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OFFSHORE INVESTMENTS That SAFEGUARD CASH Your CASH
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The first thing that should be said to someone who is thinking of “going offshore” is that it is like going into major surgery. The outcomes can differ enormously, depending on the skill of the surgeons and what they are trying to accomplish.
You may simply want to protect your money from volatility that comes with market crisis, economic instability, and a turbulent U.S. dollar. Or maybe you’d like to participate in investment opportunities in other parts of the world. Like a little nip and tuck, it’s easy and relatively safe to do these things. Or you may want to try to protect your wealth from frivolous lawsuits—a more complicated and riskier procedure. You can do some major cost cutting on your taxes, too, but that could be an even more trou- blesome operation.
Whatever you’re trying to do, you can be sure that other people have done it before you—including many of the richest and shrewdest investors in the world. The bad news is that a few of them never got up from the operating table. But that’s why it’s important to decide what you’re trying to accomplish and make sure you have the right people working on it. The second thing that should be said is that people in offshore destinations are likely to think and act very differently from the people you’re used to dealing with at home. What’s more, because of their odd accents and strange manners, it will be harder for you to size them up. Who’s competent and who isn’t? Who’s honest and who isn’t? You won’t have a familiar frame of reference to help you sort them out. Of course, that’s why you go offshore in the first place: you want something different. Still, you may be surprised at how different it is.
And the third thing to remember is that, if you are an American, federal laws may apply.
We take up that last point like strange meat in a cheap foreign restaurant, aware that it puts a lot of people off. The basic principle is that U.S. citizens are taxed by the U.S. government no matter where they are, almost just as if they lived in the United States. Not only that, but U.S. tax law applies to how they organize their affairs as well, not just the actual tax amount. Whether you are setting up a trust in Jersey or operating a business in East Timor, U.S. tax law may make a difference in what you do. That’s why, as long as you remain a U.S. citizen, you must get advisors who are familiar with U.S. tax law.
ERIKA NOLAN and SHANNON CROUCH - Personal Name
1st Edtion
978-0-07-171374-0
NONE
OFFSHORE INVESTMENTS That SAFEGUARD CASH Your CASH
Management
English
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
2009
USA
1-225
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