Recently in Expatriate Category

NEW YORK, Jan 06, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Fitch Ratings says the potential credit impact on banks due to new US tax regulations designed to inhibit offshore tax evasion could be tough to gauge due to uncharted consumer response. A significant outflow of foreign deposits could occur, but other customers might simply stay put.

Skittish high net worth individuals opposed to deeper deposit transparency could cause a material dislocation of deposits, but many other depositors with smaller holdings might choose to keep deposits in place based on necessity and function.

However, banks are clearly opposed to the new tax parameters as they breed additional uncertainty for an industry already under massive regulatory pressure.

US banks are contesting the proposed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2010 (FATCA) rule requiring them to report to the IRS interest income on foreign deposits earned by non-US residents. Banks contend that heightened disclosure could spook investors, prompting them to withdraw cash and place it instead in accounts requiring less transparency. Cheap deposits mean cheap funding for banks. A meaningful dip in deposits could translate to increased capital risk. Still, we feel a low interest rate environment would diminish any pinch felt by banks regarding current cost of funds stemming from foreign deposits.

Banks in states with considerable immigrant populations (Florida, California, Texas, and New Mexico) would likely be at higher risk for a sudden decrease in foreign deposits, as those states tend to rely heavily on community bank businesses versus larger institutional firms. The Florida Bankers Association has estimated that between $60 billion and $100 billion in foreign deposits, or close to 20% of the state's total deposits, are held in Florida banks. That said, we feel the impact of a potential shift in foreign deposits for US banks would not be significant.

Additionally, overseas financial institutions will now need to report American clients with accounts of more than $50,000 to the IRS. Banks have deemed the new process both time-consuming and costly. We feel that banks will absorb the rules gradationally; keeping in mind that noncompliance will result in a stiff 30% withholding tax on payments received from the US.

While FATCA won't become effective until Jan. 1, 2013, many banks and depositors are beginning to make decisions in order to be compliant by the end of 2012.

We shall start off this discussion by eliminating a form of dual passport given by the 30 day quick passport people. Research points to a 30 day dual passport as a scam. Now if you just want a passport as an American Citizen within the 30 day time period, it may be possible to do this through the U.S. mail. Offshore investing and International living will be the highlighted in this discussion. An Expat American and sovereign citizenship will be discussed as well.

When talking about the fastest way to a dual passport, it might lead us to the 30 day people, but there is a clear distinction, between speed and the 30 day principle.

If your Parents or Grandparents were born in another country, and they have citizenship through the U.S., you may obtain dual citizenship by applying for a dual passport in their country of origin.

The economic citizenship program is considered one of the quickest ways to obtain a passport. If you would like to be a citizen of another country, you can invest in the State with a donation through the above economic program.

Possibly costing in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, you can endow States by the purchase of real property and other forms of investing. This way might just be the fastest way without having to naturalize yourself through a wait period of several years.

It is also possible to wait out the time it takes to be naturalized. Although waiting for your citizenship in a country abroad, sometimes it can be a positive experience learning the culture and society outside the U.S.

If you are a citizen from another country and that country allows dual citizenship with the United States, then you do not need to fill out citizenship papers, you automatically qualify for the two.

In a similar way, a U.S. Citizen may obtain Citizenship through marriage. This is started through some paperwork including a fiancee visa application, and takes a culmination of almost two years before a test qualifying you to be a citizen is passed.

The reason for the fiancée visa is that U.S. Consular offices cannot perform nuptial agreements. According to the Law of Foreign Countries, civil or religious officials generally perform marriages.

Whether it's through offshore investing and planting your feet on foreign soil, you may very well get the distinction of having dual passport (citizenship) privileges. When it's as an Expat American or through International living, the world is your Oyster. If sovereign citizenship is for you, I invite you to take a look at the possibility of visiting and thinking about living in another country.

If you're an expat currently working or living in another country, you should ensure that you take out expat life insurance as part of your global wealth management strategy. Life is never predictable, and this applies even more when you are living in an unfamiliar location where you may be exposed to different kinds of risks than you would be at home.

Many expats think that as long as they have a life insurance policy in their country of origin that they'll be covered in the event that anything should happen to them while living abroad. This can be a costly mistake because in many cases, a life insurance policy taken out in the UK won't necessarily be valid for incidents that happen in another country. Not only does this mean that your loved ones won't benefit from the provisions that you've put in place, but it also means that you're paying for a product that is essentially useless.

