs to get their money.... rather than the likes of Bernie Sanders.
    1
  531.  @None-y2f  You're referring to the recent SCOTUS ruling on the vaccine mandate? They voted 6-3 in support of the proposition that if tyrannical mandates are to be imposed, they should be imposed either by the Congress, or by the state governments. And that was the CORRECT ruling.
    1
  532. Having a lot of money in an IRA could make it nearly impossible for a person to AVOID being a a covered expatriate. For example, if a person has $800K in an IRA, and takes out $200K per year for four years in a row before renouncing, he's going to be a covered expat.
    1
  533. Certainly, if the capital gains tax rate is raised to 44%, the cost of renouncing will increase substantially, given that one has to pay tax ... at the time of renunciation... on one's unrealized capital gains.
    1
  534. I don't see a 100% inheritance tax coming to the US. But Biden and the Dems have made no secret of the fact that they want to dramatically increase the "death tax". First, they want to significantly lower the level of the exemption (exemption from estate taxes); next, they want to eliminate the "stepped up basis cost" that heirs to estates currently benefit from, i.e., they want to tax the assets based on the ORIGINAL PURCHASE PRICE. And then, of course, Biden wants to dramatically increase the capital gains tax (on amounts above $1 million), which tax would apply to assets transferred from the deceased to the heirs.
    1
  535.  @shotelco  Property tax rate in Contra Costa county can easily top 1.6%.
    1
  536. If your income is from rental property in New York, I don't think there's any way you can substantially reduce your federal tax burden; even if you were willing to renounce your US citizenship, you'd still have to pay federal taxes on the rental income. Of course, if you were willing to sell your NY real estate, and invest the proceeds in another country, the situation could change entirely.
    1
  537. Yeah, if Kamala wins the election, the "war on crypto" is going to intensify; and the government will likely use the IRS as a vehicle for discouraging self-custody.
    1
  538. ​@riptyurass302 a lot depends on what foreign income the government is able to detect. If a person... who's unburdened by US citizenship.... is a full-time resident of Brazil (for example), I'm not so sure that the government will necessarily be able to ascertain all foreign-sourced income.
    1
  539.  @nomadic-mind  A US citizen with more than $47K in income (income from any source) has to pay capital gains tax at a 15% rate. I wouldn't say that that is "better than most countries". Many countries impose a cap gains tax of 10% or less. [And, there are income taxes at the state level to consider as well].
    1
  540. @nomadic-mind  EVEN ASSUMING that you're correct about that, it's important to distinguish a territorial tax system from a residence-based tax system; I'd happily live in a country with a 90% capital gains tax rate ... if I could, in reality, pay a ZERO tax rate (on capital gains) as a result of holding the assets in another country.
    1
  541. @sunmand6136  OK, fine; but of the people who have $53K in capital gains (in any given year), only a tiny, tiny fraction will have zero "earned income" and zero income from dividends. The vast, vast majority of people who have more than $50K in capital gains will have plenty of other income, in which case they'll be paying at least 15% on most of their capital gains (not to mention additional tax at the state level).
    1
  542. Using IRA money to purchase real estate in Turkey is actually an intriguing idea. On the one hand, the Turkish lira is likely to continue falling; but on the other hand, part of that loss would be... in effect.... underwritten by the US government because IRA withdrawals are taxed. So if a person were to invest $300K (or so) in a house in Turkey, but to then lose $100K on the currency, that $100K loss would be offset by the fact that less tax would be owed on the IRA withdrawal (that would occur later). And, of course, that $300K investment would result in a Turkish passport. Very interesting.
    1
  543.  @nomadcapitalist  If it can produce a passport, that could be a good idea.
    1
  544. If you can get one easily... then go for it.
    1
  545.  @jotavetres  I can't think of any argument AGAINST getting it.
    1
  546.  @InstantLuc  I think the most important question is that of what's good (or bad) for the average citizen of the UK.
    1
  547. ​@carltonlambert7608 yes, and if you're willing to fight the Russians, they'll probably give you citizenship.
    1
  548. Economic cycles and asset price cycles ain't what they used to be, as a consequence of central bank intervention. Central bankers might decide to increase their balance sheets by another 20 trillion (or so), rather than risk a widespread decline in asset prices. But eventually, one of two things has to occur: (a) recession or (b) inflation.
    1
  549. ​@user-zo2pc5lu5q if a US citizen is receiving a federal pension, and he renounces, he loses the pension entirely.
