http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9822 Link above is a big discussion a few years ago about trading in the Bahamas. I would probably opt for the U.S. Virgin Islands myself, as you can retain citizenship and still work out a great tax situation (exempt of 90% taxes, 100% if you own a business). Another wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_haven#Examples
Bahamas or USVI or BVI would be awesome, great time zone, beautiful, but I can't afford $1 mill for an avg. house. If you can, good for you, because you.
If you are a resident of Canada, all world wide income must be reported regardless whether it has been liquidated or if its capital gains. Everything is mark to market at year end. The best way to play it is to stay in 2 spots, if you like the winter stay in Vancouver and in the summer stay in Tuscany Italy. As far banking is concerned, open a bank account in a jurisdiction that is stable and has history of solvency. Caymans, Switzerland, Hong Kong. Just because you live in Panama doesn't preclude you from having a bank account elsewhere!
An idea I've floated with the wife is to simply move somewhere cheap within the US. We live on the east coast near Washington and it's very expensive to live here. And it isn't just real estate prices. Food, gas, property taxes, electricity are also pretty expensive. I've been thinking of at least looking at the midwest in relatively boring places like Illinois, Indiana, etc. because one could live there relatively cheaply, yet have the same income (from trading that is). Obviously this doesn't work if you work a 9-5 for da man. Food for thought anyway. There's more to the picture than taxes. Reducing your expenses by relocating internally might have as much beneficial effect on your bottom line as moving to Panama. Only everyone still speaks-a-dee-eengleesh pretty much and you can travel freely within a large area.
Plenty of affordable condos in the USVI close or on the beach. And no having to wait 6-18 months or longer for a permit like you would in the BVI or Bahamas (as a foreign citizen).
Mexico doesn't tax capital gains and is very easy to get an immigration status. Good scenario for Canadians wanting to go "Non-Resident". Close proximity to U.S./Canada for travel.
move out west. You start trading 6am in the morning, and finish by noon. You still have a whole day to play.
There are problem with looking for a jurisdiction to live from purely a tax reason is that you end up comprising on many aspects that would be needed to maintain a certain quality of living. For examples, Bahamas is incredibly unfriendly island towards non Bahamians, now if you're just visiting as a tourist you'd notice very little. But prolonged stays you start to realize Bahamians will always service locals before you regardless whether you've been waiting in line for an 1hr before the local resident. Also the cost of food is ridiculous. 8 dollars for a slice of pizza. Canada is a beautiful during the summer, and if you're a ski lover the winter is gorgeous up in Whistler. As for my fellow American brothers you have a bigger hurdle to overcome because your tax system is based on Citizenship. As opposed to Canadians and Europeans they are based on residency. As long as you don't reside in one place for more than 183 days, you should be ok.
Well, I am from Austria and we pay up to 50% tax. I have moved my money to Switzerland and emmigrated to Thailand. P.
here is a link to figure out what you would pay in taxes if you worked in canada.well,alberta anyway but the other provinces shouldnt be too much worse. http://www.finance.gov.ab.ca/calc-script/tax_calc.html assuming you are declaring as income not capital gains. have fun!