Unavoidable Facts of Life

Expat life insurance is the only way that you can be certain of protecting your family in the event that you meet an untimely death. None of us want to consider the possibility of dying young or leaving our dependents stranded without us - however, death is a fact of life that we can't avoid, and we never know when it will pay us a visit. We have a responsibility to ensure that our family are taken care of and expat life insurance will give you that very peace of mind.

Imagine just for a minute that you were to fall ill and it turned out to be fatal. If you have a spouse or children living abroad with you, how will they manage once you and your regular wage has gone? It is frequently the case that a contract worker will be the only member of the family bringing home a salary. In the event of your death, there will be many things to manage financially; your family may want to repatriate to their home country, which can cost huge amounts of money in flights, freight, a deposit on a new property and many other peripheral costs.

Help When It's Most Needed

In addition to these kinds of costs, your expat life insurance will also provide a pot of money to help your family to get by and meet their financial commitments, while they recover from their sad loss. They may need it to help cover funeral costs, or even to fly your body back home. By taking out expat life insurance you can relax, knowing that your family will not have any additional stress on top of the tragedy of losing you. If you haven't found a policy as of yet, it's a good idea to speak to a global wealth management advisor and start the ball rolling straightaway - you never know what's around the next corner.

If you would like to know more about Global wealth management and expat life insurance, Please visit us.

Author: Steve Mackie

Article Source: EzineArticles.com/

Hong Kong has once again topped the Fraser Institute's Economic Freedom Index, which measures the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom.

According to the report, Hong Kong scored highly across all of the five categories which are used to calculate index scores, including size of government, legal structure and security of property rights, access to sound money, freedom to trade internationally, and regulation of credit, labor, and business.

Hong Kong has topped the Fraser Institute's 141-country ranking every year for the past three decades. This year, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Australia were placed after Hong Kong in the top five.

The United States experienced one of the largest drops in economic freedom, according to the report, falling to 10th place overall from sixth in 2010. Much of this decline is attributed to higher spending and borrowing on the part of the US government, and lower scores for legal structure and property rights.

"The link between economic freedom and prosperity is undeniable: the countries that score highly in terms of economic freedom also offer their people the best quality of life," said Fred McMahon, vice-president of international policy research at the Fraser Institute, a Canadian public policy think tank.

Commenting on this year's index results, Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang remarked that economic freedom was "part of Hong Kong's DNA".

"In such testing times, it is important for an externally-oriented economy such as Hong Kong to remain true to our philosophy. That means strong fiscal discipline, low taxes, open markets, free flow of information, goods and capital, clean government and a level playing field for business," Tsang said in a speech September 20.

"The fact that we have held true to these beliefs for decades is no doubt one reason why Hong Kong has consistently ranked so highly in the league tables of economic freedom. As the old saying goes: 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.'"

Related articles

• Five Interesting Facts About Hong Kong (2011 edition) (kylayao.wordpress.com)
• Hong Kong is World's Freest Economy (United States is Tenth) (inquisitr.com)
• Interesting Hong Kong in Numbers (lynnsee.wordpress.com)
• Hong Kong's Tsang Sees Property 'Soft Landing,' Backs Peg (businessweek.com)

Before August 2009, some expatriates used bank accounts in countries that had banking secrecy laws, the most well-known was Switzerland. However, at the end of August of that year, Switzerland signed an information release agreement that crumbled one of the stoutest legs of international banking sovereignty principles upon which many expats relied. Since that benchmark agreement was signed, other countries have followed suit, often with US government promises of import tax credits and trade agreements as the carrots offered.

For expat employees of US-based businesses and the government itself, that agreement and others like it didn't have tremendous impact if one was playing by the rules to begin with and not attempting to hide income illegally. The legal income was reported through the employer's records and statements.

For the self-employed expat, however, the Switzerland agreement and others, such as the Panama agreement, the dissolution of banking privacy guarantees have created quite a quandary for those who use international banking for possibly illegal activity. However, if you live abroad and are self-employed, don't automatically assume you have to head for the hills.

However, you should know that if you have a foreign account not declared to the IRS, and they discover it, you can and will be fined up to 50 percent of the account's balance--for each year the account has not been declared.

All expats know or should already know of IRS Form 2555 regarding income exclusion and its income limitation. However, your social security taxes could be effected as well as your income taxes by your expat status.