    1
  550.  @brianmolstad1255  The issue is that of the extent to which taxpayers will be willing to remain and continue paying taxes... especially those who are paying at least $10,000 per year in taxes.
    1
  551.  @consssf  If you were put in charge of raising taxes for a given state, and you were given the task of raising "X" amount of money, how would you structure it between income taxes, property taxes and corporate taxes (and let's say that the sales tax had to be fixed at 8%).....? Would you take the property tax down to zero.... because if you did that, you'd have to have higher taxes on income and/or businesses.
    1
  552. An increase in a property tax rate is a tax that is effectively RETROACTIVE; an increase in a property tax rate puts downward pressure on the value of the property. Many people argue over the question of whether taxes... in general.... constitute theft; my view is that taxes aren't really theft UNLESS they're retroactive in effect. And this proposed tax in Canada is retroactive in effect.
    1
  553.  @danmccarthy3762  I live in the US, and I pay US taxes. But then, I don't have to pay $200,000 per year in federal taxes. But if I DID have to pay that much, I might be tempted to spend 27 weeks per year in a place like Malaysia or Panama or the Cayman Islands or Montenegro.
    1
  554. He actually did a video on that very topic several months ago.
    1
  555.  @inbetweennames4438  Still, it's a question of how the tax burden should be distributed. Personally, I prefer that a higher percentage of the tax (whatever it has to be) be on property, rather than on income (or on capital gains). The best tax on anything is zero; but to the extent that there has to be a tax, I don't want it to be on income or capital gains.
    1
  556.  @inbetweennames4438  OK fine; so you love taxes on income and capital gains. I do not.
    1
  557.  @inbetweennames4438  The issue was NEVER about whether property taxes are "good" or "bad". And to be clear, they are BAD. The issue is about THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS: (a) taxes on income & capital gains, or (b) taxes on property. For you, the lesser evil is taxes on income and cap gains; for me the lesser evil is property taxes.
    1
  558.  @inbetweennames4438  OK fine; still, I'd rather be "punished" for owning a house than to be "punished" for earning money. (Of course, as you say, "the devil's in the details"). Fortunately for you, there are many countries around the world that impose no tax (or virtually no tax) on real estate; there are many more such countries than there are countries that refrain from imposing tax on income or capital gains.
    1
  559.  @dwlof  In most countries (MOST), tax residency is achieved by spending an amount of time (per year) that is within the range of 183-200 days. [An extreme exception to this is the country of St. Barts, which requires 5 years residency before they'll grant tax residency]. As for setting up a bank account, odds are that a residence permit would be sufficient; that, coupled with a residence address.
    1
  560. Trump may do well in the electoral college; but Biden is still going to win the states of NY and CA by massive margins; hence Biden could easily win the popular vote (but lose in the electoral college).
    1
  561.  @SenorJuan2023  Who destroyed the economy.... the Democrat governors & Democrat Mayors.... or Trump?
    1
  562.  @SenorJuan2023  If 30 states use "mail in voting", then Biden will win 30 states.
    1
  563. There are some governments who will grant citizenship to foreigners, but they then require that the person (who has been naturalized) visit the country periodically, e.g., once a year or once every two years; and that if the person fails to do this, he'll lose his citizenship. But at least in those situations, there is total transparency WRT the rules of the game.
    1
  564. He did one on that already.
    1
  565. yes
    1
  566. OK, but WHICH cryptocurrency? There are more than 1500 of them.
    1
  567. One could just buy up the currency (the Armenian Dram) if one is bullish on that economy; one could probably do it with leverage.
    1
  568. I do think that gold will gradually... GRADUALLY... get demonetized over time. But it'll happen over a period of many years. The decline in gold over the last 8 months has not been primarily due to bitcoin (although that may have been a secondary factor). Certainly, it'll be a long time before GOVERNMENTS dump their gold and replace it with bitcoin.
    1
  569. If the far left ever gets control of all three branches of the U.S. government, there's a good chance that I'd give up my US citizenship in order to escape their tax grab and wealth redistribution schemes.
    1
  570. Another consideration... I suppose... for young people starting out is that of the finances of the country in question. In the US, a young person (say, 25 years old) can expect to pay FICA taxes throughout his career.... and when it comes time for him to collect benefits, there'll be nothing there for him.
