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The Best Offshore Asset Protection You’ve Probably Never Heard About
By: Chris at www.CapitalistExploits.at
Risk, as I mentioned on Tuesday, is not only integral to any healthy functioning economy. It's a simple fact of life which often goes unnoticed; until it is forced on you like a Watchtower pamphlet from a Jehovah's Witness.
In response to my earlier post on risk I received a couple of emails asking me about how "oligarchs shouldn't be applauded for risk taking" and how "Obama never risks anything yet there he is, leader of the United States".
Those readers completely missed the point. I wasn't talking about Obama, oligarchs or any such parasites but let's deal with the issue quickly since it applies to so many things.
Risk is like a tube of toothpaste. You can use it wisely to clean your teeth or you can make a complete mess of your friend's sandwich with it. Don't blame the toothpaste - there're always going to be morons out there!
Now that I've gotten that out of my system I wanted to provide two case studies which highlight risk and then a structure which is probably the best I've found for protecting one's assets.
I was recently talking with a man who I'll call Steve. I bumped into Steve at a social gathering.
Steve is a 69-year-old grandfather and as far as I could tell a relatively risk averse guy. He always worked a job, never invested in the stock market, didn't trust or know anything about financial instruments, and had invested in real estate because in his words "he could see it and he knew it was there".
Over the course of his working life he'd managed to buy 4 rental properties and had brought gearing down to 20% LVR. Cash flows generated from the properties had taken over both principal and interest payments and within 3 years he'd have been debt free on about $2.5M of real estate including his own personal home. The income, while modest, would support Steve and his wife's retirement while retaining his asset base.
Then disaster struck. Steve got cancer. His treatments over the last 3 years would have been state funded if he didn't have the means. He figured that this is what he'd been paying taxes for all those years, right?
Not so fast. Means testing, which is simply the state reneging on their previous promises made, meant that because he owned all these assets he no longer was entitled to have the state care promised. It's ironic that those who've not prudently saved for retirement are in fact receiving free care while those who've sacrificed and been prudent are punished.
Naturally, all of this came as a nasty shock to Steve and it's such a shame since it's something which could have so easily been avoided. He told me that he has subsequently sold one of his properties in order to pay for his care and will have to keep selling down assets. Once they're exhausted then his care will be paid for by the state. Now, I don't want to get into whether the state should be involved in any of this (in my opinion, they shouldn't) but we all live in an imperfect world and have to play the cards which are dealt.
These are risks which Steve quite simply never considered, and like an unwelcome Watchtower wielding messenger from God, have come knocking on his door.
On the further end of the risk spectrum lies investing in early stage private companies and I'll give you a case study of our own.
When Mark and I invested in our first private equity deal together we knew going in that there was a very real risk to our capital since we were investing at a very early stage. The particular company wasn't much more than an idea, had no revenues, no assets, no staff and was attempting to operate in a frontier market few dared to venture into.
That particular deal ran 20x in 18 months and provided us liquidity. Happy days! Not all of them work like that. The important thing is, if we'd lost our investment on the deal we'd have been OK with it. The risk was evident going in and while we mitigated as much of it as possible, there was a lot which we simply could never de-risk.
These two examples mentioned are in stark contrast. Steve never expected to lose his investments, and Mark and I, while optimistic, realised that we could easily have lost our investment yet the outcomes couldn't be more different.
Losing money due to some event which wasn't ever perceived to have been risky is what really hurts. It's like declining a wrestling match with the muscly thuggish neighbour, opting instead to play ping pong with his cute sister and then coming out with a black eye and broken arm anyway.
Anyone that has assets worth protecting should do just that - protect them.
Trusts are a great means of achieving that protection. A Trust is a widely recognized legal structure that puts just a bit of formal distance between you and your assets by effectively conveying ownership and management to distinct parties.
Steve should absolutely have secured his assets in a Trust and would never have had to deal with the stress of losing his assets unexpectedly while dealing with cancer which is bad enough.
There are many great low-tax and no-tax jurisdictions out there but not all are equal. Many of them are on OECD black or gray lists and the legal environment and enforceability of contracts is often questionable.
Finding good banking operations for Trusts in these jurisdictions is becoming increasingly difficult meaning you may get stuck with banking operations for your Trust which are less than perfect. It makes little sense to have a Trust owning a bank account only to end up losing your cash to a banking crisis since you were forced to use a bank which wasn't sound and you in turn chose that bank simply because all the others refused to deal with your offshore Trust.
A New Zealand Trust offers arguably the best structure I've come across. Below are some compelling reasons to consider it for your asset protection.