In the US, most if not all the states require payment of income tax if you reside in the state and if you work in the state. Those who work in one state but live in another often pay overlapping state taxes on the single income source. For expatriates, whether self-employed or not, a similar situation could happen regarding social security taxes.

If you live in a foreign country that has a domestic social security plan (SSP), you might gain an exemption from US social security taxes if 1. that country is included on the exemption list with the US government and 2. you pay those social security taxes. You should note, though, that your eventual US social security retirement income will not reflect the amounts you paid to a foreign government. Likewise, if your income is exempt from the foreign plan, and you don't pay into the local system, you will not receive their retirement benefits from that country.

Called Totalization Agreements, these mutual-exemptions avoid that dual payment scenario, but if you are employed by a business and work in a foreign country which grants exemption from local SSP payment, you should have your employer obtain a certificate of compliance from the International Programs of the Social Security Administration. Without that certificate, your employer must withhold from your paycheck the dual-country taxes, not just the US taxes.

If you work in a country that has a Totalization Agreement, and you are required to pay into the foreign country's plan, you can still avoid duplicate SSP taxation by obtaining a statement from the foreign government verifying your pay is subjected to taxation in the local plan.

If for some reason, you can't get this statement, contact the same US government office and obtain a declaration from the US government confirming your wages are not covered by the US Social Security system. It's highly recommended that you secure the original document you receive, if self-employed, in a US bank's safety deposit box and keep only a copy with you where you live and work.

The author of this post is Holly Miller from Coupon Croc. Business owners can save on all of the latest electronics and appliances, as well as home office furniture when they shop with Littlewoods discount codes.

Overseas Pension Information for Expats

During the past decade over 5.5 million Brits have left the UK in search of a better life overseas. Many have been financially hit hard by the recent economic downturn and the weakening on the British pound.

It has had a huge impact on incomes of those who rely heavily on a British pension or other source of income to keep them afloat whilst living overseas. Despite this financial negative many Brit's are still keen to emigrate abroad.

Spain, Portugal and Cyprus are the most popular destinations for British Expats, none however are generally considered as tax havens but do offer significant tax benefits over living and receiving a pension in the UK.

In Britain by the time a pensioner reaches 75 they are forced to buy an annuity or to go into a restrictive alternative secured pension regime, this is not compulsory if you are living abroad. Financial experts are now claiming that offshore pensions will be the next big thing. The rules of these pensions do not include obligatory annuity purchasing; they are tax free lump sums and allow pensioners far more freedom to invest into residential property and to take a more flexible income. On top of this potentially they can be free of all UK taxes on death.

If you want to move your pension overseas and make the most of the tax advantages firstly you must move your funds to a qualifying recognised overseas pension plan which was first introduced two years ago. Once your money is in one of these schemes it is no longer subject to HMRC rules. The pension provider must report your dealings to HMRC until you have been a non UK resident for 5 years. One huge benefit of opting to go into one of these schemes is that you are not obligated to receive your income in sterling which is currently a major problem for some many pensioners living overseas thanks to the weak pound.

Key benefits of opting into a qualifying recognised overseas pension plan:
• Tax free roll up pension plan.
• Funds will be held outside of wealth tax and overseas succession taxes.
• No requirement to buy an insurance annuity so that the fund can pass to benefit your heirs.
• No PAYE on the pension.
• No inheritance tax on the fund upon your death. It will continue to benefit your heirs.
• This fund can provide an annuity from a segregated part or from all of the fund.
• You can receive your income in a different currency thus avoiding expensive money transfers.

Do be aware that in some countries you are liable for wealth tax. In France you are taxed on the full value of all of your worldwide possessions. Portugal and Italy do not have wealth taxes.

If you are currently living overseas and rely on an income for the UK if you choose not to opt into one of these overseas pensions plans there are other ways of making your money go further. Spend time researching different money transfer providers who can help you transfer your money overseas with little or no fees. Using a money transfer broker instead of a bank to transfer money overseas will not only save you on international payment fees but the exchange rates they offer are far more competitive than the banks.

Vicki Kin

About the Author
You are literally seconds away from discovering The 7 Minute System. You are going to be earning in 7 minutes from discovering the secret - That's Just 7 Minutes!! Everyone and anyone can do this. All you need is an internet connection and a computer - if you've got that you'll be earning real money in just 7 minutes from now 100% Guaranteed.