    1
  571. Yes; if a US citizen is married to a person who is unburdened by US citizenship, he (or she) can reduce his (or her) tax burden to near zero.
    1
  572. The tax rate in Panama isn't all that low when the payroll tax is taken into account.
    1
  573. Fuggetaboudit.
    1
  574.  @jeremyleonbarlow  Your various comments are among the most enlightened I've ever seen in response to one of Andrew Henderson's videos.
    1
  575. He did a video on that very question... several months ago.
    1
  576. Unfunded liabilities have been estimated at $200 trillion.
    1
  577. Russians can't get CBI in Egypt .... or Cape Verde ..... or Jordan? And even if that's true, there are countries they can get a residence permit in.... so that they can work towards citizenship.
    1
  578. Not a question of morality; it's a question of what the IRS will do (if you're a US citizen) and don't meet your tax obligations. Most likely, if you're willing to spend the rest of your life outside the US (and assuming that you're not ultra-rich), the IRS wouldn't take any action against you.
    1
  579.  @royponpon1755  Yes, it's risky to try to fool the IRS. Still, I wonder what the "threshold" might be for the IRS to go after a US citizen who has taken up residence in another country. In any case, thanks for the comment.
    1
  580.  @zzyzx686  OK; thanks for the response.
    1
  581. On a slightly different topic.... if you're Hungarian, you can now AVOID TAXES FOR LIFE by having four children. https://bit.ly/2Zjdf2m
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  582. The thing about a tax on unrealized capital gains is that there's a pretty good chance it would pass Constitutional muster. By contrast, the SCOTUS would be unlikely to accept as Constitutional a federal tax on assets (at least that's true of the CURRENT Supreme Court); but it's much harder to argue against the Constitutionality of a tax on unrealized capital gains. [And, to be clear, I am adamantly opposed to either of these kinds of taxes].
    1
  583.  @Patrick_in_Korea  Yes, I know. As the owner of a house, I WOULD feel comfortable hiding that amount; although if I were renting an apartment, I would not. But for much higher amounts (e.g., one million dollars worth), I'd want to keep it in a vault.
    1
  584.  @grapplerke  Given the tax burden as it is... currently in the US... I would not consider living in a foreign country. The question, however, is how much higher could the tax burden in the US potentially go (especially on an inflation-adjusted basis)...? There does exist a point where it would become too high for me. But we're not there yet.
    1
  585. Nayib Bukele is the least corrupt president that El Salvador has had in a long time. Of course, there's still corruption within the government there; but hell, there's corruption in every government.... including the US government.
    1
  586. Pfizer has more to answer for than any other drug company.
    1
  587.  @elzoog  There'll be cuts in social security; no question about that. The question is whether Congress will specifically punish former American citizens (i.e., those who had previously renounced). They MIGHT decide to punish them.... but only to score political points; not because there'll be much money saved by doing so.
    1
  588. Yeah, Chuck Schumer did propose the "Ex-Patriot Act", designed to punish people who choose to renounce their US citizenship. https://bit.ly/2Pkwm9T If the tax burden in the US is ever increased to the point that large numbers of wealthy people renounce their citizenship, I could see something like this becoming law.
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  589. My understanding is that a US citizen is not required to file an "FBAR" (on his foreign bank accounts) unless his bank account balance (in total) exceeds $10,000; and under FATCA, the financial thresholds (for reporting) are a lot higher than $10,000. Of course, $10,000 isn't a lot of money..... BUT, the US citizen might be able to connect his cryptocurrency account to his foreign bank account, thereby creating a different situation.
    1
  590.  @loveislife77  It would be "detected", but it's a question of reporting requirements.
    1
  591. Yes. US citizens will be subject to taxation on capital gains from currency trading... no matter where in the world they live (except maybe Puerto Rico).
    1
  592. It can be a bit volatile... to say the least.
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  593.  Independent Thinker  No question, there's going to have to be, at some point, a "Great Monetary Reset", and a large-scale debt jubilee. Each person will have to decide how to position himself from the perspective of asset protection, as well as from the perspective of tax minimization.
    1
  594.  @nomadkickbox4049  "any foreigner with money". Do they get that information from the bankers? If so, one could keep only small amounts of money in a Mexican bank. But yes... displaying one's wealth... while in Mexico... is probably not a good idea.
    1
  595.  @sirgalahad2  OK thanks. Still, regardless of what country one is considering, one should always look at BOTH "marginal" rate and "effective" rate. The marginal rate does matter when deciding whether to expend additional work effort... or to take additional risk with capital.
