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Category: Taxes

14 Apr
Panama City to the left and the Algarve, Portugal to the right

Panama Vs. Portugal: Comparing The Five Flags

I fly tonight from Panama to Paris… then, Monday morning, on to Lisbon in time to host next week’s Live And Invest In Portugal Conference. Repositioning from the New World to the Old reminds me that Americans often dismiss Europe for offshore lifestyle and investment options thinking the region is too complicated or too expensive. […]

21 Mar
Businessman removes wooden blocks with the word Tax

Comply And Conquer: How To Legally Minimize Your Tax Burden

We Americans have it rough when it comes to taxes. The Big Bad Wolf of the world’s financial arena—the IRS—calls our neck of the woods home. Feared worldwide these days… by banks and financial institutions as well as ordinary citizens from California to Switzerland… the U.S. Internal Revenue Service has become the hunting dog for […]

13 Jan
Adobe Stock/Yurii Kibalnik

The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion Explained

How To Earn $224,000 Tax Free In 2022 The most important tool in the U.S. expat's tax toolbox is the foreign-earned income exclusion (referred to in tax-planning circles as the FEIE or "the exclusion"). If you qualify, it allows you to exclude up to US$112,000 in 2022 foreign-earned income from U.S. federal income tax. All [...]
26 Aug
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia skyline at dusk over the park.

Take Your Business Offshore To Operate Tax-Free

Exploring opportunities overseas is not only a strategy for diversifying your investment portfolio… but it’s also the best way I know to diversify your life—both your personal life and your professional one. That is, in today’s world, you can realize many benefits by taking your business offshore along with your investments and yourself—either your existing […]

26 Jul
Cork City view from St. Patrick's Hill.

Could Ireland’s Status As A Tax Haven Be Ending?

I’m not sure how Ireland ended up the target. This country’s approach to taxation was the reason Kathleen and I moved to the Emerald Isle some 23 years ago. Now that tax position has her under fire… but, again, I can’t figure out why. Ireland imposes corporate tax at a rate of 12.5%. So does […]

17 May
View of a boat house on the famous Lake Braies with emerald water in Italy

Don’t Buy Real Estate Overseas Until You Understand These Taxes

Before making an investment in real estate overseas, it’s important to understand what the total cost of the purchase will be, both immediately and long term, including your tax obligation. Transfer taxes, for example, can be considerably higher than in the United States. On the other hand, one big benefit of diversifying into property markets […]

06 May
Sunrise on Lamai Beach on Koh Samui in Thailand.

Taxes For The Global Citizen

A reader wrote this week to tell me why he’s not on board with our recommendation of Colombia as a top lifestyle choice in the Americas. His beef is taxes. Someone told the guy that Colombia taxes anyone who is in the country for more than six months on his worldwide income… and, further, that

15 Oct
Accountant calculating taxes.

How To Figure How Much Local Tax You’ll Owe As A Resident Of A Foreign Country

Take France as an example. People generally think that France is a super-high-tax jurisdiction. When you do the math, though, you find that an American living in France wouldn’t likely pay any more in taxes than he would living in the United States. First, France has a taxation treaty with the United States, effectively eliminating […]