- A safe location offering long-term security, with a stable political and economic environment;
- New Zealand's legal system originates from British law and has a long established Trust law regime, both legislative as well as case law are well developed;
- Income which is sourced offshore (not in New Zealand) is totally tax-free. New Zealand has no capital gains tax, inheritance or forced heirship;
- New Zealand Trusts are globally recognized and can make use of 37 current, double taxation agreements;
- Minimal compliance and reporting requirements. No audit is required and no annual tax returns need to be filed;
- Privacy. ?The only details made public in New Zealand would be the details of the directors and shareholders of the Trustee company;
- Cost?. The costs of forming and administering New Zealand foreign Trusts are reasonable when compared to other entities and jurisdictions.
As an example, the Trust can own property in New Zealand and pay no capital gains tax on increases in the value of that property.
We've put together a complimentary report on New Zealand Trusts with much more detail which you can access here.
New Zealand has a lot to offer. So much so that both Mark and I are spending the majority of our time here. We'll be speaking a little about that in coming weeks and will be holding a meet up in Auckland on March 23rd to 27th where we will have experts on immigration, Trusts and much more.
More details on that coming shortly. Spaces will be limited so if you're interested drop us an email and we'll send you details as we formalize them.
- Chris
"There are always risks in battle. It's a dangerous business. The trick is to take the right ones." - John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja
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Trusts require one's assets be in paper, or not in their possession.
Trusts are paper assets, need lawyers, rely on the Zions courts, and judges, that operate within the Zionist owned and controlled DC US. So ultimately a "trust" == confiscation.
No thanks, I'll stay with trusting in gold, silver, steel and lead.
The banksters need to repay us.
A friend said to me yesterday, "You know, they don't mean 'God' in 'In God We Trust,' they mean them, the Zionist banksters. They are saying that they, the Zionists, are God, and o trust in them, just like an emperor of Rome.
“Trusts are a great means of achieving [risk] protection [in a foreign jurisdiction].”
Very bad advice on both counts: “trusts” and “foreign jurisdictions”.
Yes, you overlooked something: “Losing money due to some event which wasn’t ever perceived to have been risky is what really hurts.”
First, trusts are a fiction of law and facts, and depend on smiles of judges and bureaucrats to function. If you are a crooked politician, a member of the MAFIA or a recognized collectivist (communist, socialist, fascist et cetera), you will do great with a trust: it will protect your plunder very well; mainly because you share it with those judges et cetera. However, if you ask too many questions or describe too many official crimes, those crooked politicians, judges and bureaucrats will march right thru your trust as if it wasn’t there.
Now, “foreign jurisdiction” usually means a CIA-fronted operation; that’s why it’s allowed to operate in the US without official interruption. So, when you send your money to this CIA scam, you can do it as long as you want. But, when you ask for it back, well, good luck.
Of course, there are some foreign companies you can trust. I’m sorry, that doesn’t help either. Here’s why, dollars you send overseas are almost immediately returned to the US (Federal Reserve bank of NY) for immediate conversion into US Treasuries. The government approves this because it helps to finance the federal debt. NOW, when you want your money back, the process is reversed: sale of US Treasuries to raise dollars you want. Obviously Treasury doesn’t like this. SO, Treasury will seize part, or all, your dollars on the pretext they are proceeds of drug dealing. And you’ll spend an eternity trying to shake them loose. (Anatomy of a General Plunder, part ii, might help in this regard – in more ways than one.)
NOW, is there a more effective way to protect your assets? Of course there is; but it requires learning lessons of American Founders and using those lessons. More specifically, it involves establishment of First-Amendment assemblies to protect your assets and to make criminal and useless classes accountable for their crimes.
You see, we have the same powers Founders had – and hardly anyone knows it.
Awesome comment and info.
The banksters need to repay us.
“banksters need to repay us.”
Yes, and big time. The sooner we get started, the sooner we’ll collect.
New Zealand is one of the few nations on earth that encourages you to make your own corn liquor.
They must be doing a few things right.
"New Zealand is one of the few nations on earth that encourages..."
New Zealand is a socialist country. In my opinion Investing in socialist countries are a bad idea. Sooner later the economy gets out of balance and your lose it all.
http://blog.peerform.com/top-ten-most-socialist-countries-in-the-world/
Top 10 Most Socialist Countries in the World:
China
Denmark
Finland
Netherlands
Canada
Sweden
Norway
Ireland
New Zealand
Belgium
Except for China and Belgium, the quality of life in those countries is pretty high despite their 'socialism.' However, the term socialism is very borad. For ex, I could never compare Denmakr with China; both may say their are socialist but that's far from reality. The USA has many more social programs then China has, for example.