    1
  596. Yeah, she got in very early... at low prices.
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  597. Seems to me that you could get tax residency in the Bahamas.... and then sneak out (on your yacht) to Florida, and be able to spend a lot of your time there, while maintaining that tax residency in the Bahamas. It could work if you were with a partner who could put the bills (while in Florida) in his or her name.
    1
  598.  @alphaleo7025  No, not Cuban; nor do I own a yacht. I'm just trying to understand the rules... and ways around them.
    1
  599.  @asian-links  They have in the past. But now?
    1
  600. Putting aside all of the CBI programs (and citizenship by descent), is there a country that will grant citizenship to people who have resided in the country for less than 6 months? Seems to me that virtually all of them require at least 6 months residency each year for two consecutive years.
    1
  601. A few interesting tidbits there.
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  602. "Slip out on a canoe". Seems like a good plan to me.
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  603.  @sham7564  with respect to WHICH COUNTRIES did you discuss this issue with the "citizenship companies"...?
    1
  604.  @sham7564  if that's really true, I would be very tempted to go through with it.
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  605.  @sham7564  this has been interesting. Thanks for the discussion.
    1
  606. I've listened to many interviews of Jim Rogers over the years.... and I heard several bits of wisdom and insight in this interview that I hadn't heard before.
    1
  607. He's more libertarian than conservative.
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  608. I want a simple "flat tax".... with no deductions, no exemptions for anyone. If we could get that in the US, I think I'd even be willing to let Bernie Sanders decide what the tax rate should be for everyone.
    1
  609. I'm pretty sure that you're incorrect on one point: the elimination of preferential treatment of long-term capital gains. Under Biden's proposal, the preferential treatment of long-term capital gains would be eliminated only for amounts ABOVE ONE MILLION DOLLARS. Of course, were this to become law, it wouldn't take long before that one million dollar threshold were lowered to $500K, then $300K, then $100K. Ditto for the FICA tax on incomes about $400K; the threshold there ($400K) would be lowered, at the same time that the existing cap ($137K) will be raised.
    1
  610. "Milkshake theory". (Brent Johnson).
    1
  611. Yeah; "a tax on weather"... as Art Laffer has described it.
    1
  612.  @nomadcapitalist  Yeah, could be.
    1
  613. Citizenship in St. Lucia.... and in Dominica... both seem like a better deal to me.
    1
  614.  @johnfernandez2961  Real estate could do OK provided that: (a) the bond market behaves, and (b) nominal GDP remains positive. If inflation takes off, mortgage rates will rise sharply; under that scenario, real estate prices will be subject to forces pulling in opposite directions.
    1
  615. I'm not sure that getting legal residence there is all that easy for a person who is not already a citizen of an EU country.... unless, of course, he's willing to shell out a lot of money (like around $585,000)
    1
  616.  @Cuyt24  So what happens with the typical Chinese citizen who gets a second citizenship?
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  617.  @Cuyt24  So if the Chinese government discovers that a Chinese citizen has acquired a 2nd citizenship, the government will then revoke the Chinese citizenship, along with the right of that (former) Chinese citizen to reside in China. This would then be intertwined with the whole question of capital controls; supposedly it's not all that easy (though not impossible) for a Chinese citizen to get his money out of China.
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  618. Turkish citizenship in exchange for a $250K investment in real estate. Very intriguing. This article suggests hedging the Turkish lira against the Hungarian forint: https://bit.ly/2VNIkse . It might also be possible to find a banker who would be willing to provide a US dollar hedge against a declining lira, although this article from August 2018 says that the Turkish government had (at that time) put limits on such hedging: https://cnb.cx/2VMldOS Nevertheless, it is possible that a person could end up getting the citizenship for free, after selling the property.
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  619. Not entirely impossible; but the "bar" is very high; and it appears that they don't allow dual citizenship (except in special circumstances).
    1
  620. Yes; a property tax of $13,600 per year (or greater).... for a rather ordinary house.... is not at all uncommon in many parts of the US. Of course, for the analysis to be more complete, one must also include the total amount of capital invested in the various properties at issue.
    1
  621.  @bradnomad1011  doesn't one have to pay the "self employment tax"...?
    1
  622. No question that there are many, many countries that could impose a "citizenship tax" of 5-10% on those citizens who have moved to other countries; most people would pay that money, rather than renounce their citizenship.