Article Source: ArticleBase.com

Related articles

• The Importance of Pension Annuity (annuitycampusblog.com)
• You: Skype deal: A lesson in offshore accounting (menafn.com)

Ever wondered how nice it would be to obtain the citizenship of a tropical paradise? You would be able to visit the place any time you felt like, without having to deal with all the hassles of obtaining visas and necessary permissions. It could even be your alternative residence during the colder months of the year. St. Kitts & Nevis is just that kind of place. This island nation in the Caribbean is waiting to welcome you to an exotic paradise, and obtaining citizenship of this nation is also very easy. Let's see how, shall we?

St. Kitts & Nevis Citizenship is easy to obtain, if you are willing to invest in a real estate property located anywhere on the island. There are many small independent nations that offer this kind of citizenships nowadays, and St. Kitts & Nevis is one of those. However, before you invest in a real estate property on the island, keep the following pointers in mind:

Decide on the type of real estate you wish to invest in. Do you wish to buy a fully built home, or simply a plot of land on which you can build your own home? The price will differ greatly depending on your choice, so make the selection that suits your pockets. Both would work in favor of your citizenship, however.

There are several legal clauses applicable to purchase of landed properties on the island. If possible, appoint a local lawyer to explain the laws and regulations to you, before signing on the dotted lines. Also, find out whether the seller has specified any preferred payment mode. Some real estate merchants accept credit checks from international banks, for example, while others may insist on being paid in cash only. The lawyer will be able to help you with this as well. Ask him about the applicable taxes and processing fees, since these will add to the cost of the real estate property.

There is a lot of free trade going on in the region. So, if you are interested in carrying out business hereFree Reprint Articles, have a talk with the local lawyer. He will be able to inform you about the applicable laws and regulations that apply to trade in the region.

Do not feel like investing in real estate in order to obtain St. Kitts & Nevis Citizenship? No problem - consider making a donation to the local sugar industry. Talk to your lawyer and find out how you can do that. This will also get you a citizenship with no problem at all.

About the Author
Do you need a St. Kitts & Nevis Citizenship on the double? Get in touch with Caribbean Governance Consultants (CGC) Inc. today, to get it done quickly and efficiently.

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

Related articles

• A Closer Look at St Kitts (holidaystospain.wordpress.com)
• St. Kitts and Nevis - Tax Benefits Overview (islandtaxbenefits.com)
• Stumble on a St. Kitts surprise (thestar.com)

Learning a new language while overseas can be a useful and potentially profitable activity but it takes time, money and commitment.

Expats seem to be divided into two groups: those who want to embrace their adopted country and those who cling to other expats for survival in what they see as a hostile - or at least harsh - environment.

Living in another country is not a life that is suitable for everyone. Some people hate it! They can't wait to return to the comforts of home. Yet others take to a different lifestyle like a monkey to swinging vines. Language learning may play a role in how an expat adapts to a new home.

Don't Start Language Lessons Too Late. . . or Too Soon
An adjustment time is usually needed after arriving in a new country. Being surrounded by a language that one is unable to speak or understand but hearing and seeing it everywhere can be difficult. Trying to learn before the brain has adjusted to the sensory overload may be useless. When the expat's mind starts to distinguish words and phrases - spoken or written - rather than just hearing or seeing gobbledegook, it's a good indication that they are ready for language study.

A certain amount of language learning will just happen over time due to environmental influences, being immersed. The learning curve for just "picking it up" in the course of daily life starts out rather steep. Over time, however, the rate of learning may become static without some type of formal study. Expats who "tune out" the "noise" of a language they do not comprehend risk being able to re-engage sufficiently for optimum learning. Veteran expats often say - jokingly, but truthfully - that the best way to learn a language is to have a romantic interest, someone close who speaks the other language.

With the U.S. government's ever-increasing stranglehold on Americans' assets, smart investors are now taking their wealth abroad. Doug Casey tells you how to do it, and why you shouldn't put it off any longer. Here is a timely article about expatriation from Doug Casey of Casey Research.

Making The Chicken Run
by Doug Casey

"Making the chicken run" is what Rhodesians used to say about neighbors who packed up and got out during the '60s and '70s, before the place became Zimbabwe. It was considered "unpatriotic" to leave Rhodesia. But it was genuinely idiotic not to.

I've written many times about the importance of internationalizing your assets, your mode of living, and your way of thinking. I suspect most readers have treated those articles as they might a travelogue to some distant and exotic land: interesting fodder for cocktail party chatter, but basically academic and of little immediate personal relevance.

