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Author: Lief Simon

06 Nov
Investing In Wine In France

Investing In Wine In France: A Good (And Tasty) Venture

Lief Simon's Secret French Passions Kathleen and I are in Paris for six weeks. We seldom have the luxury of so much time in one place. How to fill our free days, I wondered when we arrived... Ah, ha, I thought. I'll reorganize the cave. A French cave is an underground area for storage. It's not like a [...]
02 Nov
Enjoying A Drink and learning about taxes

Ten Women Walk Into A Bar… And Learn About U.S. Taxes

Anticipation continues to build for details of the promised U.S. tax reform measures. House Republicans delayed release of the specifics yesterday and promised to share them today. I’ll have my thoughts on what, if any, effects the proposed changes will have on Americans living, investing, and doing business offshore as soon as any real information […]

26 Oct
Will Congress Eliminate Worldwide Taxation Of U.S. Citizens? vuew of the US capitol building

Will Congress Eliminate Worldwide Taxation Of U.S. Citizens?

Talk about potentially eliminating the worldwide taxation of U.S. citizens is getting some expats excited. In theory… if the proposed change were approved… that would put U.S. citizens on par with citizens of every other country in the world except Eritrea, the only other country that also taxes citizens on worldwide income no matter where […]

23 Oct
Why Investing In Panama City Today Is A Different Ballgame

Why Investing In Panama City Today Is A Different Ballgame

Making Money In Panama City Today—Here’s Where To Buy I didn’t realize it at the time, but, when I bought a pre-construction apartment on Panama City’s Avenida Balboa 13 years ago, I was taking a position at a dramatic turning point in the history of Panama City’s property market. The Americans left Panama in 1999, […]

19 Oct
definition of wealthy piggy bank and cash

The Strong Dollar Is Diminishing… It’s Time To Diversify

Your Dollar Advantage Window Is Closing I typically ignore exchange rates when making an investment in another country… especially when making an investment in real estate in another country. Trying to time short-term exchange rates to eke out a few more of whatever the local currency is when transferring money isn’t worth losing a property […]

12 Oct
investment in colombia

3 Perfectly Timed Investment Opportunities In Colombia

Three Ways To Cash In This Peace Dividend Last week a friend forwarded a report on Colombia issued by a U.S. investment group. The group is enthusiastically bullish on Colombia and finally prepared to recommend the country in the wake of the ceasefire agreed with the National Liberation Army (ELN). The Colombian government had already [...]
05 Oct
residency in portugal

Why Residency In Portugal Is Today’s Golden Opportunity

Portugal is hot. I’ve been focusing time and attention on this country for the past two-and-a-half years. My first visit I bought a small apartment as a rental investment that is proving to have been one of the best property investment purchases of my career (and that’s more than 40 buys across two-dozen countries). The […]

28 Sep
A desk with laptop, glasses, calculator, and euros

Resources For Filing Taxes As An American Abroad

The Oct. 15 final deadline for every American who asked for an extension for filing his 2016 U.S. tax return is racing toward us… and I still need to complete mine. Kathleen and I return to Paris this weekend… and I know how I’ll be spending my first two weeks back in the City of […]

25 Sep
Stacks of coins growing in size, each with a larger plant growing out of them.

Agricultural Property Investing: Scouting For Steady Yields

Here’s Where My Search For Reliable Yields Has Led Me… Pre-2008, anyone who could read a property ad was getting into real estate investing and buying anything he could afford. All those amateur investors helped to pump up the bubble and to distort markets all around the world. It’s hard to negotiate a reasonable price […]