How add to an S&P fund $150 at a time in a manner that commissions don't eat you alive? [Im very curious about this one...]
Normally you pay in the country you are residing in. If you have an account in let's say Monaco because you say you live there, but in reality you live in the US, you will see what happens once the IRS knows that. And they can trace the routing of your orders to prove you were in the US when you entered the orders to trade. I think brokers are very suspicious if you are a client from one of the taxheavens. They might refuse you, or check out if you really live there as a resident. What if they want to call you in Monaco but have to dial a number in NY? Giving them a mobile number to call is suspicious also. I don't know if the IRS can hold them responsible in case they find out you live in the US while trading a Monaco account. They might also be obliged to inform the IRS if they get demands from taxheaven companies, especially after 9/11. Creating a waterproof system is not that easy at all. And thanks to the computers it has become so easy to do a screening through the huge amount of information that is available to the government. They can easily traces your phonecalls or emails to taxheavens and start digging from there to your address in the US. Just read how Bush is monitoring all kind of information about all the US and even non-US citizens. Big Brother is watching you and hiding becomes more and more difficult to do.
Doesn't that prove that with figures you can prove anything? People see things to easy, they mix up reality with their own fantasy. In fact they replace the negative points of reality by positive ones from their fantasy.
I believe fund companies like Fidelity and Vanguard allow you to add for free as long as you have a certain amount. There are a few brokers out there that are commission free as well, Bank of America and zecco.com.
To the OP: Let's suppose you are independently wealthy. Where in the world would you like to live? Then trade from there... Also why don't you just try to increase your profits by the amount you pay in taxes, so you can stay where you are now...
I understand that Hong Kong is a good place to be to answer the independently wealthy question. Gentleman that wrote the profile on Soros and Buffet makes mention in the inside cover of his book that he moved to HK for tax reasons. But still....?????
Pekelo: Good point ... I shouldn't let the taxes kill my desire to live wherever. I guess the whole post was kind of stupid in the first place, although the (seemingly increasing) amount the US government taxes high income people ... it's ridiculous. I just want to keep the money I earn ... that's all.
Hong Kong has zero tax on personal capital gain. Personal income tax there is 15% max. You can open an IB account and trade there. IB has an office in Hong Kong.
Sweet ... the whole giving up US citizenship thing is still a pain in the ass though ... probably overall not worth it :/