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  623. DXY still holding up; but it won't last.
    1
  624.  @russells9590  I'd be curious to know how things might work for someone who spends exactly four months per year in each of three countries, and who has exactly equal ties to each country (because his income is derived from a corporation that is domiciled in a fourth country).
    1
  625.  @russells9590  OK, thanks.
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  626. @spinning nonsense Interesting.
    1
  627. The tech company executives will happily pay the 18% income taxes.... as will the Hollywood liberals. Nothing will deter those groups of people from staying in California. But as for everyone else, yes.... these tax proposals, if enacted, will accelerate the exodus of taxpayers from California.
    1
  628. US citizens who have a federal pension wouldn't be able to take advantage of this EVEN IF they were willing to renounce their US citizenship.
    1
  629.  @_capr_545  Yes, the current number is indeed a lot lower than 20K per year; my point is that EVEN IF it were 20K or 50K the government would just let them go, because total tax revenue from them is still very small compared with total federal tax revenues.
    1
  630.  @chrish.4891  The capital gains tax rate is 10% (or less) in quite a few countries around the world.
    1
  631. Yes; that is a way to eliminate US tax obligations.
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  632.  @Tom-tk3du  I certainly don't claim to be an expert on either marital law or international tax law. But it would seem to me that if an American man married a woman who is, for example, a Brazilian citizen, and he set up a corporation in the British Virgin Islands, and he put the corporation in his wife's name, I don't see why he would even have to disclose the existence of the corporation at all to the IRS. Another variation would be for him to set up the corporation in his own name, but to pay his wife as an employee (without necessarily revealing to the IRS that the employee is his wife). He could then pay her a salary of, e.g., $200K per year (or more); that $200K would then constitute a valid deduction from his corporate earnings, and therefore not subject to US taxation. POSSIBLY if the US citizen in question were to admit the existence of the marriage to the IRS, you'd be correct; but I'm not sure even of that.
    1
  633. @Fauci is-a-liar What if a wealthy person has most of his money in crypto, but then.... sadly..... loses all of his crypto in a boating accident?
    1
  634. @torontovoice1  when I wrote that comment, the price of citizenship was only $250K... and a person could pay using bitcoin... and without having to report the transaction to the US government. I'd take those terms right now... if they were still available (which, of course, they are not).
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  635. Why is that?
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  636.  @ugoekwegh4581  I'm not in favor of corporate bailouts; but in general, those who received a bailout of some kind did pay more in taxes.... over the 10 years preceding the bailout.... than they received from the government.
    1
  637. John Templeton was a big fan of investing in emerging markets, and frontier markets. Going forward, the strength of the US dollar... or lack of it... will be a key issue.
    1
  638. The problems with the US government will never be fixed...... absent a violent revolution.
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  639.  @lucasbridges8082  OK; if you're willing to enlighten me, I'd be interested
    1
  640.  @blisterj  yeah... plus 5 years of residency.
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  641.  @Pyriold  "Can not".... ..... or SHOULD not....?
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  642. Let's just break up the country now... via a peaceful process.... and not wait for a "hot war".
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  643. If the political left gets control of the government, they may start imposing a very large "exit tax"... that is based on the person's ASSETS. That will be scary if it happens.
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  644. There may be a potential tax angle on this, even for people who retain their US citizenship. I think it might be the case that if a US citizen buys raw land in a foreign country, and keeps that raw land in his own name (i.e., not in the name of a corporation that he owns), he isn't required to inform the IRS of the purchase.... or at least, most foreign governments would not be required... by the US government.... to report the transaction to the IRS.
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  645. Are the "rules of the game" the same for brokerage firms as they are for banks? It's quite possible that the rules would be different.... at least in the case of a brokerage firm that does not allow for check writing privileges; that is, if the brokerage firm REQUIRES that the customer ALSO have a bank account in order to access his money, then it would seem that the government (of the host country) would be willing to allow foreigners to readily open a brokerage account.... even if that same government is hostile to foreigners who endeavor to open a BANK account. If this analysis is correct, then a brokerage account would be the way to go (where large amounts of cash are involved); who wants to have a million dollars sitting around idle anyway?
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  646. ...especially for a car with 300K miles on it.
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  647.  @Dividenddream  Democrat politicians in the US may try to "bribe" the residents of Puerto Rico somehow; hell, it might not take much more than sending each resident of P.R. a check for $2000.
