What Countries to avoid paying USA taxes?

[Dennis]

Saw a 60 min.story on some Countries that you can go to to avoid paying Taxes on US gains.. Just go live there for 7 yrs and can return..

Anyone Know what countries these are..?

Other than Iran, IRAQ, Pakistan, China, Russia..etc..

LOL

Used to leave Canada and not pay taxes once back in the USA.. Wonder if it's the Reverse too?
ie: Leave US and go to Canada..

Plan to make a Bundle in the next recovery market and paying +35% taxes isn't my idea of what I'd want to do as one of the last things in my remaining life.. and could care less about leaving for 7+ yrs.. just allow me to be buried back Home..

How about the Cayman Islands, To St. Thomas, St. Joe, etc..? Or even Mexico? Carbo? or Monte' Carlo?

[dex]

Can you explain this a bit more or provide a link?
The USA taxes its citizens on world income; to the best of my knowledge.

[Bestwifeever]

Where's Carbo?

[jambo101]

So what you are basically asking is where can you go to rip off your country taxwise.Google probably will supply you with a plethora of ways and places to duck taxes,but the problem with a lot of these tax avoiding strategies is they usually come back and bite you some years down the road.Good luck

[Rambler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dex Can you explain this a bit more or provide a link? The USA taxes its citizens on world income; to the best of my knowledge.

That's correct, but with the first $75k (I may not have the latest figure here) of overseas income being exempt. However, if those are US stocks traded in the US market, you are SOL. You will pay, or your rotting corpse will not be buried back home...

Good luck on that one.

R

[Sandman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dex The USA taxes its citizens on world income; to the best of my knowledge.

That is true.

You can run but you cannot hide. I have worked overseas for most of my career – in five different counties and have always paid my dues to Uncle Sam. Very few countries tax their foreign expatriates – but the USA does and it is the law. For 2007, the foreign earned income exclusion was $85,700 plus some additional amounts for excess foreign housing.
This used to be a pretty good deal because your FIT was simply calculated on the remaining income after deducting the foreign exclusion, thus placing you in a lower tax bracket. Starting in 2006, the IRS regulations changed the way that taxable income is calculated when the Foreign Earned Income is being claimed. This rigmarole basically serves to push us up through the tax brackets artificially; a sneaky means of hiking taxes for overseas Americans.
Additionally, if the aggregate value of any non-USA bank or brokerage account exceeds $10,000 at any point during the tax year – you must report that as well or risk a stiff penalty.

[slimm]

My bro, SIL, and another couple are flying to Turks & Caicos next week to investigate residency. All have very successful corporations and want to investigate alternatives. They are working with a top notch tax attorney. Initially, an investment of $500,000. in real estate is required, as well as, $15,000. for permits/documents.

When I first spoke to my bro about this, I thought;
1. he was kidding
2. it was an excuse for another glorified vacation

Nope, he informed me yesterday, he is serious.
I'll know more about this subject when they return.
H'mmmm, the cogs are humming in my pea brain, but a Caribbean paradise is certainly no place for an Okie cowgirl.

[Texarkandy]

You can run and you can hide, but the US does tax "world income" of US citizens - & it's not so easy to legally renounce your US citizenship.

Becoming a legal resident of another country does not dissolve your US citizenship.

While looking at tax laws in different countries it might be a good idea to take a look at their extradition laws too!

I've read that in medeival times in many parts of Europe it was the custom that if a serf left his/her lord's estate & managed to stay gone for 1 year the lord no longer had authority/sovereignty over that particular serf.

[slimm]

Of course, they will not give up citizenship - simply looking into alternatives to save on cap. gains & restructure our estate....domecile, residency & citizenship all have different criteria.

I'll know more upon their return from T & C.

[dex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rambler That's correct, but with the first $75k (I may not have the latest figure here) of overseas income being exempt. However, if those are US stocks traded in the US market, you are SOL. You will pay, or your rotting corpse will not be buried back home... Good luck on that one. R

I think that might be on earned income; if that law is still in effect - not investment income.

[beowulf]

What a great idea. Let's have everyone who has a decent income or a business establish residency elsewhere and try to avoid taxes in the country that made their success possible. While we're at it, let's dump the entire tax burden on those who can't take advantage of such schemes. Oh, and when it comes time to collect social security ore other benefits, let's make sure we are first in line.

Sorry, either you are an American who is part of our country or you are not. If you want to live in another country, that's your right - just don't expect to come back or continue to suck off the place that made your move possible.

