Tax laws and treaties, residency visa requirements, opportunities for obtaining second citizenship, documentation required to open a bank account, currency controls and exchange restrictions...as well as the political and the economic landscapes jurisdiction to jurisdiciton…all these things change all the time.
Unibank, a Panama City bank that we've been recommending as a good choice for foreigners looking to open accounts in Panama, decided two months ago that it would no longer accept foreign clients who haven't been resident in Panama for at least two years.
In 2008, Panama made wholesale changes to its residency permit requirements, increasing both the minimum required investment amounts for all categories and the income requirement for the pensionado visa.
Then, earlier this year, Panama created a whole new residency category that amounts to the easiest way anywhere in the world to establish foreign residency. It also provides for a work permit, something that is generally unheard-of. As Panama legal eagle Rainelda Mata-Kelly put it, "If you want to move to Panama, certainly if you'd like to have the option to work in Panama, you should jump on this. This unique opportunity will almost certainly disappear when the current administration is out of office."
While we were living in the country, Ireland changed its constitution to eliminate automatic citizenship for anyone born on the island. They have also, at various times, changed the rules associated with becoming a citizen through ancestry.
France has changed how the country taxes rental income. Foreign property owners are now meant to pay any associated social charges (although this is technically illegal under EU law).
A few years ago, Costa Rica changed both the minimum requirements and the benefits associated with its pensionado program.
This year, Argentina has imposed stricter currency controls making it very difficult to get hard currency out of that country.
Belize recently passed foundation laws to be competitive with jurisdictions offering foundations as a structures option. Now, in Belize, you can choose a trust or a foundation for your long-term planning.
Etc.
Any list of the World's Top Offshore Havens is a moving target. In the face of this, how can you make a plan and take action?
By making your plan as diversified as possible. This is the big-picture point of the discussions here in Panama City this week.
Do your banking in one country (where you can feel reasonably secure your deposits are safe), reside in another (where you pay no tax), run your business in a third (where entrepreneurs are respected and incentivized), maybe acquire a second passport elsewhere...
Have gold on deposit in one jurisdiction, keep a physical mailing address in another, and arrange for phone and fax services, again, someplace else...
No, not everyone needs this level of diversification. It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. My point is that, to protect yourself and to maximize your opportunities, you need to remain open-minded and flexible.
Plant your flags based on your current circumstances and agendas. But don't plant them in concrete. You might want to be able to move them around from time to time.
Kathleen Peddicord
P.S. The discussions taking place at this week's Offshore Summit are detailed, pragmatic, practical, and invaluable. We're recording every one of them. While the conference continues (that is, for today only), you can purchase the complete collection of recordings, which will be bundled to create our all-new Offshore Self-Preservation Kit, for a specially discounted pre-publication price.
When the final speaker leaves the stage tonight, this discount will be off the table. Meantime, you can take advantage of it here now.Continue Reading:
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"There was even, recently, legislation proposed that would have made it possible for the IRS to take away the passport of any U.S. person it accused of owing US$50,000 or more in back taxes. The IRS wouldn't have to prove the accusation...just make it. And the American in question would find himself without a passport.
"This legislation was shot down, but I believe you can expect to see it put forward again.
"More recently, the IRS has been allowed to raid the IRA account of one American with a disputed tax debt.
"This is the climate we're all navigating," Lief continued. "What can you do?
"You can moan, groan, and complain. Woe is me...
"You can wait, watch, and hope for someone to come along to help...to show you what to do from here. But who would that someone be? Some government? It's government that has gotten us where we are today.
"Your only sensible option is to take control yourself."
Analyze. Monitor. Adjust. Adapt. Overcome.
That's the starting point for this week's discussions here in Panama City at this Offshore Summit.
Lief began the day by walking attendees through the basic strategy.
"Diversification," Lief said. "That's fundamentally what we're talking about. Three flags...five flags...seven flags...call it what you like. The point is to spread your assets, your investments, your business interests, and your life around.
"If you're diversified among different asset classes or investment types but all in the United States...you're not diversified," Lief pointed out.
"If you've got several bank accounts but all Stateside, you're not diversified.