    1
  648.  @dickielarue1451  For SOME people, the tax benefits are sufficient to outweigh the disadvantages.
    1
  649.  @dickielarue1451  No; only a small number of Americans can benefit; they've got to be in a high tax bracket (to make it worth the move), and they've got to either own a business that can be readily relocated to PR, or else they've got to be making their money from investing or trading. So it's only a small number of people. [FWIW, I've never been to Puerto Rico myself].
    1
  650.  @mattball7074  Really? I wouldn't have guessed that.
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  651.  @jillybe1873  I'm not sure that military service is required for those who obtain Turkish citizenship-by-investment; in addition, there is surely an age limit (e.g., age 30).
    1
  652.  @-bnqe-3119  I have US citizenship; so I will remain a "slave" for the foreseeable future. But I know that I could significantly lower my tax burden if I were to relinquish that citizenship. (However, my tax burden would have to go quite a bit higher before I would take that step).
    1
  653. The big question is that of what will happen to real estate if/when inflation asserts itself. I think it would be a net negative for real estate because the bond market would sell off, and the Fed would be forced to tighten monetary policy.
    1
  654.  @micco6020  I don't know anything about that.
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  655.  @mrbushlied7742  You don't pay tax on your FINANCIAL assets.
    1
  656.  @mydadletsmeshootatcats6754  I hate taxes as much as the next person; but I think that... as long as the tax isn't retroactive in effect (or explicitly retroactive).... it isn't "theft" for the reason that almost ANY tax can be avoided; although avoiding a given tax may require a complete reordering of one's life, and a move to another country.
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  657. "EVERY owned asset"...? Like works of art, diamonds, and gold? And in the case of a Brazilian citizen owning raw land (raw land... NOT developed real estate) in another country, is there any way for the Brazilian government to enforce reporting of that asset?
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  658. I dislike taxes as much as the next person.... and probably more so. BUT, at the same time, I can see the point of governments requiring their citizens.... especially citizens of countries where generous entitlement benefits are offered.... to continue paying at least SOME tax in exchange for having the "right of return" to their home country. Because otherwise, a person could leave his home country, stay away for 25 years (or some such), and then... at age 65... return to his home country and demand entitlement benefits. So the governments of western Europe, for example, could very easily demand that their expats continue paying some tax; and I think a lot of the expats would pay the tax in exchange for being able to keep their passport, and also for being able to retain the "right of return" to collect government benefits.
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  659. @Jubukabe Star "Why not just remove them from the programs". That might work .... in principle....but the controversy would exist much more with respect to healthcare than with respect to social security.
    1
  660. Not before the 2022 midterm election.
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  661. If Crazy Bernie gets control of the White House.... at the same time that Schumer & Pelosi have control of the Congress.... then HELL YEAH I'll be leaving the US. But otherwise, there's no hurry.
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  662. "Protecting" existing wealth is one thing; but GROWING one's wealth is quite another. The former is a lot easier than the latter, when one is faced with an oppressive tax regime.
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  663. CHF/USD is around 1.04. Hasn't moved much at all in the last 10 years.
    1
  664. Elizabeth Warren.... if she were POTUS.... would be completely unaffected by that.
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  665.  @D33Lux  I'm not here as an advocate for a higher tax burden; it's about the STRUCTURE of the tax burden. To underscore the point, consider the country of St. Kitts. That country has one of the lowest tax burdens in the entire world, and yet they still have a property tax. Their tax system is 1000 times better (from the perspective of the taxpayer) that what the US has or that Canada has. Despite the fact that St. Kitts imposes a tax on real estate, I'm an enthusiastic advocate of their tax system.
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  666. Yeah, there are a few countries like that in Central & South America.... with territorial tax systems.
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  667.  @user-vx2wp1ez5s  Renouncing one's citizenship is not a small thing. Things would have to get A LOT WORSE before I'd do it.
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  668.  @nickoy1109  Thanks.
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  669. If Biden gets the taxes that he wants, then yes.
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  670. To FULLY escape.... yes. But using the FEIE, you can shield $216K per year from taxation; separate and apart from that, you can avoid capital gains taxes on crypto by being a resident of Puerto Rico. In addition, you could marry someone who doesn't have US citizenship; and run all your business profits through a corporation (ostensibly) owned by her (or him). In addition, there are ways of minimizing taxes using offshore trusts.
