Offshore Bank Account

[williell]

I read that it's legal for a US citizen to own an offshore bank account, offshore annuity policy or offshore mutual fund. The only stipulation is that IRS wants to know about it, so you can pay taxes on the interest or earnings. However, when I started to read about how it applied to Canadian citizens, it is interesting to note that while offshore accounts are still exempt from Canadian tax liabilities, Revenue Canada wants you to start reporting what you have offshore, but since many offshore banks or investment firms don't report customer account information to foreign tax authorities or even their own governments, it is the responsibility of the account holder to go and report the earnings. What does everyone think of offshore banking, do you believe they can help you keep more of your money?

 

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[Kung Fu Steve]

Actually I just got done reading a great book called Emergency: This book will save your life. Just came out recently. It shows exactly how to have off-shore bank accounts, multiple passports, etc. "The five flags" he calls it. Having a passport (citizenship in another country), having a bank account in another country, owning a business in another country, and residing or spending most of your time in yet another country. There are ways to legally get around the IRS snooping around your bank accounts in this book as well. The main concept of the book is protecting yourself from worst-case scenario. Great read.

 

[williell]

I'll have to pick it up sometime. I'm a citizen of Canada and the United States, I won the lucky sperm lottery and my dad is inuit, so by a law we both became US Citizens I also get to hunt all year round and I have a passport but I just show my native card at the border.

 

[DennisJoe]

Hi williell. To answer your question, it is perfectly legal for a US citizen to own an offshore bank account.

People often wonder if one can really invest tax free with an offshore banking account. The truth is yes, depending on certain things.

Read the full Offshore Bank Accounts article and follow up on the offshore article series to learn how you can and should protect your assets.

Follow the link in my sig file.

 

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[Lumber Joe]

Well, they are quite a good tool for keeping funds safely. Such accounts enjoy total anonymity and even tax authorities can not get information about your offshore accounts directly.

However I would not be recommending you to leave such accounts unreported to local tax authorities.IRS has certain methodology for detecting such accounts. You may very easily run into legal prosecution.

 

[DennisJoe]

Part of our service is to educate and help people to protect their assets.

 

[Newbie]

Spam??

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

As per an email from Mr "DennisJoe", I have deleted his account. Seems if he can't promote his shit here without first contributing one-iota elsewhere, he doesn't want to be apart of the party. Oh how will we survive?

I know I know. It's like walking into a "Bring Your Own Beer" party
with absolutely nothing, taking all the beer, and then abruptly stopping the music
to yell "Hey who wants to buy my beer?!". Since the protocol at our "network"
is "give first take later" (its called contribution) as opposed to "take take take",
(visit my site if you want all the answers!) it will be my pleasure to remove your account.

Good luck with the site and the strategy you've deployed to promote it.

 

[kurtyordy]

so, did I get the spam point?

 

[Runum]

so, did I get the spam point?

From what I see, kwerner was first, followed by kurtyordy and LaughedAt. You guys play rough.

 

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[GlobalWealth]

As a US citizen, you must report any bank or securities account that exceeds $10,000 at any time during the year. Be careful if you put $9000 in a money market account that accrues interest and it goes over 10k. If you earn income from the investments, as a US citizen you are required to pay tax on worldwide income. Failure to report can lead to fines up to $10,000 and/or jail time. As a side note, precious metals, collectibles, and real estate held outside of the US are not subject to reporting. if you own a rental propery in Costa Rica, you are required to report the income though.

there are other really great reasons to have an offshore account however even if you do report the income. I know of some banks that pay nearly 5% interest on savings and nearly 9% on CD's outside of the US.

 

[GlobalWealth]

As an additional note, many countries require nothing more than your passport to open a bank account as a foreigner. I have found some interesting investment options in banks in other countries. for example, there is a bank in Sweden that has investment deposit accounts that guarantee the principle amount, but you can earn the interest from the capital appreciate of the assets held within the account. the investment is similar to a mutual fund, but you cannot lose your principle. the catch is you only get up to 80% of the gain in exchange for eliminating your principle risk and you must keep your money in there for the contract term which is 3 years. the downside now to opening an offshore account is most banks now require you to appear in person in order to open the account. of course that may be a good excuse to go on an overseas vacation. if you are married and/or have kids, you can also open an account under $10k for each person. so a family of 4 can have nearly $40k in offshore accounts without the necessity to report the ownership of the account. you could also buy gold and store it in a safety deposit box in any amount without reporting.

 

[Fermovian]

As an additional note, many countries require nothing more than your passport to open a bank account as a foreigner. I have found some interesting investment options in banks in other countries. for example, there is a bank in Sweden that has investment deposit accounts that guarantee the principle amount, but you can earn the interest from the capital appreciate of the assets held within the account. the investment is similar to a mutual fund, but you cannot lose your principle. the catch is you only get up to 80% of the gain in exchange for eliminating your principle risk and you must keep your money in there for the contract term which is 3 years. the downside now to opening an offshore account is most banks now require you to appear in person in order to open the account. of course that may be a good excuse to go on an overseas vacation. if you are married and/or have kids, you can also open an account under $10k for each person. so a family of 4 can have nearly $40k in offshore accounts without the necessity to report the ownership of the account. you could also buy gold and store it in a safety deposit box in any amount without reporting.

