Dubai, but not many Americans here, think they only get the first $85k odd tax free. But full of professional independent traders from London, France, Germany etc though. No income tax no corporate tax and no capital gains.
Thanks Dogfish for bringing Dubai up. Was talking about this place with a customer a couple of weeks ago and he said many very wealthy arabs are seeking shelter there due to the unrest in the middle east, which is very good for his business, more diversified than mine. I haven't been to Dubai in over 10years but it has a good reputation among expats. I've just checked the immigration requirements for entrepreneurs/investors and the first information I found is very vague. Do you know how those independant traders get a residence permit, or even small entrepreneurs?
You set up your company in a free zone depending on nature of your business which you then pay to renew every year, insure and audit. Your 2/3yr residence visa is issued by the freezone once the company is established. Mine is with this freezone http://www.dmcc.ae/en/about-dmcc/about-dmcc.html you must own/rent office space within your respective freezone to carry out business. You have 100% ownership of your company and a 50yr tax free guarantee. Most of the banks are in the DIFC freezone which is the most expensive for offices. Cost all in is about $6kusd a year with compulsory audit, liability insurance, visa etc. I sublet in the freezone through a facilitator dubaiptg.com who helped me set up my company have fast trading lines back to London clearers and provide my infrastructure IT etc. I scalp eurex and the hrs are great (London +3) Been here 3 yrs after 5yrs of professional trading in London previously and very content.
Thanks Goldfish, I will check more closely into the links and possibly go to one of the next trade fairs in the UAE. How do you get the resident permit though, do you need to come up with a business plan supporting the local economy or invest a certain amount of money (how much ?) which might be alright if we can trade that money but not that much if it's stuck in some Dubai real estate or government fund etc...
You talk to your freezone you wish to incorporate in (which have their own legal structure like a separate country from UAE ie http://www.difc.ae/laws-regulations) prove you have enough money to see the process through, pay for company formation, insure it, name an auditor, show an office lease for inside your freezone, have a blood test and an xray, get a criminal background check, and pay for your visa processing and you get the residents visa (under the authority of your freezone) as MD of the new company. If you leave for more than 6 months it's void. I'm talking about independent traders who trade their own accounts through their own Dubai company because they didn't like the big tax bills at home. If you're looking to take money off Emiratis here to trade or broker with it's whole lot more complicated. Try asking http://www.difc.ae/wealth-management