Syria and Second Passports

By Nick Giambruno, Editor, International Man

All of us by now have seen the latest sales pitch from the Obama administration for yet another so-called "humanitarian intervention" in the Middle East. It is not hard to see that the case for war is a bunch of rubbish and will likely end in disaster for both Syria and the US.

I am not diminishing the tragedy that is going on in Syria. The events there touch me on a personal level. I have good friends who live in Damascus and have been there myself several times when the situation wasn't so hot.

As some of you may know, I used to live in neighboring Beirut while I was cutting my teeth in finance at a regional investment bank. Due to its rich history and importance today, I have long been interested in the Middle East and sought ways to combine it with my professional background in finance. Continue reading "Syria and Second Passports"

How to Prove Benjamin Franklin Wrong About Taxes

By International Man,

"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

– Benjamin Franklin

In most cases, Mr. Franklin's statement would be correct. However, as you will see below, there are some countries in the world where you can be certain you won't pay taxes.

With the year 2013 marking the 100th anniversary of the income tax and the Federal Reserve in the US (two of the most powerful tools the government uses to extract wealth), I thought it would be useful to look at when Tax Freedom Day occurs across the world to gain some perspective.

Tax Freedom Day (TFD) is the day of the year that the average person has in theory earned enough money to pay his or her annual tax bill.

If TFD falls on January 1, that means you are a milk cow for ZERO days out of the year for the government. If it falls on June 30, it means you are working 181 days each year to pay off your taxes.

Unfortunately, most of us will spend some time during the year acting as a milk cow in some fashion for a government.

Below is a table showing when TFD hits in the countries within the EU.

The government of Hungary, Belgium, and France are the worst offenders in the EU, keeping their citizens in tax servitude astoundingly until around August each year.

If you are unlucky enough to be in the suffocating grasp of a high-tax jurisdiction, you will likely have only a couple of months of salary (if even that) out of the year that can be potentially utilized as savings after essential living expenses are met.

In the US, TFD comes around April 17. Of course, individual circumstances will vary, and TFD in the US can come a lot later than April 17 for many Americans.

Whether you are American, European, or any other nationality, it doesn't have to be this way. You do not need to be working for the government for a good portion of the year.

It is possible to take steps to internationalize and legally reduce the number of days the government milks you of the fruits of your labor.

Some countries do not have an income tax or essentially any other type of tax that could hit the average individual.

TFD could come on January 1 for you if you have no external obligations and fall under the jurisdiction in any of the countries in the table below.

Countries With No Personal Income Tax
Andorra
Anguilla
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Brunei Darussalam
Cayman Islands
Kuwait
Maldives
Monaco
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
St. Kitts & Nevis
Turks and Caicos
United Arab Emirates
Vanuatu

There are many ways to internationalize and legally structure yourself and your business around these and other low-tax countries.

One possibility could involve an American citizen obtaining a second citizenship, then becoming a resident of one of the countries above, and finally renouncing US citizenship in order to obtain a tax-free existence. Of course, this is but one possibility. There are many options with varying degrees of protection.

You could prove Benjamin Franklin wrong – taxes are not necessarily a certainty.

It is still legal and practical to take steps to internationalize, but if history is any guide, it won't be so forever... especially as governments (particularly in the West) become more desperate.

Moving your assets abroad is the most effective way to protect what's rightfully yours from your home government… but most people have no idea where to begin. That's why Casey Research has put together a special web event, Internationalizing Your Assets. Featuring New York Times best-selling author Doug Casey and other experts on international diversification, it premiers April 30 at 2 p.m. EDT and is must-viewing for anyone looking for ways to legally shield wealth from greedy politicians. Get more information and register today.

Election Time

By Jeff Thomas, International Man

"Anybody who wants the presidency so much that he'll spend two years organizing and campaigning for it is not to be trusted with the office." - David Broder

"If voting could actually change anything, it would be illegal." - Noam Chomsky

Generally, I tend not to comment on elections, as I consider them to be largely unimportant. That is, regardless of which candidate is elected, the actual outcome tends to be much the same. In most countries, the higher the office being contested, the less real difference there is between the candidates.

First, unlike, say, a beauty pageant, in which the voter may have up to fifty contestants to choose from (as in the US), the governments of the world do all that is in their power to limit the choices to two contestants. Second, the more sophisticated the electoral system, the more likely it is that the two candidates are quite similar in both their level of ability and their apparent sincerity in serving the public who elect them. Third, the more apparent an issue is in the eyes of the voters, the less likely it is that the candidates will actually offer a specific plan to solve it. Continue reading "Election Time"

"The Bank Was Saved, and the People Were Ruined"

By Jeff Thomas, International Man

The above quote is from William Gouge, commenting on the Panic of 1819. The panic had been caused when the First Bank of the United States had first expanded the money supply dramatically by offering loans, then contracted the money supply by tightening its requirements for new loans, causing a crash.

This is a useful quote, as, in its simplicity, it states the very nature of crashes brought on by irresponsible banking practices. In every case in which this occurs, it is possible through the complicity of the government of the day.

The origin of this syndrome goes back to Mayer Rothschild, a very clever fellow who, in the late 18th century, offered financial benefits to politicians in Germany in trade for political support for whatever activities his bank might practice. Rothschild was a long-term thinker; his method involved the offering of regular emoluments to politicians without their having to provide him with anything immediately. Then, when he needed a large favour, he would call it in.

Movie buffs may see a similarity between Rothschild's method and the deals made by Don Corleone in The Godfather. "Some day - and that day may never come - I'll call upon you to do a service for me."

Rothschild created boom-and-bust cycles which were highly profitable for his bank, but depended upon the support of the government when the "bust" part came along. Continue reading ""The Bank Was Saved, and the People Were Ruined""

Canada – The New Evolution in Financial Security

By Greg McNally, International Man

With the OECD, EU and US continuing to put pressure on traditional financial centres, clients from emerging markets such as Russia, China and Brazil are now looking to new jurisdictions to plan for their financial security. One of those jurisdictions may be Canada.

In the case of Fundy Settlement v. Canada, 2012 SCC 14 [April, 2012], the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a trust should be taxed where its "mind and management" is located, not where the trustee is resident. Although these locations could be the same, tax residency for Canadian purposes is now determined to be where the principal place of business of the trust is conducted.

Therefore, a company can be incorporated in Canada. That company can enter into a trust indenture as trustee (either on declaration, or settlement) on behalf of a client and, if the trustee engages a co-trustee or a trust administrator from outside of Canada to perform the day to day management of the trust, no tax consequences will arise in Canada. As a trust not subject to tax in Canada, there is also no requirement to file any sort of information or tax return. Continue reading "Canada – The New Evolution in Financial Security"