I'm directing these comments towards the U.S., mainly because that's where the problem is most acute, but they're applicable to most countries.

Rolling into 2011, the U.S. is in real trouble. Not as bad as Rhodesia 40 years ago, and definitely a different kind of trouble, but plenty serious. For many years, it's been obvious that the country was eventually going to hit the wall, and now the inevitable is rapidly becoming imminent.

What do I mean by that? There's plenty of reason to be concerned about things financial and economic. But I personally believe we haven't been bearish enough on the eventual social and political fallout from the Greater Depression. Nothing is certain, but the odds are high that the U.S. is going into a time of troubles at least as bad as any experienced in any advanced country in the last century.

I hate saying things like that, if only because it sounds outrageous and inflammatory and can create a credibility gap. It invites arguments with people, and although I enjoy discussion, I dislike arguing.

It strikes most people as outrageous because the long-running post-WW2 boom has been punctuated only by brief recessions. After 65 years, why should it ever end? The thought of a nasty end certainly runs counter to the experience of almost everyone now alive - including myself - and our personal experience is what we tend to trust most. But it seems to me we're very close to a tipping point. Ice stays ice even while it's being warmed - until the temperature goes over 32 F, where it changes very quickly into something very different.

First, The Economy
That point - economic bankruptcy accompanied by financial chaos - is quickly approaching for the U.S. government. With deficits over a trillion dollars per year for as far as the eye can see, the U.S. Treasury will very soon be unable to roll over its maturing debt at anything near current interest rates. The only reliable buyer will be the Federal Reserve, which can buy only by creating new dollars.

Within the next 24 months, the dollar is likely to start losing value rapidly and noticeably. Foreigners, who own over 7.3 trillion of them (including T-bills and other IOUs), will start panicking to dump them. So will Americans. The dollar bond market, today worth $36 trillion, will be devastated by much higher interest rates, a rapidly depreciating dollar, and an epidemic of defaults.

And that will be just the start of the trouble. Since the U.S. property market floats on a sea of debt (and is easy to tax), it's also going to be hit very hard - again. This time by stifling mortgage rates. Forget about property owners paying their existing mortgages; many won't be able to pay their taxes and utilities, and maintenance will be out of the question.

The pain will spread. Insurance companies are invested mostly in bonds and real estate; many will go bankrupt. The same is true of most pension funds. If the stock market doesn't collapse, it will only be because money is looking for a place to hide from inflation. The payout for Social Security will drop significantly in real terms, if not in dollars. The standard of living of most Americans will fall.

This rough sequence of events has happened in many countries in recent decades, and they've survived the tough times. But it has the potential, at least in relative terms, to be more serious in the U.S. than it was in Argentina, Brazil, Serbia, Russia, Mozambique or Zimbabwe, for two main reasons.

First, many people in those countries knew they couldn't trust their government and acted accordingly, even in contravention of the law, by accumulating assets elsewhere. So there was a significant pool of capital available for rebuilding. Americans, on the other hand, tend to be much more insular, law-abiding and trusting in their government. When they lose their U.S. assets, they'll have lost everything.

Second, those societies were significantly more rural than the U.S. is today. As in the America of 100 years ago, much of the population lived quite close to the land and had practical skills and habits that helped them get through the tough times. For 21st-century Americans, it's a different story. Shortages and disorder are going to hit commuters who live in suburbs, and urban dwellers who think milk appears in cartons magically, like a ton of bricks.

One thing you can absolutely count on is that everyone will look to the government to "do something." Americans really do think governments control the way the world works. Another certainty is that the U.S. government will "step in" massively, because everyone will want them to, and the politicians themselves believe they should. This will greatly aggravate the crisis and make it last much longer than necessary.

People ask me all the time about moving money from one country to another and when I use the term "offshore banking" they often have a quizzical look on their faces and ask me: "is it legal to have an offshore bank account?" That about sums-up the way most people think about banking offshore, especially because of the way mainstream media has portrayed the topic but also movies often depict the lawyer with the brief case, on a tropical island, meeting-up with the beautiful co-conspirator, after having pulled of some big rip-off back in the states. So it probably surprises my friends in Brazil and Canada even more when I suggest that United States offers some of the best offshore banking services that they'll be able to find anywhere - now they're really confused....

