Hiding Behind the Flag - GOP Assaults on Privacy Drives More Wealth Offshore!

1. The Bahamas government has been deeply imbued with traditions of both corruption and racialism by Lyndon Pyndling's crowd.

True. But a lot of that has subsided, mostly in the last three years. Also, the people who move there don't usually live on the major islands. But, if you have the bucks, some of the private islands are quite nice. And remember, we are talking about people who, for the most part, have the bucks. If I were to move to Bahamas, I would choose one of the many private islands, like Cat Caye. I didn't count them all, but I would say that there are roughly 50 to 75 very nice homes on Cat Caye, along with a small contingent of support staff - very exclusive, but very laid back. No cars. Just golf carts. And the Bahamian Police love them. Duty on those private islands are considered prime assignments.

2. Panama may seem like a good place for banking secrecy, until, provoked by the Chinese who are penetrating Panama as I write and tightening their grip on the canal, the U.S. military shows up to secure a vital U.S. strategic interest.

It doesn't matter. The reason that Panama is on the list, it because of their Private Interest Foundations (PIF). Under their PIF law, neither the founder nor the beneficiary must be named in the registered documentation. It's like holding a company with bearer stock. Only the founder knows who all of the people involved are. You can even arrange it so the Trustee has no idea who the beneficiary is. In other words, there is no recorded documentation anywhere in Panama that names the founder or the beneficiary. So, you might have IBC's in several other countries that feed their profits through one or more Panamanian PIF's, which in turn, route the funds to other Panamanian PIF's and IBC's in other countries. Such an elaborate setup is only necessary for those who want to maintain extreme secrecy. But, with that setup, any trail stops in Panama. Billionaires who don't want to be known as extremely wealthy often use such strategies. Even the NSA can't find out who are the beneficiaries, since that info it doesn't exist on paper in the country. They do have a fairly large expat community in Panama that provides the country a lot of foreign exchange, with little overhead, so the government likes them a lot. Some expats like it a lot, but I understand that it's not for everybody, especially if you don't speak Spanish.

3. You put the U.K. and Canada on the list, countries with far leftier laws and higher tax rates than the U.S. Enough said.

Actually, the effective tax rate for international investors is much lower in both of those countries, since neither of them tax offshore income, like the the US does. If 80% of your income is earned offshore and stays offer, your tax rate in those countries is dramatically lower than the US. Both of those countries offer most of the amenities and modern conveniences that the US does, but without the onerous worldwide taxes. With a properly structured portfolio, a person living in Canada can recognize only as much income as it take him to live in Canada and pay tax on that amount and leave the rest offshore, where it can compound much faster than if he were a US citizen and had to pay tax on that income as well.

4. Belize has a very low cost of living....but try to get medical care there.

The medical care there is average for Central America, which makes it below par for the US. There are, however, some fairly good medical facilities just across the border in Mexico and it's only 2 hours to Houston, Miami or New Orleans. But the medical care situation will probably change in a year or two. In fact, if all goes as planned, my company will probably underwrite the construction of a level 1 or 2 trauma center hospital in Belize, in a couple of years, along with a Life-Flight helicopter and a sustaining grant. That's better than hospitals in all but a dozen or so US cities. We hope to eventually set up a medical school there, to turn our bilingual doctors, who can staff other hospitals in Central and South America (most Belizeans speak English and at least one other language, often Spanish). But for divers, Belize is ideal. They have the longest barrier reef in this hemisphere and a decompression chamber on Ambergris Key, with a medical school that specializes in decompression sickness. Although their international phone rates are not too great and full time Internet service is expensive, since Belize is on the coast, you can access the same cost effective satellite service that the yachts and cruise ships use (billed by actual bandwidth used) and it handles voice over IP quite well. But, one of the main things that makes Belize attractive is their bank privacy laws, that are part of their Constitution, meaning that they can't just bend over for the OECD, FATF, etc. Changing those laws would require a vote of the people and Belizeans are some of the best informed voters in any country and they know that their bank laws draw lots of investment. All in all, it is quite an acceptable alternative, if you have just a little more money than most.

5. Are you sure you want to exchange your American citizenship for a place in Singaporean society as an ethnic minority whose good treatment is secured only by his liquidity?

Remember that the people that we are talking about are very liquid and are usually not afraid to use their wealth to secure better treatment. They even do it right here in the US. But actually, Singapore is most attractive to non-white Americans (Hindu, Oriental, etc.). As you point out, though they are great places to visit, they are not places where most white Americans might want to settle, unless they are well heeled. Keep in mind that the list that I presented was not meant to be ideal for everyone. They are places where lots of US expats are known to have settled. But, every person has different requirements.

6. Antilles - there is still the racial element and the resentment.

I am not that familiar with Antilles. I know that they do have a moderate sized expat community there, but I don't know the makeup. It may well be largely non-white, but I really don't know, since I ruled it out personally, some time ago.

7. And I can not believe you put Cuba on the list!!

One word. "Investment." Nobody wants to live there. I think that I made it clear that Cuba was for investment only. Many Europeans are investing in Cuba now, because they know that when Castro dies, those who have a foot in the door in Cuba stand to make a lot of money. But, American citizens are denied access to that opportunity. Granted, there are some risks. But, the great potential is worth risking a small part of your investment capital.

You see, the reason that I didn't just say, "This one country is the best place for expats," is because everyone has different expectations. Some people just want to invest offshore and some want to live offshore. Yet others, just want a second passport, as a hedge against the US closing the doors to US citizens leaving without permission. Each country offers something different.

If things here should continue to get worse and I should eventually find it so risky that I would leave, I'm not sure where I would actually move. Ireland offers a lot of potential. It's beautiful. London is close by, so we would have easy access to the arts there and my wife could do her major shopping there. On the other hand, being a scuba diver, Belize is of interest, especially since we have a lot of business interests there. But then, they say you should not live where you earn your money. Finally, Tobago is very nice. It and it's sister island, Trinidad, are very modern, supported by a healthy oil and gas industry, with a large US corporate presence. And since it is out of the hurricane path, you can dock a yacht at Port of Spain year round and not have to worry about rushing home to evacuate it.

It's all up to the individual and his tastes. That's why most of the links that I provided were to pages that provided many other links related to that particular country. Everyone has his own idea of paradise and how and where he wants to invest. You have to do your homework. The links that I provided are only a good place to start.

But, whenever I meet someone who has actually decided to go, I always tell them two things. The first is to rent a condo for a minimum of 2 months and preferably 6 months, in the country they have chosen to live, before they purchase property there. The other thing is, for maximum flexibility, have your citizenship in at least two countries (neither being US), have your permanent residence in a different country and do your investing in several others. That way, no single upheaval in one country will be a personal catastrophe for you - that is, unless one of your citizenships happens to be US, in which case, they can come after your assets anywhere in the world.

The many expats that I know say that expat success isn't really difficult. The key, they all say, is research, research, research, before you go. The links that I provided are just places to start that research.

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