Blog
New Options for Fast-Track EU Citizenship
Two weeks ago, I returned to the United States after more than three weeks abroad, first in the Caribbean, then in Europe. I’ve come back with new options for Fast-Track EU Citizenship. My last stop in Europe was in London, where I met with Jonathan Chalmers, a citizenship and residence consultant who on February 15 [...]
Public Records: How to Keep Your Personal Information Off the Internet
Perhaps you can empathize with the unfortunate Gracia C. Martore and her unfortunate recent experience regarding public records. Ms. Martore is the president and CEO of Gannett, a media conglomerate. Among many other publications, Gannett is the publisher of the Westchester, New York newspaper the Journal News. The week after Christmas, the Journal News decided [...]
Offshore Investments in Switzerland
I left Zurich recently after a three-day visit. Not having visited the city in winter before, I saw a side of Zurich that I’d not previously encountered. Everything still works flawlessly, and the trains leave exactly on time–not even one minute late. But prices are somewhat more affordable in winter, now that most tourists have [...]
A Visit to the “World’s Most Livable City”
I’ve spent the last three days in Vienna, Austria. Even in January’s freezing cold, this city sparkles. And it functions almost flawlessly. Perhaps that’s why Mercer’s, a human resources consultancy, rates Vienna the world’s most livable city. I arrived on an overnight flight from the Caribbean. My connecting flight from Frankfort was almost three hours [...]
St. Kitts & Nevis Passports Now Issued with No Birthplace Noted
Greetings from Nevis! I’m here in the tropics and glad to have escaped the “brutal” winter weather of Phoenix, where evening temperatures have fallen below freezing for four nights consecutively. While I’m here, I’m following up on a number of citizenship applications we’ve filed with the Citizenship-by-Investment Unit (CIU). Three pending applications have been approved [...]
Beep for the U.S. Citizen!
I arrived here in the Commonwealth of Dominica earlier this week. It’s always a pleasure to come here; I go through the “residents” line at passport control and the official stamps my Dominica passport with the notation “RR” for returning resident. I’m here with my friend and colleague Mark Nestmann. We’re here to follow up [...]
Feds Delay 30% Withholding on Outbound Capital Transfers—Again
(This is an important update to a posting originally published Nov. 9, 2012). I’ve written extensively in this blog about the destructive effects of an ill-conceived law championed by President Obama—the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2010. Among many other statist provisions, FATCA demands that virtually every foreign financial institution (FFI) sign and strictly [...]
Passport Denials Long a Feature of U.S. Foreign Policy
In between eggnog, opening gifts, along with a bout of flu, last week I reviewed a fascinating article dealing with the near century-long tradition of passport denials by U.S. officials. You can read the entire article here. The author, Dr. Jeffrey Kahn demonstrates that today’s refusal by the U.S. State Department to issue passports to [...]
French Government Chastises Its Latest Tax Exile
Place yourself in the shoes of Gerard Depardieu. One of France’s best-known actors, Depardieu recently paid his French tax bill for 2012. The government’s total take? A whopping 85% of his income! If you paid 85% of your income in tax to your government, wouldn’t you consider taking action to keep more of what you [...]
U.S. Courts Penetrate Domestic Asset Protection Trusts
Building on the burgeoning popularity of offshore asset protection trusts (OAPTs), 14 U.S. states have now enacted their own “domestic” asset protection trust (DAPT) legislation. These laws date back to the 1990s, but only in the last year have I learned of challenges to them in U.S. courts. The record is not encouraging. To understand [...]