A Favorite Yield-Generating Hard Asset One theme at the Wealth Retreat I hosted in Panama last week was yield-generating hard assets—specifically, rental properties, condo hotels, and agricultural land. Argentine developer and economist Steve Rosberg, one of the speakers participating in last week's program, focuses his business on hard assets. Specifically, Steve has undertaken dozens of [...]
From wire fees to minimum monthly account fees and ATM fees, the little bites that are taken out of every overseas transaction you make are increasing. When we moved to Panama five years ago, we weren’t charged a fee when withdrawing money from a local ATM, not even when that ATM wasn’t associated with our […]
FATCA Facts FATCA has been one of the regular topics of discussion at the Wealth Retreat I'm hosting at Buenaventura in Panama this week. FATCA has confused, irritated, and scared Americans since it first came out as the offset provision for the HIRE Act in 2010. We joked that the only jobs created by the [...]
A Humble Suggestion For The IRS If you haven't completed your FBAR form (TD F 90-22.1) for 2012, here's a heads up: The deadline is less than two weeks away. Remember that postmarking the form by June 30 isn't good enough. The Treasury Department must receive the thing by June 30. Completing my FBAR was my weekend project. I'll [...]
Planting Flags I'm reviewing and clarifying my ideas related to the Five Flags theory of diversification in preparation for my opening remarks at the Wealth Retreat I’m hosting in Panama next month. If you're new to the idea, the "Five Flags" are to do with residency, citizenship, banking, assets, and business. Not everyone needs all five flags [...]
Where It’s Safe? We received the following e-mail from a reader this week: "We hear so much about bombings and uprisings abroad," the reader wrote, "why would South America be safer to live in than North America? Don't those countries have more of a national safety threat?" How in the world to respond? The irony [...]
Addressing The Plight Of The Middle-Class Millionaire A friend in the tax business told me today about a law firm he knows that targets clients with net worths of US$100 million or more, the ultra-high-end of the wealth management market. That's a market with fewer than 3,000 potential clients in the United States. Still, the [...]
The Easiest Way I Know To Piece Together Your Personal Offshore Diversification Plan I spoke last week with a reader who is all set to move himself and all his assets offshore. He already has a second passport and has made a connection with a banker in Switzerland. He has business contacts in several countries [...]
Naked Travel And Other Strategies For Survival The guy who got naked going through airport security in Portland yesterday took the show-and-tell approach to internationalizing your life that I recommend to an extreme. Having been pulled aside and swabbed for explosive residue, he was informed that he'd tested positive. Rather than arguing with the TSA, [...]
Late Tax Filing Concerns Of The American Abroad The tax filing deadline for U.S. persons was Monday. Today, the IRS, in its "Tax Tips" e-letter, detailed the penalties for not filing your 1040 form on time. In fact, you face two potential penalties related your 1040 form. Failure to file on time and failure to [...]
Offshore Living Letter is a publication of Live and Invest Overseas. Our goal is to provide timely, actionable information on all things offshore, including: how to go offshore, diversifying your portfolio, wealth creation, protecting your assets, and much more.