Offshore relates to banking in any country outside of where you are domiciled (definition of domicile: a person's fixed, permanent, and principal home for legal purposes). Therefore, your bank account doesn't need to be in Cayman or Switzerland to be offshore and in many cases you can get excellent bank services from almost any country in the world. I recommend U.S. banking for anyone not permanently living there because the rates are relatively low but more importantly it's really easy to get a Paypal account with a U.S. bank account. However, in today's world privacy and asset protection play a more important part of an overall banking strategy and let's face it, the U.S. is just not big on privacy, as a matter of fact, when you open a new business account in America you'll soon-after be barraged with solicitations from local businesses and services, which means that the bank sold your information before the ink was even dry. Now that's not as much of a problem, more of an annoyance but the fact is that most people just don't want anyone, including a snooping government, to know how much money they have in the bank - that's where I come in and the reason people ask me about banking, as I've been setting-up offshore accounts since 1994.

My first education into offshore banking was way back in 1984 in Australia, where I learned by necessity how to open accounts and transfer money in foreign countries, to access while traveling in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong, back then there wasn't an ATM machine on every corner either, so it took some strategy. Now let's fast-forward, I can set people up with what we refer to as; cloud banking - aptly named because your money doesn't reside in just one bank and your private information (notarized Passport color copy, bank reference letter, and copy of a utility bill) are kept with a trust company from New Zealand, housed in a storage facility in a third country, and once you're a depositing customer you can log-in to access your account from any Internet computer and granted the ability to order MasterCard branded, or Visa branded credit and/or debit cards, open new foreign bank accounts and easily move money between your master-account and any of your sub-accounts, or fund debit cards, pay for credit cards, make wire-transfers online and even choose to issue yourself anonymous bank cards that work with a PIN at any Cirrus Maestro ATM machine or anywhere MasterCard is accepted - all this with 100% confidentiality and completely legal by the laws of any country on earth.

The other service that we can now provide introductions to is offshore investing, in global  financial markets of Forex, stocks, bonds, etf's or precious metals from the control of an International Business Company (IBC), this is often referred to as Trustee Trading, since the account management is done via an offshore trust - it's much easier than it sounds, but the bottom line is that this online investing service enables a person, or company, to invest offshore with complete privacy and security, in any major market of the world, just like using eTrade or any other online trading site, all you need is a user ID and password.

There are 4 types of people who seek the offshore services we offer:

• Independently wealthy individuals
• Expats earning money outside of their home country
• Active Investors who prefer trading from an International Business Company
• Corporate Structures that work in the International marketplace
  

If you are one of the above types of people and seek private, secure banking and investing, then contact me.

Related articles

• OffshoreNet - Offshore Business Network (siliconpalms.com)

So the day has come, you are in the right financial situation, hear about International Living your entire life, as well as explored vast regions of the planet and been debating on the Expat move for over a decade. Added to the tropical dream factor of your vision, the issues of living the same way you had lived, for the as long as you can remember, was highly unlikely to remain the same as it always was, matter of fact.... The awakening happened there was some peaceful paradise out there, somewhere, plus the likelihood arose that the future could become bleak if the economic experts are correct.

Well there we have it. The time has come to become a Sovereign Citizen and anonymous. Here are some things you need to learn.

Legality The single most important consideration when evaluating the usefulness of an alternative citizenship is that it be legal in every respect. That fact may seem obvious, but the proliferation of fly-by-night passport fraud operations requires not only this reminder, but strict adherence to it when making second passport plans and decisions.

If you are going to expend a considerable sum of money to acquire a second citizenship and then use a second passport as your basis of personal international movement, you should demand that these documents and your status be in strict accord with the constitution and laws of the issuing nation.

A few countries actually do have provisions in law that give the head of government or other government ministers discretion regarding the granting of citizenship to foreign nationals in exceptional cases. But even then, if criminal bribery is involved, the person acquiring the passport may face revocation of this previously granted citizenship after a subsequent political change in the issuing nation's government. Persons with such documents frequently are subject to blackmail by being forced to pay further "fees" later on. That's why it is imperative that second citizenship must be firmly based upon clear provisions in the existing law of the issuing nation.

International Recognition Before you acquire it, be certain that the passport is one that commands widespread acceptance and prestige in the international community. If the document is not likely to be recognized by most other countries, it is worthless from the start.

The prospective second passport client most at risk is one lured into an "instant" or "immediate" passport deal that promises to waive residency requirements and grant quick citizenship. Immediate passports are a favorite lure for attracting unsuspecting and ill-informed would-be buyers who need and want a quick passport, but haven't done sufficient investigative groundwork and due diligence.

