London isn't as pricey as it seems, if you are flexible. For example, for 1 million US you can get a modern 100sqm apartment in places in zone 1 or 2 in London e.g. Clerkenwell, Camden, Islington, Fulham etc. These are walkable to the centre or have quick public transport, are pretty safe, have plenty of decent bars, restaurants and clubs etc. My views on space - single person only needs 50-60sqm, and 70-80 is a luxurious amount of space. Cohabiting couple need 70-80, and 90-100 is luxurious. Since property is so expensive, it is better to keep space as small as you can handle. Most people get too much space, then don't use it - they just fill it with clutter. I found that living alone even in an 80 sqm 2-bedroom apartment, I rarely used the 2nd bedroom. I once lived in a 90sqm house and 2 of the rooms I hardly ever used. Bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom is all you need for 1 person - get a spacious living room and put a corner desk and a laptop in the corner, and you have a home office too. Finally, as an expat trader/investor I would always rent rather than buy. Transactions costs for property are huge, as an expat you are far less tied to one place, you have foreign exchange risk, and mortgage finance is more difficult to find and more expensive. Finally, in international centres, renting is usually very cheap compared to owning.
Yes, I have spent 2 years living outside my home country, in a couple of places in Europe. I won't say where, for privacy reasons. Anyway, due to the disadvantages I found, I will probably return to my home country in a few months. I don't regret my expat experience but just want to give a more realistic picture of the downsides, since the upsides are known to most.
If you are a U.S. citizen you will pay U.S. taxes regardless of where you live, however you may get some credit for foreign taxes paid, but if you don't pay foreign taxes, you'll obviously not be eligible for any credit toward your U.S. taxes. Time to emigrate? The IRS never sleeps!
what i remember capital gains are tax free in Malta. But maby that has changed. if you like to reside in Malta, why not open a professional investment fund in Gibraltar/ireland or offshore, which doesnt cost you much, trade the fund as the fund manager and pay you the capital gains as fund quotes...
Remember in today's electronic age, records last forever and are widely shared, more so as the years pass by. You will be vulnerable to being caught for the rest of your life. You will lose piece of mind and always be worrying about it at some level. Did you read about those Swiss bank accounts that an employee handed over to foreign tax authorities? Also, it's not just tax authorities you have to worry about. If someone else finds out, they gain the power to put you in jail for many years and to ruin your reputation and finances. That makes you incredibly vulnerable to blackmail or extortion, and there are many people in the world, especially outside the 1st world, who won't hesitate to exploit that. All it takes is one corrupt brokerage or accountancy firm employee, or a bit of drunken loose talk in the local expat watering hole, and you could get into deep trouble. Think very carefully before breaking the law in a serious way.
That sounds very strange, are you 100% confident about that? I live in Denmark and we've very tight tax regulations and laws, but still we're able to travel to another country, there is a lot of rules regarding that, but in short if you don't stay for more than 180 days each year in Denmark, don't own any property and have an address in a foreign country you are not subject for taxation i Denmark anymore.
The US taxes its citizens income no matter where it is earned. Although there are some offsets possible on salary the reality is that in terms of income earned abroad the US tax code is as unreasonable as it gets. Or to put it directly -- it sucks.
Hi, Here is another option that has not been discussed yet. Im a european citizen and I have been changing countries regularly during the last two year. (I don't stay anywhere for more than 6 month) I currently still hold residency in my home country and pay tax there. Since I would like to continue my lifestyle as I do now, I thought it would be easiest to resign my residency and to live without being registered anywhere until I finally settle somewhere. Is there something that prohibits me from not having residency anywhere? This seems to be the easiest way to avoid tax if you don't mind to change places regularly. (Of course this is no long term solution, but it fits well for me as a mid 20s single with no kids) I am aware that I will not be able to register a car and of similar problems without a registered address. However, I use my parents address for mail and they forward it. kind regards, Chris
How would I lose the passport? I have never heard that it is possible to lose your primary citizenship unvoluntarily.