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  671.  @erikrichardgregory  You could get some of the "big picture" stuff on your own; enough perhaps to make a tentative initial decision. But if you're actually going to carry out a plan and move to another country and set up an offshore company (or offshore trust) then you've got to hire an international tax attorney.
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  672. Not mentioned in the video is that Biden wants to increase the "cap" on income.... income that is subject to the FICA tax... to $400K. And, of course, that's on top of increases in the income tax. That, in and of itself, could provide motivation to persons earning more than $200K to leave the US. Regarding capital gains, Biden hasn't yet said how high he wants to raise that particular tax, at least for people earning less than $1 million per year; but for incomes ABOVE $1 million, he wants to ELIMINATE PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT OF CAPITAL GAINS ALTOGETHER, i.e., capital gains would be taxed at the ordinary income rate. I'm also concerned that, with all the money-printing and debt creation, we're going to get higher inflation. A lot of smart people have been saying that the value of the US dollar is going to start to decline in about 2 years (although many of them believe that the USD will RISE in forex markets before falling). So, combine an inflation rate of 10-15% with a capital gains tax of 30-50%.... that would be a TOTAL DISASTER for anyone with a lot of capital to invest... at least if they remain in the US.
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  673.  @eugenechin2863  Yeah, could be; but the whole place will empty out of that happens.
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  674.  @duraa161  it's not risky for a person to have a Caribbean passport. The question is that of the risks inherent in having a Caribbean passport as the "one and only" passport. We've already seen what happened to holders of the Vanuatu passport; something like that could potentially happen with (or to) one of the Caribbean countries.
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  675. Also a question of what will happen to the US dollar in forex markets. Something BIG is going to happen there... within 10 years, if not 5.
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  676.  @michaelgusovsky  So when 30 million illegal aliens finally get the means to vote, they'll all vote for conservative politicians.... or libertarian politicians?
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  677.  @michaelgusovsky  I am acutely aware of the financial and economic circumstances facing the US. My point is about the future... the next 10-20 years. And yes, the national debt & unfunded liabilities will be a huge anchor on the economy; and the US dollar may lose its reserve status. BUT... 40 million illegal aliens voting for socialism won't help matters either.... in the future.
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  678.  @michaelgusovsky  "Illegals are the result, not the cause". Interesting philosophical question you've raised there. But yes, the "American Empire" is on the decline.
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  679. If a US citizen.... residing in the US and utilizing the US banking system.... buys crypto, the US government is likely to know about it. The question, however, is that of how much they'll know about the magnitude of the unrealized capital gains that may accrue over time.
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  680.  @gu3sswh075  Yes, but you can sell off the gold SLOWLY, and in different countries. In the US, for example, I THINK the way it works is that if you sell less than $10,000 worth in a given year, through a given gold dealer, that dealer isn't required to report the sale to the IRS. And so if one wanted to sell $29,000 worth of gold, for example, one could sell through three different dealers. And that's just dealers in the US; I don't know what the rules are in other countries.
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  681.  @TT-tq3sb  " Purchase of gold has to be in registered gold products". To be honest, I've never bought physical gold, beyond one single gold coin (although I've bought tons of "paper gold"). So are you saying that gold dealers report EVERY gold purchase and EVERY gold sale to the IRS....? I find that very, very hard to believe. And what about the role of professional gold authenticators? Is it the case that they cannot play any role here?
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  682.  @anthonytran2619  That's good information (I've owned tons of "paper gold" over the years, but never the physical bullion). But I've got 2 questions. First, if you've got gold BARS (not coins), and you've been storing them in your house, and you try to sell them to a gold dealer, might he want to assay them first (and charge you a fee for that)...? My 2nd question is about selling gold bullion to a dealer in a foreign country (e.g., Switzerland, Singapore, Austria, etc). If you... as a US citizen... wanted to sell, say, $50,000 worth of gold to that dealer, would he be under any obligation to report the sale to the US government? I assume the answer is "no", but I'm not 100% certain.
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  683. ​ @tameemmayet4454 for a price... and assuming that none of the offspring have acquired a criminal record.
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  684. Yes; that is my concern as well, i.e., the the government will lower the amount of the FEIE (foreign earned income exclusion), while AT THE SAME TIME imposing a 70% marginal tax rate on income, while AT THE SAME TIME eliminating preferential tax treatment of long-term capital gains, while AT THE SAME TIME inflation is running at a 10% clip.