Do You Need A Lawyer? There is something to be said for dealing directly yourself with the officials of the nation from which you seek a second citizenship. This can be done at the appropriate embassy in your nation's capital city or at a local consulate. Information and applications can be obtained by phone or fax. But that assumes you have the time, expertise and patience to go the often tedious bureaucratic route that can take months or even years. Working directly with diplomatic and consular officials eliminates the middleman and may lessen the chance of fraud or mistakes. But it is better to employ an experienced attorney, an established, reputable professional who specializes in immigration and passport matters. These experts usually know the legitimate shortcuts and have personal acquaintances with the involved foreign nation officials. That can speed your application and approval process considerably.

We'll continue to add to this article, as we've just scratched the surface. Please leave a comment if you have any specific questions, and/or follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/offshoremaven

Related articles

• The Escape from America Continues (lewrockwell.com)
• More charges may come in immigration fraud case (cbc.ca)
• Halifax immigration consultant facing dozens of charges (canada.com)
• What You Need To Know About Second Passports (lewrockwell.com)

SINGAPORE, March 7, 2011 - Singapore and Hong Kong have been ranked among the most popular global destination to relocate to, with 100 percent of professional women surveyed saying they would recommend working there to others. Women are increasingly considering these locations because of the low crime rate, tax incentives, excellent lifestyle, and opportunities for personal development in the region.

In the global survey, respondents placed Singapore joint fifth with Canada in ranking the most popular destinations (after the US, UK, Australia and Switzerland) and Hong Kong was joint sixth with France and the UAE.

The Global Professionals on the Move Report 2011, commissioned by the Hydrogen Group and conducted by a consultancy project team from ESCP Europe, analyses responses from 2,637 professionals from 85 different countries with qualifications of a bachelor degree or above. With the majority of respondents - 91 percent -already working abroad or looking to do so, the survey offers unique insights into the experiences, attitudes, motivations and priorities of highly qualified, high earning, professionals from around the world on working overseas.

Simon Walker, Hydrogen Asia Regional Managing Director, said, "94 percent of the overall survey respondents who'd moved to Asia said their living conditions had improved with the move and 86 percent had improved their salary as a result of moving here. The report confirms working overseas to be an extremely positive experience and offers fresh insight into factors affecting the number of women progressing in business. The report highlights that they are not getting as much international experience as men, which hinders their career progression, despite international companies actively seeking out their talents.

"We've noticed an increase in the number of women from overseas taking advantage of the career opportunities offered here. Banking sectors in particular are looking to source experienced female professionals from a global talent pool."

Americans who move abroad still have to file federal tax returns and pay any amounts due, but thanks to the Internet it is much easier than it used to be for US expats to get assistance from tax professionals who have experience in international tributary law.

An international CPA and international tax attorney can be an expat's best allies in preparing an effective strategy that maximizes the many legal exclusions, write off's and or breaks available to expats while meeting all regulatory requirements.

The US tax code is highly complex and runs to 75,000 pages at last count. Some of its most complicated and detailed provisions are those governing the rights and responsibilities of US citizens living overseas. An international tax attorney can ensure that an expat's tributary strategy incorporates every possible option for experiencing lower tariffs.

An expat who sets up a legal entity in the country of residence, for example, can be receive a salary from it without the income being subject the US self-employment tax. When setting up a foreign entity it is definitely advantageous to have an international tax attorney guiding the process, to help ensure the right choice of legal structure and other considerations.

An international tax attorney can advocate for the US expat in the event of any IRS challenge to the taxpayer's tax return or supporting documentation. The expat is showing a form of "due diligence" by having an experienced international tax attorney advise him or her, and this alone can have a positive influence on the outcome of a conflict with the IRS.

To be most effective, an international tax attorney should be part of an expat's tax strategy team, rather than someone who gets a call only when things with the IRS adversarial. Legal problems are avoidable if an expat's tax planning includes input from international accounting and legal veterans. Most tax problems could have been avoided with better planning and an international tax attorney can spot potential trouble spots in an expat's overall tax picture before they become major disruptions.

There are criminal penalties for not filing tax returns and civil penalties for not paying taxes due, so it makes sense to have an international tax attorney as part of one's tax preparation team. Complying with the filing deadlines and the special qualifying criteria that apply to expats requires expertise. One firm that specializes in expat tax issues is Tax Planner CPA, which has a website that is a good introduction to many aspects of expat taxation.