"How many of you have more than one credit card in your wallet right now?"
Everyone in the room raised his hand.
"Good," Lief continued. "That's a start. You need more than one credit card, more than one bank account, more than one residency, and, I strongly recommend, more than one citizenship.
"You need options. That's the key to surviving and thriving in the face of what's to come...whatever's to come."
This isn't about hiding money. This isn't about avoiding taxes. This isn't about getting away with anything or breaking any law. Years ago, that could have been the case. Years ago, these ideas and agendas were more cloak and dagger, more suspect, and pursued by what was generally recognized as a fringe element.
Today these objectives are a necessity of the world we're living in.
"Diversify or die broke," as Lief put it.
Lief was followed by Mark Nestmann, the world's top residency and second citizenship expert, who continued in the same theme.
"Here are the three steps to taking back control of your life, your money, and your future," Mark began.
"First, establish an offshore economic base. Move your assets, your investments, and your business interests offshore.
"Second, find a suitable new country for establishing residency. Note that it's possible to be a legal resident of a foreign country without being physically resident there. Foreign residency can be a back-up plan, a waiting option.
"Third, obtain a second citizenship. This can follow from your foreign residency...or, depending on your circumstances and the jurisdiction, it can be the result of genealogy or a direct investment.
"Follow these three steps," Mark explained, "and you're in control. You, not any government anywhere, are in the driver's seat of your life and your future."
Kathleen Peddicord
P.S. We're recording every speaker and every presentation, every question and every expert response over the three days of this final Offshore Summit of this year. While the conference continues, you can purchase the complete collection of recordings, which will be bundled to create our all-new Offshore Self-Preservation Kit, for a specially discounted pre-publication price.
When the final speaker leaves the stage Friday evening, this discount (of more than 70%) will be off the table. Meantime, you can take advantage of it here now.Continue Reading:
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Fortunately, different countries shine for different reasons. Some are better for banking, others for investing, some for residency, and yet others as places to incorporate your business. No country gets A ratings on all fronts.
Panama is one country that gets close. Banking options are great in Panama, with more than 80 banks operating here. Most won't open a consumer account for you unless you have a "connection" to Panama either through residency or because you own real estate in the country. Private banking accounts are easier to open, but require high minimum balances, from US$25,000 to US$1 million at the high end. You can also open a corporate account if you open a Panamanian corporation. Investment opportunities in Panama are mostly related to real estate--rental investments, timber, land banking, and development.
Using Panama as a base for incorporating your business can make sense as the country doesn't tax entities that aren't operating in Panama. You can set up a business in Panama and have an office in the country and still pay no Panama taxes if all your income is derived from outside Panama or if your business qualifies under the rules of one of the incentive areas of Panama Pacifico or the City of Knowledge.
Panama offers many options for residency, including the new "Specific Countries" residency visa that has been expanded to include 47 countries. If you hold a passport from one of these countries, residency (and I mean permanent residency) is straightforward. If you don't hail from one of those 47 countries, you still have a dozen other residency options, including a very easy retirement residency option.
Even though Panama offers good choices related to nearly all the Five Flag agendas, you don't want to plant all your flags here. Choose one or maybe two to base in this country and then look to other jurisdictions for the others. If you decide to live in Panama, then you'll want a local bank account, but plant a banking flag in another country, too. Don't bring the bulk of your assets with you to Panama if you plan to live here. And incorporate your business here only if you need a local company for operations.
What other jurisdictions should you be looking at? We'll discuss the best choices right now in more detail at the conference later this week. Here's a short list to help focus your thinking:
- Banking - Belize, Uruguay, Singapore
- Residency - Uruguay, Ireland, Malaysia
- Citizenship (through residency) - Ireland, Uruguay, Dominican Republic
- Citizenship (through ancestry) - Dictated by where your family is from
- Economic Citizenship - Dominica, St. Kitts
- Assets/Investment - for real estate: Colombia; for farmland: Uruguay; for a brokerage account: Denmark
- Asset Protection - Belize, Cook Islands
- Incorporating Your Business - Singapore, Nevis
Of course, coming up with a personal strategy for which jurisdictions are best for you is more complicated than simply picking countries for each flag. Still, this list will get you started.