We pay taxes for the benefit of all, just not what you can get out of it. Moving to another country to avoid US taxes is absolute hypocrisy.

[dex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by restonham We pay taxes for the benefit of all, just not what you can get out of it. Moving to another country to avoid US taxes is absolute hypocrisy.

Avoidance of taxes is legal; evasion of taxes is not.

USA manufactures who have products made outside the USA are avoiding many USA taxes from payroll taxes to real estate taxes. Those USA citizens that buy those products made outside the USA are benefiting from the tax avoidance of the mfg. Another way of looking at it is that, that consumer is avoiding USA taxes.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texarkandy I've read that in medeival times in many parts of Europe it was the custom that if a serf left his/her lord's estate & managed to stay gone for 1 year the lord no longer had authority/sovereignty over that particular serf.

Of course things have gotten much better since then.

Ha

[slimm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by restonham What a great idea. Let's have everyone who has a decent income or a business establish residency elsewhere and try to avoid taxes in the country that made their success possible. While we're at it, let's dump the entire tax burden on those who can't take advantage of such schemes. Oh, and when it comes time to collect social security ore other benefits, let's make sure we are first in line. Sorry, either you are an American who is part of our country or you are not. If you want to live in another country, that's your right - just don't expect to come back or continue to suck off the place that made your move possible. We pay taxes for the benefit of all, just not what you can get out of it. Moving to another country to avoid US taxes is absolute hypocrisy.

I understand what you are saying, however the fact is they will still pay PLENTY of taxes. The hypocrisy is the looming restructure that will penalize many many families esp. the estate(death)tax. When my bro informed me what he & SIL pay annually in Fed, State, & Real Estate taxes, I was aghast. They are both very hard working middle class and employee many people. Their success is the result of years of hard work, risk, pluck, scraping by, and utter determination. I applaud them, and their desire to look at options to keep what they have earned intact.

[Texarkandy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by restonham ..... We pay taxes for the benefit of all, .....

Of course some argue that we pay taxes for the benefit of a very few.

[lazygood4nothinbum]

soapbox

[Hank]

The US taxes it's citizens on worldwide income regardless of where you live. If you reside in country that has a tax treaty with the US you can avoid (for the most part)double taxation but you will always be subject to paying the higher of each jurisdictions taxes. For example, I live in Canada and generally the taxes are higher in Canada so i don't save anything even with tax credits. SS is also taxed her and it is reduced in some instances if you also someday receive a government sponsored pension benefit from another country.

Expats in the large majority of cases don't leave the US for tax reasons but for familiy and other personal reasons. We are also no less patriotic. In fact, as I travel around the world I am many times the only person who will stand up for the USA. The US government should be kinder to citizens who reside over seas. \

The Roman empire wouldn't let it's people renounce thier citizenship so it could tax them for ever and put them in the army.

[Hobo]

There are many countries where it is virtually impossible for the IRS to determine or verify that a US citizen has received income (earned or unearned). I know that is true in Indonesia and I am guessing it is true with most of the developing countries in the world. Most transactions are in cash because no one trusts checks. I guess a record of inter-bank transfers is kept, but the IRS would have to go to a lot of trouble to track down my bank records in Indonesia.

Although I am retired and have very little income generated in Indonesia, I don't have a guilty conscientious by not reporting that income made in a foreign country to the US government. I must obey by the laws of Indonesia while I live here. For the US to stretch its legal reach around the world just doesn't seem fair.

[newporttony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by restonham What a great idea. Let's have everyone who has a decent income or a business establish residency elsewhere and try to avoid taxes in the country that made their success possible. While we're at it, let's dump the entire tax burden on those who can't take advantage of such schemes. Oh, and when it comes time to collect social security ore other benefits, let's make sure we are first in line. Sorry, either you are an American who is part of our country or you are not. If you want to live in another country, that's your right - just don't expect to come back or continue to suck off the place that made your move possible. We pay taxes for the benefit of all, just not what you can get out of it. Moving to another country to avoid US taxes is absolute hypocrisy.

Does this also apply to the close to one-half of Americans that wither pay nothing in federal income taxes or (even better) receive the earned income credit? The more the government places the tax burden on only the successful, the less we should be suprised when they decide they've had enough.

[billman]

Dubai .... Dubai .... Dubai .... I pay the tax man, but with no income, sales, or property tax, it's hard to complain. Look for countries that have a treaty. Looks like Barbados is the closest.

http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p901.pdf