The site includes a Q&A section where visitors can have their expat tax questions answered by a team of CPAs and an I.T.A. The web site is www.taxplannercpa.com.

About the Author
David Odom is a US Citizen who during his trip to India was informed about his requirement to still File US taxes in spite of not having US income.Since then, he began investigating expatriate taxation and now writes articles on the subject - so that fellow Americans don't run into the same issues as he did of (international tax attorney).

Related articles

• Expats in Moscow are worried over new migration laws being introduced on Tuesday (rt.com)
• TaxWatch: Know your tax pro, or you could be on the hook (marketwatch.com)
• Finding the Best Tax Attorney (socyberty.com)

Following our introduction to QNUPS, we examine the critical considerations you need to keep in mind when assessing whether a Qualifying Non-UK Pension Scheme is the right offshore and expatiate pension solution Lee Byers.

As discussed in our earlier report Lee Byers's Independent Guide to QNUPS, Qualifying Non-UK Pension Schemes are potentially highly tax efficient schemes suitable for expatriates and high net worth individuals. However, the legislation defining them has been open to loose and perhaps misleading interpretation to date, which is why we feel we need to impart some critical information about these schemes to you, should you be considering them as an offshore pension solution.

QNUPS's benefits should be looked at in light of QROPS (Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes) benefits. What's more, because the legislation that introduced QNUPS has shown itself to be open to broader and perhaps more favourable interpretation that HM Revenue and Customs intended, it's highly likely that amendments and alterations to the rules will come. This means that one needs to tread carefully when assessing whether QNUPS are the right solution.

In this report we will explain why qualified and approved advice must be sought before you take any QNUPS-type action with your 'frozen' onshore UK pension or your already transferred or established QROPS solution.

Why You Must Seek Advice
In many cases, expatriates and people soon leaving the UK as well as those planning a retirement abroad find that QROPS can be significantly beneficial to them, especially when chosen with careful and expert guidance. Therefore, it follows that the same individuals would be wise to seek further advice about QNUPS too. However, any advice given needs to take into account the fact that each individual has a unique financial situation requiring personalised guidance - with some individuals also seeking and needing appropriate advice relating to their other financial assets and liabilities in order for the QNUPS advice given to be totally appropriate to them. Advice should only be taken from advisers who are qualified, professional, independent and approved for the provision of QNUPS information - and one should be prepared to question and test advice given that appears to follow the most favourable line of interpretation of these new schemes. This is because it is unlikely HMRC introduced the legislation to allow for anyone to transfer all assets - onshore and offshore - into a QNUPS and escape all forms of inheritance or death taxation - yet this is how some advisories are choosing to interpret HM Revenue and Customs guidelines!

QUESTION: Do UNALLOCATED metal assets held under the Perth Mint Certificate Program need to be reported on the IRS TDF90-22.1? I recently purchased your book "Reporting Foreign Financial Accounts" as well as the 2010 Update and searched both of them for an answer on this point, and have also searched your online Q&A looking for an answer, but I have not found one.

You have covered the ALLOCATED aspect of the Perth Mint Certificate Program and also the Perth Mint DEPOSITORY SERVICES (a completely different service, which operates like a private client bank account or stockbroking account, except with balances of precious metals in troy ounces---and IS reportable); however, the UNALLOCATED aspect of the Mint's Certificate Program appears to have not been addressed.

With the UNallocated Bullion program, one has title to precious metal deposited in an UNsegregated storage account, and is issued a Perth Mint Certificate. This is not a "managed fund"; it is simply a pool of unsegregated precious metal in which one purchases an interest.

The following description of the Certificate Program appears on the Perth Mint's website:

"With unallocated storage, also known as a metal account, clients purchase an interest in a pool of precious metal held by The Perth Mint. The Mint purchases an ounce of precious metal from the spot market for every unallocated ounce it sells to clients. Accordingly every unallocated ounce is 100% backed.

"The precious metal purchased by the Mint is recorded on its balance sheet as an asset and the unallocated amounts sold to clients are recorded as a liability.

"At purchase, clients only pay for the precious metal. There are no fabrication charges or storage fees, until clients elect to convert their unallocated into a specific coin or bar, which they can do at any time."

Since this question has not previously been specifically addressed or answered, I would really appreciate your view on the UNALLOCATED aspect of the Certificate Program in relation to the FBAR disclosure requirements.