It’s Time to Stock Up on Light Bulbs
We’ve called it the “curse of good intentions”: when governments require their citizens to behave in certain ways, refrain from certain activities, or consume certain items and not others in…
The End of Dollar Dominance
It might seem deceptive to publish a headline suggesting that the US dollar, the world’s “reserve currency” for the last 78 years, might be nearing the end of its dominant…
Are You Ready to Become an “Economic Benedict Arnold”?
Every quarter, Uncle Sam publishes what’s come to be known in the offshore business as the “name and shame” list. This list, published in the Federal Register, consists of the…
Give Peace a Chance
“All we are saying, is give peace a chance.”--John Lennon A few weeks ago, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was beginning, I reminisced about growing up in the 1960s and…
Why Inflation Is Worse Today than the 1980s…and Possibly Ever
Last week, to almost no one’s surprise, the Labor Department announced yet another month of inflation worse than at any time since the 1980s. The March Consumer Price Index (CPI)…
This Is Why Internet Privacy Is Gone…
Over the years, we haven’t shied away from highlighting the threat to our privacy that our hyper-connected world poses. Whether it’s Big Brother spying on your smartphone, Google treating your…
What to Do When Your Country is “Cancelled”
It’s Wednesday evening, and I’m sitting on the porch of my cottage overlooking the Atlantic coast of Nevis. I’m here with my business partner Trey Wyatt to deal with matters…
Uncle Sam Invites You to Rat on Your Friends and Family for Cash
Want to earn some extra cash? It's easy…just participate in one of the many "paid informant" programs run by various US government agencies. Think your neighbor…or that brother-in-law you don't…
IRS Rolls Out Artificial Intelligence Tools for Enhanced Audits
A few months ago, I received an invitation to attend a lecture with the mind-numbing title, “The Transformation of Tax & Customs Law into the Digital World of Processes, Automation…
Could Inflation Break America?
In the early 1990s, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan reportedly said something to the effect that when inflation rises, “you’ll switch to something cheaper—more hamburger will show up in…
Are You Ready for Nuclear War?
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin shocked the world when he invaded Ukraine. While the situation remains very fluid, there are some important lessons to be learned from Putin’s…
We lost a man in Ukraine…
You may know that we have three offices - Canada, the West Indies and our HQ in Phoenix. But you may not know that our team is also spread out…
Canada Reveals the “End Game” for Money
Canada Reveals the “End Game” for Money For most of human history, “money” was a physical commodity. Ancient peoples traded gold, silver, beads – even giant stone disks. When money…
Gold Comes Roaring Back (at Bitcoin’s Expense)
Gold Comes Roaring Back (at Bitcoin’s Expense) Just 15 months ago, pundits were predicting that bitcoin had matured into its own separate asset class from stocks, bonds, and other traditional…
The Looming Social Security and Medicare Crisis (and What to Do About It)
Many years ago, when I was a freshman in college, I took an entry-level course in psychology. One of the concepts we learned about was a phenomenon called “cognitive dissonance.”…
Why Uncle Sam Wants to Dismantle the “Gig Economy”
More than 60 million Americans work in it – over 40% of the American workforce. But Congress and the IRS consider it an existential threat. California and a handful of…
Greetings from Panama!
We’ve long maintained that a second residency is one of the easiest ways to internationalize yourself and a key Plan B strategy if conditions deteriorate in the country where you…
Are Puerto Rico’s Tax Benefits “Worth It”?
One of the American tax system’s many oddities is the way the country deals with US territories: Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Because…
The Rise of the Digital Nomad Visa
COVID-19 gave US citizens who travel internationally a wake-up call. Within a few months of the start of the pandemic in early 2020, the number of countries US citizens could…
The War on Whistleblowers: A Lesson in Policymaking
In May 2019, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment alleging 18 counts of violating a World War I-era law intended to punish spies called the Espionage Act. The defendant wasn’t a…
Will Markets Continue Rising?
A question many of our clients ask is if we believe the [fill in the blank] market will continue rising in 2022. And our answer is always the same: “We…
Ransomware Malware Breach. Hacked Computer. Ransom Attack
Ransomware Hits Main Street
We first warned readers of the dangers of ransomware in 2007, comparing it to the kidnapping of your data. If you've been a victim of a ransomware attack, the first…
When Will the US Dollar Crash?
When I first started working with Mark in 2013, he handed me a big box and said, “Maybe you can use these…” It was filled with a few hundred promotional…
Inflation IS Transitory, but…
Last Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) jumped 0.8% in November from October; an annualized increase of 9.6%. In the last 12…
Turning Crypto Users into Felons
We frequently comment on the almost uniquely American practice of “criminalization”—the conversion of our daily activities into crimes. For instance, we recently discussed how a Google search for the wrong…
How important is timing?
When it comes to his recommendations, a well-known newsletter writer simply tells people to buy. At no particular price. With no obvious exit strategy. And yet it’s mostly worked for…
Search Google, Go to Jail?
We periodically remind our American readers that by simply going about their daily lives, they’re likely committing multiple crimes. As we pointed out last month, for instance, you could be…
The Hidden World of Uncle Sam’s Sanctions
In my role as the president of Fortress Trust, Ltd., a trust and financial services company based on the island of Nevis, in the British West Indies, I receive weekly…
Is the “commodity supercycle” really over?
Investing in commodities in the 2000s was easy. Just put your money into something that tracked various commodities and largely, you’d make money. China was the reason. Never before had…
Form Your Own Country!
“What’s wrong with just starting your own country?” That’s the question my friend and mentor, the late Bob Kephart, used to ask rhetorically when he became particularly irked by political…
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