This is where we'll start our discussions tomorrow for this week's Offshore Summit. With the help of more than three-dozen of the world's leading offshore experts and advisors, I'll walk attendees through the thinking that should go into customizing your own Five Flags diversification plan.
If you're unable to join us, don't worry. Kathleen Peddicord will be attending as journalist-in-residence. She'll report from the scene in real time each day.
In addition, each day's sessions, including every presentation, every workshop, and all Q&A, will be recorded. We'll make the complete bundle of recordings and speaker materials available as part of our new Offshore Summit Home Conference Kit, which you'll be able to purchase starting tomorrow for a discounted pre-release price. Meantime, you can register your interest here to be sure to be eligible for the pre-publication discount.
Lief SimonContinue Reading:
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"You understand the realities we're facing right now," Lief began, "thanks to the so-called Patriot Act, the HIRE Act, FATCA, and the coming 30% withholding that's going to be imposed on any U.S. person trying to transfer money to what the IRS deems a 'non-compliant bank.'
"There was even, recently, legislation proposed that would have made it possible for the IRS to take away the passport of any U.S. person it accused of owing US$50,000 or more in back taxes. The IRS wouldn't have to prove the accusation...just make it. And the American in question would find himself without a passport.
"This legislation was shot down, but I believe you can expect to see it put forward again."
This is the climate we're all navigating. What can you do?
You can moan, groan, and complain. Woe is me...
You can wait, watch, and hope for someone to come along to help...to show you what to do from here. But who would that someone be? Some government? It's government that has gotten us where we are today.
Your only sensible option is to take control yourself.
Analyze. Monitor. Adjust. Adapt. Overcome.
That's the starting point for this week's discussions here in Panama City at this Emergency Offshore Summit.
Lief began the day by walking attendees through the basic strategy.
"Diversification," Lief said. "That's fundamentally what we're talking about. Three flags...five flags...seven flags...call it what you like. The point is to spread your assets, your investments, your business interests, and your life around.
"If you're diversified among different asset classes or investment types but all in the United States...you're not diversified," Lief pointed out.
"If you've got several bank accounts but all Stateside, you're not diversified.
"How many of you have more than one credit card in your wallet right now?"
Everyone in the room raised his hand.
"Good," Lief continued. "That's a start. You need more than one credit card, more than one bank account, more than one residency, and, I strongly recommend, more than one citizenship.
"You need options. That's the key to surviving and thriving in the face of what's to come...whatever's to come."
Lief was followed by Mark Nestmann, the world's top residency and second citizenship expert, who continued in the same theme.
"Here are the three steps to taking back control of your life, your money, and your future," Mark began.
"First, establish an offshore economic base. Move your assets, your investments, and your business interests offshore.
"Second, find a suitable new country for establishing residency. Note that it's possible to be a legal resident of a foreign country without being physically resident there.
"Third, obtain a second citizenship. This can follow from your foreign residency...or, depending on your circumstances and the jurisdiction, it can be the result of genealogy or a direct investment.
"Follow these three steps," Mark explained, "and you're in control. You, not any government anywhere, are in the driver's seat of your life and your future."
Kathleen Peddicord
P.S. As I've explained, we're recording every speaker and every presentation, every question and every expert response over the three days of this Emergency Offshore Summit. While the conference continues, you can purchase the complete collection of recordings, which will be bundled to create our all-new Emergency Offshore Self-Preservation Kit, for a specially discounted pre-publication price.
When the final speaker leaves the stage Wednesday evening, this discount will be off the table. Meantime, you can take advantage of it here now. Continue Reading:
Read more...
I have a Top 10 list. On it are my picks for the best places in the world to think about spending your time and your money. This list has been created based on more than 27 years' experience traveling the globe and covering this live, retire, invest overseas beat...and it has been compiled with the help of dozens of correspondents and friends who keep in touch with me in real time from all corners of this earth.
I can't be everywhere at once or know, firsthand, the situation on the ground in every country in the world at any given time. But I can stay well-informed, with the help of smart, savvy people I trust to provide me not only with information (information is a glut on the market...often not worth the virtual paper it's printed on), but, much more important, with perspective and judgment born of real-world experience.
