not sure what you mean please explain my posts indicate that if you are a US citizen ( as the original poster is ) - getting dual citizenship with a european country won't do much for your current tax situation i.e you won't save much and definately not on a cash basis
So you're saying that you could easily end up paying more taxes depending on the country? I take it these are countries that don't care to get help from workers outside their borders??
But is it really that easy? The other poster (I think) was saying that even if you limit taxes in the country you move to that you end up having to pay it to the US anyway??
I was looking for legitimate strategies, i.e. I'm not interested in jail time or paying years of back taxes and interest...
Slightly off topic: Is it true that there is a limit in size of a yacht an American can buy and moore it in the USA? Paul Alan's (MSFT fame) yacht was just in Vancouver and it has the Caymen Island flag flying on it, I have seen the Caymen Island flag on lots of yachts. I don't understand why Alan's yacht doesn't fly the USA flag.
"A residency is similar to citizenship" zman, The above is not true. One can rezide in any country , without being a citizen of that country.From country to country the requirements of becominf citizen are different. Some countries, such as Germany, dont's even give you the citizenship unless u have German blood in this case) A good country and easy to get citizenship is Andora.
Your idea sounds good, but when you trade they will know where you trade from. Would be that a problem with IRS?
No I am saying that you will have to file taxes in both countries. If you are in a european country for longer than 183 ( on an employment basis ) than you will have to pay local taxes according to the rules of that country. It does not matter if you are a citizen of that country or not. When you file in the USA than, you will be able to deduct the amount of taxes that you paid in that foreign country. Most cases that I know of, given the expat writeoff, you will end up with an accrual of a tax credit in the USA, meaning the IRS owes you money. However, you do not get that money in cash only as a credit to next year. That accrual keeps growing. If you do a quick calculation of what your taxes would be in the USA versus what they would be in a european country ( all social security and mandatory PIT ) you may discover that you pay less in the USA. The expat writeoff is what makes it favorable. You should do the same regarding capital gains, see what you are actually trying to save, what it would cost, in setting up a structure to get the more favorable cap gain tax in that foreign country and see if it is worth it. Again, from my experience, and i have lived in europe and eastern europe for over 14 years, it is just not worth it. hope this helps
Yes and no. It depends on the country. Until you reveal what country we can discuss the generalities which may or may not imply. For example, if you pick Russia, you will most likely pay much less tax in Russia than you would in the USA. Russia has a flat rate of 13%. But in my opinion Russia is a terrible choice even with less taxes. Try to get your money out of that country. Very very very very difficult. Thus, taxes while lower will not help you a few years down the road when you need your cash in the USA or wherever. Offshore entities are for preservation and protection of wealth - they are not to save 10 grand in taxes.