Comments by "dlukton" (@dlukton) on "Why I Don’t Like Spain’s Golden Visa Program" video.

  1.  @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.
    3
  2. As long as you avoid the wealth tax, it could make sense for you to live there.
    2
  3.  @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.
    2
  4.  @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.
    2
  5.  @peppersghosttheater  OK then, I promise that I will stop causing problems.
    2
  6. OK then; you twisted my arm.
    2
  7.  @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).
    1
  8.  @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.
    1