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  685. Here's a link to a story about Oleg Tinkov: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/founder-russian-bank-charged-tax-fraud Given that he's a Russian citizen, it would seem that he could just go live in Russia; it seems very unlikely that if the US government asked the Russian government to extradite him, the Russian government would comply.
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  686. Having to learn Spanish is one thing; having to learn Vietnamese or Khmer is quite another.
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  687. If the US government tried to squeeze more money out of those corporations, they'd keep even more money offshore, they'd hire fewer Americans, they'd charge higher prices, and... some of them might even decide to become domiciled in another country entirely. There is no free lunch here.
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  688.  @jeremyleonbarlow  I've actually heard a different take on the effects of the 2017 (the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act); namely that the TCJA made the whole business of international taxation more complex (from the perspective of US companies), but... that the complexity works TO THE ADVANTAGE of the giant multinationals, while at the same time working to the DETRIMENT of the smaller offshore companies (that are owned by Americans).
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  689.  @jeremyleonbarlow  Thanks for the response.
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  690. Yeah, I sort of lean in that direction also; HOWEVER, one can never be sure when the "window of opportunity" to get a particular 2nd passport will close. It's happened before.
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  691. UBS charging wealthy clients a negative 0.75% interest rate (https://bit.ly/2K7epsn)
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  692.  @DanTheQueasy-Fisherman  Depends exactly what you mean by "control". The government of a given country cannot stop its residents from buying or using cryptocurrency.... UNLESS that government is willing to actually put people in prison for using it. As bad as the US government may be at this point, it's a long, long way from that sort of draconian policy.
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  693. I think that...when you renounce...you're allowed to hang on to a significant amount of unrealized capital gains without having to pay tax on it. You should look into that angle.
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  694. Pretty hard for a person to get Russian citizenship if he can't speak the language.
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  695. What's the difference if the Iranian government lets a citizen renounce... or not? If an Iranian can obtain citizenship from another country.... and if he's able to live in a country other than Iran, his Iranian citizenship shouldn't be a burden.
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  696. Columbian citizenship would probably be far more valuable. As for which economy will grow more over the next 10 years, I'd put my money on Columbia. But the tax system is better in Guatemala.
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  697. Maybe.... MAYBE if Congress were to repeal the FATCA law, there'd be a few people interested in paying $5M for US citizenship; but otherwise, it's hard to believe that there'll be a lot of takers.
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  698. Interesting. I bet it wouldn't be too difficult finding someone willing to "get married" for a fee of $25K or so. (Citizenship by marriage in Cape Verde would be another option, but most people there speak only Portuguese).
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  699.  @kennethroth6757  And so? Is there a change to prop 13 that you would favor... if it could be done in such a way as to be revenue-neutral? (Not that the politicians in California would support any tax law changes, if they were revenue-neutral).
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  700.  @timpoolsbeanie2296  Sure, prop 13 is great for anyone who's owned a house in CA for the last 20 years. The issue, however, is whether it's so great for someone who has just now purchased a house. And really my point is about a REVENUE-NEUTRAL alternative to prop 13, i.e., how much lower could the property tax rate be if there were no cap on the rate at which the assessed property value could increase?
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  701.  @timpoolsbeanie2296  Yeah, I think that that is at least rational; but I would have preferred to see it happen in a revenue-neutral way (not that I would ever expect the California politicians to make tax law changes that are revenue-neutral).
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  702. @Some Guy I never "read" the book; I LISTENED to the audio book instead. Made much better use of my time that way.
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  703. ​ @andrewcarlson2178 under US law, there is no requirement to withdraw money from a Roth account. As such, those who choose to do it will generally be in a low tax bracket in any case.
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  704. Yeah, I think that if an American wants to live in Mexico, he'll be safe in MOST places within that country... as long as he stays far away from anyone who's affiliated with one of the drug cartels
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  705. If you can get citizenship in the Bahamas for little or no money .... as a result of your birth there.... then why not? That said, the process might take a couple of years (based on comments Andrew has made in the past).
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  706. So now senator Ron Wyden wants to increase the tax rate on capital gains... and worse... to make people pay taxes on UNREALIZED GAINS.... every year. https://bit.ly/2HXDlmC Total insanity.
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  707. "One of this days they can disallow renunciation of citizenship" That's an interesting theory, in view of the fact that the US taxes its citizens no matter where they live.
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