How Best To Protect Your Wealth From Desperate Governments & Collapsing Economies (+2K Views)

Many governments of the world are now hopelessly in debt and on the verge of economic collapse. As their leaders become more desperate, they will resort to more desperate measures. In the next few years, we shall see the leaders of the most “respected” countries throw out the rule book and resort to a final grab of their citizens’ wealth. This article identifies which assets would be the best to own under such circumstances, where they should be held, and why.]

The above introductory comments are edited excerpts from an article* by Jeff  Thomas (internationalman.com) entitled The Retention of Wealth.

Thomas goes on to say in further edited excerpts:

The world has never seen a time like the present one. In most every facet of the economy, personal wealth is threatened. In many countries, there is the threat of greater taxation, devaluation of currencies, collapses in markets, and even outright confiscation of bank accounts. Consequently, if the powers-that-be exert their power to (quite literally) rob their citizens, those citizens need to determine the safest havens for their wealth that they possibly can… and need to do so before the wolf arrives at the door.

Those of us who have been predicting the coming economic debacle for many years have, not surprisingly, spent much of that time researching and identifying such opportunities and divesting ourselves of investments whose days may well be numbered. [We are not alone as] more and more people are realising that, soon, the jig will be up – particularly if they live in the EU or the U.S…. As a result, there is growing interest in the ownership of precious metals and real estate…[which we believe to be] virtually the only “safe” investments (although it should be stressed that even these are not guaranteed, but they are, and will be, the last bastions.)

A country that imposes income tax, capital gains tax, etc., may very well, in hard times, suddenly decide to tax precious metals ownership. Likewise, a country that imposes property tax may very well raise that tax suddenly in pressing times. Indeed, it may choose to claim that the investor has not paid his most recent tax bill (regardless of whether or not this is true) in order to justify the confiscation of his property.

For many people, it goes very much against the grain to own anything outside of the country in which they live…yet, if the threat to your wealth is your own government, it is essential to remove your wealth from the country in which you live. The reason is that, as long as it remains in the country in which you are a citizen, the more likely it is that your government will regulate it, tax it, cause it to lose its value through inflation or hyperinflation, and/or simply confiscate it.

It is far more difficult for your government to destroy your wealth [be it $5,000, $50,000, $500,000 or $5 million] if you have expatriated it, as your government does not have free control over the laws and government of the country where you have invested. It would be harder for your government to force the repatriation of your precious metals, and downright impossible for it to demand that your overseas real estate be shipped to your home country.

Therefore, when choosing a jurisdiction in which to invest in precious metals and/or real estate, in order to maximise safety, the investor should choose a country that:

1. is not likely to be a candidate for major decline in the coming economic collapse,
2. is not likely to cave in to the demands of countries that are likely to soon collapse, and
3. has laws that impose as little as possible on foreign-owned investments.

This last item is critical. The safest countries are those that do not tend to fall prey to dictatorships or dramatic changes in laws. The ideal countries are the ones that impose the least interference in your ownership of your investment.

[And what might those countries be? Well,] several nations in the world have no income tax, including the Bahamas, Bahrain, Bermuda, Brunei, the Cayman Islands, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

There are sixteen nations that have no property tax—Bahrain, the Cayman Islands, Croatia, the Cook Islands, Dominica, Fiji, Israel, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turks & Caicos, and the UAE.

Once having decided to invest wealth in a safer jurisdiction, the investor might also consider which of the above countries might additionally provide him with an increased value. Still, the primary goal in Retention of Wealth is to save it from the negative effects that may soon be caused by governments.

[In summary, we maintain that there are 3 basic truths that should be understood – and applied – in this economic environment, namely:]

1. Precious metals and real estate will become the last safe investments for the retention of wealth.
2. Precious metals and real estate ownership are only safe if they are located outside of an endangered jurisdiction.
3. The ideal jurisdiction in which to own property is one which does not tax your property.

Editor’s Note: The author’s views and conclusions in the above article are unaltered and no personal comments have been included to maintain the integrity of the original post. Furthermore, the views, conclusions and any recommendations offered in this article are not to be construed as an endorsement of such by the editor.

*http://www.internationalman.com/articles/the-retention-of-wealth (Copyright © 2014 Casey Research, LLC; Things can change quickly. New options emerge, while others disappear. This is why it’s so important to have the most up-to-date and accurate information possible. That’s where International Man comes in. Be sure to check out our Going Global publication where we discuss in great detail the best actionable international diversification options to maximize your personal freedom and financial opportunity.)

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