Couldn't you go in with a very risky portfolio and take excessive risk this way? There must be some sort of catch, I can't see it being open to everyone without some conditions.

 

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[GlobalWealth]

Couldn't you go in with a very risky portfolio and take excessive risk this way? There must be some sort of catch, I can't see it being open to everyone without some conditions.

I am assuming you are responding to the part about the no risk portfolio. If that is incorrect, let me know. If so, then; the investment deposit is for a set portfolio. You don't get to chose the assets. As I stated, it is like a mutual fund. It is a bit complicated, but basically lets assume you invest $10k in this "mutual fund". If the fund decreases in value, you get $10k at the end of your 3 year contract (you are required to keep the funds in for 3 years. if you withdrawel early, there are penalties). if the fund increases by 50%, then you get 80% of the growth. So a 50% increase is $5k and 80% of 5k is 4k. at the end of your 3 year contract, you would get 14k back. the bank keeps the 20% as their fee for shouldering your risk and guaranteeing your principle.

my point was, there are many good reasons to have an account outside of the US. one of them being alternate investments you wouldn't find in the US. as stated in a previous post, I have also seeing savings accounts that pay 4+%, and CD's that pay over 8%. many countries have less banking regulations (therefore less cost to operate) than in the US. over regulations is what got our domestic banking system in this mess to begin with. we didn't allow a free market in banking and had the government (the worst business in the world) regulating nearly every aspect of banking.

 

[PhilHogan]

However, when I started to read about how it applied to Canadian citizens, it is interesting to note that while offshore accounts are still exempt from Canadian tax liabilities,"

Hi Williell

Be careful about your interpretation with respect to offshore accounts when it relates to CRA (Canada Revenue Agency). Canadians are liable for their "worldwide income" if they are considered residents of Canada for a particular year. Therefore any "resident" (definition for tax purposes) of Canada that held assets in an "offshore" account that produced income would have to report and pay tax on that income.

It's a common misconception that offshore accounts are exempt from Canadian tax. It used to be much easier to structure tax planning matters to "avoid" tax in Canada, however over that last 10 years CRA and the Canadian Government has made it extremely difficult to legally avoid income tax on offshore assets (unless they were not Canadian residents of course).

This is one reason why it's extremely important to properly structure your affairs when you leave Canada. I've dealt with multiple cases of individuals leaving Canada for a few years only to return and have CRA deem them "residents" for the time they were away. They then had to pay tax on all the income they earned when they were gone.

That's not really a big deal if they paid tax in the Country they moved to because that tax would be credited against any Canadian tax liability. However for those that move to tax havens it can become very expensive to re-enter the country and pay 2 to 3 years of back tax.

Thanks for the post.

Phil

 

[Lumber Joe]

I read that it's legal for a US citizen to own an offshore banking, offshore annuity policy or offshore mutual fund. The only stipulation is that IRS wants to know about it, so you can pay taxes on the interest or earnings. However, when I started to read about how it applied to Canadian citizens, it is interesting to note that while offshore accounts are still exempt from Canadian tax liabilities, Revenue Canada wants you to start reporting what you have offshore, but since many offshore banks or investment firms don't report customer account information to foreign tax authorities or even their own governments, it is the responsibility of the account holder to go and report the earnings. What does everyone think of offshore banking, do you believe they can help you keep more of your money?

Offshore banking centers and tax havens facilitate tax competition that is induces national governments reduce taxes and make business environment more favorable for businesses. That in turn translates into higher economic growth. This benefits everyone ordinary people and HYIPs.

 

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[Whole Paradigm]

Actually I just got done reading a great book called Emergency: This book will save your life. Just came out recently. It shows exactly how to have off-shore bank accounts, multiple passports, etc. "The five flags" he calls it. Having a passport (citizenship in another country), having a bank account in another country, owning a business in another country, and residing or spending most of your time in yet another country. There are ways to legally get around the IRS snooping around your bank accounts in this book as well. The main concept of the book is protecting yourself from worst-case scenario. Great read.

Neil Strauss book isn't it?

I always thought his books were for the sole purpose of entertainment. Maybe I should take a look at the book, thank you.


Cory

 

[GlobalWealth]

I always thought his books were for the sole purpose of entertainment. Maybe I should take a look at the book, thank you.

I've never read the book, but heard it is quite good. There are a few other PT type books out there as well. Some are very good, some are pretty sketchy.

But suffice to say, the PT books are eye opening. There is a whole world out there that most people are completely unaware of with offshore banking, digital currencies, 2nd passports, offshore companies, etc.

 

[Vigilante]

was looking @ the kindle edition but refuse to pay more for a kindle book than the print edition...

 

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[BeachBoy]

the book is good but really pushing some limits. but in general it's quite good.

 

[Kak]

was looking @ the kindle edition but refuse to pay more for a kindle book than the print edition...

Why it is more convenient? And your books are always in you pocket if you have a smartphone. I don't mind one bit.