Looking on the Internet, you'd think the world is your oyster if you want to purchase a second passport. Just a cursory search using Scroogle (www.scroogle.org, a private alternative to…

In yesterday's blog entry, I described the legal precedent for the U.S. government to again confiscate privately held gold and silver, as it did in 1933. What are the best…

Not many Americans are still living who remember the day that President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared that the "hoarding" of gold and silver bullion by "subjects of the United States"…

The explosive growth in lawsuits mean that many U.S. businesses find it difficult or impossible to obtain liability insurance at a reasonable price.  Perhaps yours is one of them.  One…

Monday, Jan. 21, 2008, was a bloody one for global equity markets.  Yet, since most U.S. securities markets were closed for the Martin Luther King holiday, Americans were trapped in…

At least once or twice a month, a reader contacts me to ask about an "instant passport" program from Panama. My response has always been the same.  Panama does NOT…

Alternative passport and citizenship scams are alive and well.  I recently discovered a Web site offering second passports from several countries, including Switzerland, Belize, The Bahamas, and Panama.  I'm also…

Several weeks ago a reader forwarded me a message, supposedly from banking giant Citigroup, entitled "Change to Inter-Institution Transfers User Agreement." I thought that the message, which drastically reduces the…

I've long been skeptical about using the Channel Islands—Guernsey and Jersey, both islands off the British coast—as secure offshore financial centers. My skepticism originated in the so-called "Cantrade Affair."  In…

Thanks to those intrepid treaty negotiators at the U.S. Treasury Department, there's now a bright, shiny, new "Protocol" in effect between the United States and Canada. The good news about…

Thanks to volunteer firefighters, wealthy Americans who give up their U.S. citizenship or long-term residence won't be subject to an exit tax—at least not this year. In a blog entry…

Should you have to pay an "exit tax" if you want to permanently depart your country? Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union are two examples of countries that imposed crushing…

After the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. government quickly imposed economic sanctions against its "enemies" throughout the world. The most important law it used for this purpose is…

Today, I'm going to say something nice about the IRS.  Really! Thousands of Americans have tax reporting obligations they don't know about for various offshore transactions.  Among the most common…

Yesterday, Nov. 14, federal agents raided the offices of "Liberty Dollar" in Evansville, Indiana, and confiscated all its property and equipment. The Liberty Dollar is a privately circulating currency backed…

A $54 million lawsuit for a missing pair of pants has led to the dismissal of an administrative law judge in Washington, D.C. In 2005, Judge Roy Pearson, who I…

It’s now official.  The government of Antigua and Barbuda has what it considers “official” permission to confiscate a US$60 million resort. The Half Moon Bay Resort sits on one of…

One of the most interesting offshore opportunities isn't an investment.  It's merely keeping valuables—or valuable records—in an offshore safety deposit box or private vault. This strategy has several advantages.  The…

Are you serious about protecting yourself from identity theft—the world's fastest growing crime?  If you are, starting tomorrow, you'll have the ultimate tool to do it. It's called a "credit…

If you live or do business in the United States, you're almost certainly a criminal, even if you don't know it.

A passport from a European Union country is one of the most desirable travel documents you can possess.  Most EU members have extensive network of countries to which passport-holders can…

Since 1996, there have been at least a dozen efforts by congressional tax-and-spenders to impose an "exit tax" on wealthy Americans who exercise their constitutional right to disconnect from the…

If you read the "fine print" when you open an offshore bank account, you'll likely find a clause similar to this one: “The bank is entitled, but is not obliged…

U.S. shareholders in foreign corporations are subject to some of the most complex and confusing tax rules in the entire Tax Code.  I'll be attending a workshop (see below) in…

Life insurance enjoys uniquely preferential treatment under U.S. tax law: All earnings accumulate free of taxes until withdrawal; The death benefit can pass to beneficiaries tax-free; Tax-free loans are possible;…

Offshore investments are an indispensable component of a globally balanced portfolio.  But unfortunately, Congress has placed numerous obstacles in the way of Americans who venture offshore.  Probably the most obscene…

For years, I've warned about the dangers of civil forfeiture laws that permit police to seize your property, without accusing you of any crime.  The legal theory behind civil forfeiture…

If you have the quaint idea that the e-mails stored in your Yahoo!, G-Mail, Hotmail or other "Webmail" accounts are somehow private, think again.  With one exception (see below), U.S.…

I tried to open my first offshore bank account in 1986, at the Chicago office of a major Swiss bank (NOT something I would recommend today).  After being ushered into…