That's completely untrue. Considerable numbers of tax dodgers are sent to jail every year in Sweden, Germany, Austria, France, basically all over Western Europe. Scandinavia specifically is notorious for people turning in their own neighbors to the authorities for tax dodging, out of jealously. For Germany, google "LTG Liechtenstein tax evasion". Hundreds of wealthy Germans turned themselves in and this is just the tip of the iceberg. The state hardly cares? I'd advise anyone to do their own homework. If you are dodging taxes anywhere in Western Europe you better are small fry because if you're not then you're playing with year-long jail terms.
Well actually I agree with no right to vote in national elections for all women and men without "proper" position in society. In local elections all should be allowed to vote. This my opinion, so dont kill me for this.
No one can be sure of the exact size of the black economy in Western Europe, but a recent report by the European Commission estimates that it equals up to 16 percent of GDP, compared with 5 percent in the 1970s. In Italy, Greece, Spain and Belgium it is at least 20 percent. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/10/opinion/10iht-edbim.t.html I live in Belgium so perhaps my view is clouded indeed by tunnelvision based on own experience. Both on a business level as on a personal level abuse of the official system is so ingrained in society here it is probably politically unacceptable to turn around. Read this. Italian Tax Amnesty Could Bring $150 Billion Home.......... Italy is giving tax evaders amnesty: a chance to bring their money home from tax havens at a cheap price. But critics worry the government is feeding a culture of tax evasion. Italian capital held illegally abroad is estimated at about 300 billion euros ($450 billion), according to government figures. http://www.annoticoreport.com/2009/10/italian-tax-amnesty-could-bring-150.html Believe me, these people do not fear the police at their door every hour of the day. But ofcourse the Scandinavians and the more German oriented countries have a smaller degree of tolerance towards such behaviour than others, that I certainly agree on.
Even if you successfully dodge taxes (e.g. keeping your money hidden in some foreign bank accounts), it is extremely risky and difficult using your money to buy anything of value in your chosen residence. It would quite careless declaring EUR 50,000 in revenues per year while living in a multi-million EUR beach home driving three cars. That's how people get dinged by the authorities all the time: lifestyle doesn't match tax return. Either you dodge and you live like a bum (minimizing risk) or you risk dodging while living large and you'll leave plenty of traces. Why not live in Monaco or Switzerland. Yes it's expensive, but they offer a decent lifestyle without any risk of going to jail.
If you are looking to renegate your citizenship for tax reasons, start by consulting with a specialist tax advisor - from transferring most of your assets in your kids' name if you have any ( or time to think of adopting?) , to rolling over all your taxes, to leveraging your wealth with government grants ( ), the possibilities are endless. Do remember that a US passport gives you advantages that you'd regret to miss when troubles hit home if you are based overseas.
Agreed. Both Switzerland and Monaco offer quite the nice scenery for those with money looking for a new place of residence. Only problem, if I would have to be picky, is they are a bit like Disneyland for the wealthy. In a way they do miss a bit of a real heartbeat. But hey, I can imagine one overlooking such flaws easily.
One thing I'd suggest every one to do is take an Excel spreadsheet, punch in your assumed (trading) income over the next 20, 30 or 40 years and compare your home country (e.g. US) with different low tax regimes around the world. If necessary, offset the estimated tax savings with higher living expenses (Switzerland/Monaco/Hong Kong/Caribbean etc.) The difference after compounding can be truly astounding. A real eye opener.
It seems that European will start taxing wealth pretty soon. At least one bankrupt EU state is doing it already. I think most of you here are smart enough to realize that the next step by the politicians everywhere is wealth redistribution so they can make the masses happy and retain their votes while avoiding uprisings. The problem is that there is no way to hide their money for those that have it. Taxing wealth is done by taxing land, property, interest income, capital gains, etc. and at the same time increasing inflation by printing money so that "safe deposit money" loses its value. I say the best way is buying good quality equites and holding them.
no need to escape, tax evading happens everywhere. Remember, you can do anything you want in this world as long as you don't get caught.