In that context, here are my Top 10 picks right now:
#1: Panama
#2: Belize
#3: France
#4: Colombia
#5: Ecuador
#6: Argentina
#7: Uruguay
#8: Thailand
#9: Malaysia
#10: Nicaragua
The trouble with a Top 10 list is that it's limited to 10. If I were to expand this list a bit, I'd add:
#11: Chile
#12: Guatemala
#13: Mexico
#14: China
#15: Croatia
#16: Malta
#17: Dominican Republic
#18: Spain
#19: Vietnam
#20: New Zealand
Some of these countries make sense as full-time overseas retirement havens; some are more interesting for part-time living (because of the challenges and costs associated with establishing permanent legal residency).
All, though, offer particular advantages to the would-be retiree, adventurer, or investor.
That is not to say, however, they are the only places in the world that could make sense for you. You have your own agendas and circumstances, your personal experiences and priorities.
If you've been traveling to the Bay Islands of Honduras for years, for example, as has one reader who wrote the other day...have made friends in this part of the world...have begun shopping for a beach home on Roatan...don't think you must adjust your plan and refocus your attention on Belize because I recommend that country over Honduras.
It's true. Belize is generally more advantaged than Honduras. The whole of the country is English-speaking (while, in Honduras, it's the folks out on the Bay Islands, only, who use English as their primary language of communication).
Belize is more stable politically than Honduras. Its currency is tied to the U.S. dollar (a plus for those whose income is denominated in Greenbacks...it means no exchange risk). Its foreign residency program is one of the most user-friendly in the world right now. And Belize qualifies as one of the few remaining banking havens on the planet.
All of that is true, but it doesn't mean that Roatan, Honduras, couldn't make the ideal place for you to live or retire.
This is such a personal decision. I offer my Top 10 (20) list as a guide, as some stars to steer by. Based on my long experience and with the help of real-time intelligence from friends on the ground in each place, I recommend these places as worth a close look. But, again, I understand, and you should, too, that they are not the only places to consider considering.
The other important thing to understand about any Top Picks list, including mine, is that, if it's based on real-world experience and real-time intelligence, you can count on it to change.
Tax laws, visa requirements, real estate values, the cost of living, and the availability of quality health care...as well as the political situation, the value of the local currency, and the ease of coming and going from other parts of the world...all these things change all the time.
Just as some U.S. states are more appealing today as places to live or retire than they were a decade ago, some countries are more interesting to the would-be overseas retiree right now than they were even two or three years ago. And we can expect that others will become more interesting in the future than they are today.
The opposite is also true. Local inflation has made Argentina a much more expensive place to live today than it was just two years ago, for example.
Any list of the World's Top Retirement Havens, including mine, is a moving target. One thing you come to understand when you begin considering the idea of spending time and money overseas is that you must be flexible and open-minded.
Just as circumstances are changing dramatically in the United States right now, so, too, can they and do they elsewhere.
One way to hedge the potential risks that this truth implies is to diversify...not only your investments, but also your life.
Just as it's smart to invest in different markets and to hold assets of different types in different currencies, so, too, are there advantages to spreading your life among different jurisdictions.
Do your banking in one country (where you can feel reasonably secure your deposits are safe), reside in another (where you pay no tax), run your business in a third (where entrepreneurs are respected and incentivized) and hold a passport in another. If possible, hold a second passport.
I didn't invent this strategy, of course, It's written of often, as the Five Flags approach. It's about organizing both your time and your money (that is, planting your "flags") to your greatest advantage.
Plant your flags based on your current circumstances and agendas. But don't plant them in concrete. You might want to be able to move them around from time to time.
This is the starting point for the discussions we'll be having during our Emergency Offshore Summit taking place in Panama City next month--how to approach creating your own, custom Five Flags Plan. The top offshore tax, banking, residency, citizenship, and investment experts we know will be on stage with us Aug. 6-8 to help us consider and understand the best current options for international diversification and asset protection. I'm looking forward to it.
Kathleen PeddicordContinuing Reading:
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