In China, for example, if you do not work, you do not eat. In the USA if you do not work you qualify for unemployment benefits, a free phone, free medical care, free food and free housing and unlimited time walking [for free] around Walmart.
"the quality of life in those countries is pretty high despite their 'socialism.' "
Quality of life does not equate to financial stabiliity. Sure, I love to live in a country that gives me free stuff and provides a salary above market cost. In all cases of socialism, countries eventually turn to borrowing and accumulate mountains of debt as the entitlements can only be maintained by borrow. the USA was once the worlds biggest creditor. Not so much today. Now he US its one of the worse debtors having borrowed to sustain entitlements and subsidizes. New Zealand won't be any different. NZ is probably a decade away from a crisis.
My understanding is that living in New Zealand isn't that great. Its very expensive to import stuff, and the Healthcare system sucks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_New_Zealand:
"The relatively extensive and high-quality system of public hospitals treats citizens or permanent residents free of charge and is managed by District Health Boards. However, costly or difficult operations often require long waiting list delays unless the treatment is medically urgent.[1] Because of this, a secondary market of health insurance schemes exists which fund operations and treatments for their members privately"
FWIW: If I had a choice between Australia and New Zealand, I would pick Australia, despite its mounting problems.
Interesting thread on Socialism.
- Seems that the Smart & the Wealthy in any government or socioeconomic system will always take over that system, mostly I say that from the Idiocracy in the USSA
- And the More National Level or Federal Legislation passed the more opportunities for the Smart & Wealth to control each system they have their eyes on
- 70,000 Pages of US Federal Tax Regualtions
- 75,000 Pages of New Regs in 2014
- So how many rules & regulation do we have for Banking, Anybody think it is helping, looks like it has gotten deregulated around 1995-1999, ever after the Savings & Loan Scandal that starting in the 1980s and was still being prosecuted in the 1990s
- 5000 Executives or Banking Mangers were prosecuted in the S&L Scandal, Lincoln Savings & Loan, Keating Five
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savings_and_loan_crisis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keating_Five
http://rationalrevolution.net/war/bush_family_and_the_s.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Bush
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Savings_and_Loan_Association
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resolution_Trust_Corporation
Classism in USA
- Looks like 5 Classes
- Elite Class who go to Ivy League Universities, and now Run out biggest organizations, Often Elites are born Elites, Tremendous connection to Banking & Finance
- Non-Debt Class of Workers, Professionals, Voters
- Debt Class, Voters
- Immigrant Class, can't vote, start poor, don't start with debt, Usually are paid the lowest Wages
- Criminal Class, Prison Class, usually can't vote, are poor
"Classism is differential treatment based on social class or perceived social class. Classism is the systematic oppression of subordinated class groups to advantage and strengthen the dominant class groups. It’s the systematic assignment of characteristics of worth and ability based on social class."
- Elite Class controls congress through lobbying & high priced Lawyers
There is a fundamental flaw in the structure of sovereign states, which is probably correctable only after a complete collapse of the current system. States lost much of their financial strength because of mistakes in state sovereignty over the last 150 years.
Namely, that states have enabled corporations to take owenership of the state's natural resources. Privatization.
Instead a new state structure would retain ownership of its natural resources, assets and means of production, contract for extraction, but retain ownership of the extracted resources. These resources are direct backing to currency issues and the states sells the extracted resources to maintain currency value and generate income for the state.
All of this activity should be under the control of the state treasury, which prints currency and sells gold and silver coins to the population through a sovereign state bank controlled by the treasury.
The State Bank lends to small businesses and individuals only. The population makes deposits in the bank and the bank is financially backed by the sale of natural resources.
Under this structure, there are no taxes because state functions are financed through the sale of its natural resources.
The critical error in the history of sovereign states is that they gave ownership of their natural resources to corporations and banks and thus run deficits because tax revenues do not cover state expenses.
The proper structure of state finances described above would create tectonic disturbances to Oligarchs who currently own state natural resources, assets and means of production.
The problem with “sovereign” states is that none of them are sovereign:
All are dominated by some private body of men who use the mask of government to destroy competition and plunder society to a Stone-Age condition.
It is best to abolish all governments and let no one escape the rules of due process of law. See, Failure of Power or Unprecedented Opportunity…
This is why USA citizens wanted Single Payer, which Obamacare prevented.
"This is why USA citizens wanted Single Payer, which Obamacare prevented."
Perhaps you are being sarcastic.
Obamacare the first step to force Americans into a single payer system. Much like Hitler used a fake Polish invasion of one of Germany's check points to start a full scale invasion of Poland. The firststep is to destroy the current US healthcare system. Then offer the American people a gov't run system, since clearly the "free" market wasn't working. The people that want a gov't run system are those that don't want live healthly lifestyles and want someone else to pay for poor habits.
so.... Senator Marco Rubio was on the Jon Stewart show. Rubio said we should change the Earned Income Credit, from being a yearly subsidy which we (the taxpayers) give working people who choose to have more children than they can feed, to being a regular paycheck which we give them.
That sounds to me like a change that would permanently enshrine Earned Income Credit politically.
It also sounds to me like a way to create an entire Earned Income Credit subculture whose recipients have too many children, who grow up learning to have too many children, who grow up learning to have too many children. Geometric growth, all subsidized by us taxpayers.
It seems to me that this cannot but (1) maximize the number of customers for Global Corporations, (2) cheapen labor for those same Corporations (since the Law of Supply and Demand will lower wages as the number of people, aka potential employees, increases), (3) make the populace even more politically docile than it already is (since, with so many people available to work, people who actually have jobs can less afford to act politically, without risking their jobs), and (4) a mad rush toward extincting the planet by overpopulating it.
Any tweaks to the current system is like moving the deck chairs around on the Titanic.
None of this addresses the core issue, which is get rid of the Federal Reserve and you automatically get rid of the IRS.
Core financial change is necessary otherwise, these patchworks are nothing more than modifying pawns on the chessboard created by central banks.
I do give the creators of central banks kudos for having the insight, so many centuries ago, into how to steal a society's wealth.
And what of FATCA? Or am I missing something?
It is always disappointing when what appears to be an "article" with supposedly "neutral" information turns out be be, in fact, an ADVERTISEMENT.
Folks, if you wish to offer what you believe is sound information or advice, we all welcome it.
But if you are writing an "article" merely as the cover for an ADVERTISEMENT, please post it elsewhere.
To: Chris at www.CapitalistExploits.at :
I may have contacted you company regarding setting up a Trust in New Zealand, but most certainly will NOT do so now.
John-Henry Hill, M.D.
retired physician
http://JohnHenryHill.Wordpress.com
Fair enough John,
Here is the problem. My company if you want to call it that doesn't setup trusts, or any such service. I'm a private international investor and I speak about what I've found. The report which I've linked is a breakdown of what may be useful for you. I have no idea. Use it at your will. I could care less what company/lawyer you may or may not use to do things for you and hope that you simply can educate yourself with the information I've found useful.
I'm not selling anything. Go take a look. No products for sale and like I said use whatever legal firm you please.
I know nothing of the financial condition of ZH, but if this or any other site is to survive, they must have ad revenue.
The WSJ is now doing full page, color ads, most recently for Chevy trucks of all things. Media companies are all under pressure, and as Red Green says about women, you get what you pay for.
So, Dr. Jack, you are complaining about someone who writes an article and then advertises at the end of it, but you sign off your post with a link to your own website. What are we to make of this? Are you trying to be funny/ironic, or are you just a hypocrite?
If the cancer victim had read Politics in Healing or read articles from naturalnews.com or mercola.com, he would have discovered that monopoly allopathic medicine is a scam and run by the same criminals that created the Fed.
Why would anyone think that medicine is exempt from the pervasive corruption that permeates our society?
A weak immune system allows cancer to grow and the poisoning agenda from vaccines, GMOs, pesticides and fluoride among others compromise our health and immune system in order to make subserviant sheeple out of us by the Fed owners that took over America in 1913.
It's survival of the fittest and the naive sheeple that trust monopoly quack medicine get just what they deserve for their negligence and lack of due diligence in protecting themselves from the wolves that secretly have taken over our government, money, food, water and medicine.
Life expectancy in the USA, 1900-98
1913 M 50.3 F 55.0
1998 M 73.8 F 79.5
Quackery.
Some of that can be attributed to better hygine, cleaner water, cleaner air.
I sure as hell aint gonna clean out my savings and investments to extend my life another 5 years.
That savings is for my children. Not some asswipe doctor on the take of the pharma rep or insurance company schmuck.
I interpret your insinuation that because life expectancy is longer then we are better off. Western medicine does provide major surgerys, now there is more access to doctors, scientific advancements, simple understanding of hygene. There are many comparisons of 1913 to 1998 that can be made. But living a healthy, natural lifestyle and not relying on Sickcare is not debateable.
But so far, we can still breathe air free of charge.
While the author makes some very good points, like the scheme to protect assets through trusts, but one must look at the likely future policies of any government they are subjecting themselves, (and their largess), to.
Immigration into New Zealand is heavily new class progressives. Their progressive ideas will eventually be incorporated into NZ law. When that happens you will see rising taxes, higher and higher regulations, and eventually confiscatory policies regarding the assets of the "wealthy."
If your money is there and the new class progressives get power, your money turns into their money and there is nothing you or I could do about it. The greed and avarice of progressives is boundless.
What is true today is not necessarily true tomorrow... Invest carefully!
The Best offshore asset protection is BitShares. They offer Decentralized Dollar assets backed by 300% collateral, paying 0.98% yield. Even if the banking system collapsed your funds would be unaffected. They offer gold, silver and other options too but they are still a little thin. As this matures over 2015 you will hear more about it, I just like being first to know.
(You're trading centralized counterparty risk for systemic risk but the system is very solid & over collateralised.)
http://www.bitsharesblocks.com/assets/asset?id=USD
With absolutely no basis for the claim that those assets are somehow pledged to a BitShare. Hear that sound? That's the SEC lawyers knocking, better run for it
If you can't hold it, you don't own it.
If you can't hide it, you don't own it either.
I like the phyzz as much as the next guy. However when I play out SHTF scenarios they often involve going to a third world country. The EU, US & other first world countries are the last places you may want to be when shops go empty and the bank-runs start imo. It will be carnage, whereas as in thirld world countries where the vast majority are used to living in poverty, with limited access to resources and are unbanked, they will just carry on as normal, so you'll be fine in nice neighbourhood there excl. an all out apocalypse ofc.
The option I mentioned lets me store the value of USD & Gold/Silver but in a decentralised way, they can't be shut down and can be stored on a USB. So I can get flights, shelter and food overseas easily whereas my phyzz would be confiscated and/or make me a target.
And if you aren't able or willing to defend what you hold, you won't be holding it very long.
No matter what we own, someone - if they are powerful and/or determined - can take it.
Not much out there for the average Joe, except burying a few coins.
Same as it ever was.
Small, easy to hide and find again with a metal detector, potent for its size, instant liquidity or even direct barter. There is big wisdom in your words Zuuma,. Judging from treasure finds, people have been doing this for thousands of years. A few 1/4oz gold eagles stashed away would carry you a long way through a melt-up. You'd be eating while others were hungry, if you could hold on to them like you said.
Ha, You would be eating you say? Eating what? That gold? lol, ya right. Fact is why wouldn't the man with the food that you really wanted to eat just say fuck you. How would he know if that gold wasn't fancy paint on a chunk of lead? There is no way in hell you would receive what you think you should for it. Better to invest in skills to get food. For some those may be gardening, farming,animal hubandry, fishing and hunting. For others simply having weaponry and the knowhow to use it. The one with the gold he thinks will trade at his own conceived level of par is the dupe.
"The one with the gold he thinks will trade at his own conceived level of par is the dupe"
indeed.
But I'm sure you'd agree that having those skills you mention AND having a few coins available would be the winning hand -- short of a meteorite hitting you on the head.
Some folks need to re-read "When Money Dies" and what was traded and bought for with what.
http://www.amazon.com/When-Money-Dies-Devaluation-Hyperinflation/dp/1586...
I agree with you. In an SHTF scenario where I can shelter in place, gold would have no use to me. I probably wouldn't trade for it either, and I have all of the skill sets that you've listed, and live in a rural setting.
In long term SHTF scenario (1913 to present) , I might trade for precious metals merely a hedge for wealth storage. I'd be more inclined to trade for working tools, materials or livestock though.
I love New Zealand. It makes Lord of the Rings look dull. Great people...absolutely wonderful country
But if or when PRChina saw something of strategic interest there.....well..........game over quickly ...faster than one can say in Japanese Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere.
And every ANZAC knows of what I speak... the luck of the geographical draw.....as their Aboriginal and Maori counterparts will explain.
I think the same could be said of the U.S. - PRC could take down the western economic system in a heartbeat if it wanted to.
The only trust worth considering is a Common Law Express Private Trust or a variation. The key is to established a non-statutory trust without the laws of the government.
For complete information check out http://passingbucks.com
I am Chumbawamba.
I almost bought a nice place on the South Island back in 2000 for USD$85,000 but my Mom and Dad told me, 'You're crazy!" They were going thru some tought times a sheep farmer told me because the EU had switched from buying their sheep and wook to somewhere else and thus left alot of NZ'ers with alot of relatively useless sheep.
That same polace is now over $650,000. RE there went crazy like everywhere else while wgaes there have risen very little, like everywhere else. I will say there and tons more Asians there now then back in 2000 also.
I wonder how the global RE correction will pan out? These CB-created asset Bubbles wont last forever.
PS: I still love my Mom and Dad but there are some sore subjects we NEVER talk about when we're together.