Offshore Banking, need advice from guys who have an account..
- Thread starter HiGhPeR
- Start date
Canada fucks the middle class big time...
the poor have decent welfare, free healthcare and pay no income tax (since under the bracket)
the rich pay 10-15% tax at most since they can afford good accountants that are able to make them save by deducting every single shit they buy and make even a fucking pizza look like business expenditure on papers.
the middle class (especially teachers, 9 to 5'ers, etc...) pay approximately 50% taxes (if you add up everything) so that the Gov can afford paying for all the poor's healthcare and welfare.
the poor have decent welfare, free healthcare and pay no income tax (since under the bracket)
the rich pay 10-15% tax at most since they can afford good accountants that are able to make them save by deducting every single shit they buy and make even a fucking pizza look like business expenditure on papers.
the middle class (especially teachers, 9 to 5'ers, etc...) pay approximately 50% taxes (if you add up everything) so that the Gov can afford paying for all the poor's healthcare and welfare.
Lol at the fact they're pointing out the net profit and employees of the grand canal, and comparing to the businesses. Surely if the canal's making more, while also bringing a load more employment, it's like 30x better for Panama?...
At least you don't have 50% income tax + 20% on all purchases...
I thought taxes and the cost of living were high in the US but living in Quebec is something else. Prices are higher on just about everything (except maybe auto insurance) even without the taxes. $4+ gallon gas vs $2.75 across the border. $260/year to register a shitty old car vs $96/year when I was in the states, the list does not end. At the same time wages are generally a bit lower.
On top of that I don't even use the free health care I pay for in taxes if I can help it because it usually takes waiting around all day assuming you can even get an appointment. It is worth paying again to not put up with that shit. So I go to a pay clinic to get a quick appointment and not have to sit on my thumb all day in a waiting room.
Do not vote for this shit in the USA.
On top of that I don't even use the free health care I pay for in taxes if I can help it because it usually takes waiting around all day assuming you can even get an appointment. It is worth paying again to not put up with that shit. So I go to a pay clinic to get a quick appointment and not have to sit on my thumb all day in a waiting room.
Do not vote for this shit in the USA.
When he goes from claiming lets say 300k+ ( which will already get him noticed somewhat at the IRS ) as an self employed indiv. in 2009, to lets say 0-50k in 2010.. trust me, a flag will be raised and an auditor might come a looking.
The trick is to have this done over time, not a few months or 1 income filing year.
Hate to tell you champ, but it is not a law for a bank to know your SSN. Sure they need to know who is opening the account and a lot of banks will not open an account for you if you dont provide a SSN, but it is not a legal obligation to hand it out for the purpose of opening a bank account.
Please read fed. and banking laws on this.
Offshore banking != tax evasion.
Really simple, US law does not govern a foreign entity ( an offshore company ) and what that entity does ( to most degrees ). Any money your foreign entity makes/recieves has no legal obligation to the USA. You yourself, if your American, do however.
Simply pay yourself a reasonable salary ( lets keep it under 65k for the sole purpose of staying in a lower tax bracket while being "reasonable" ) and pay the marginal taxes on that income that you yourself were paid. Your company, however can keep its corporate gains it made to itself in its bank account offshore.
If you don't know how to buy a "company boat" or "trips" or other misc expenses thru your company, then you don't see the big picture on this method. Oh, and yes your "company" car can be paid this way as well. Protop: You need more then yourself as the principal in your offshore company for this to work out well.
Really simple, US law does not govern a foreign entity ( an offshore company ) and what that entity does ( to most degrees ). Any money your foreign entity makes/recieves has no legal obligation to the USA. You yourself, if your American, do however.
Simply pay yourself a reasonable salary ( lets keep it under 65k for the sole purpose of staying in a lower tax bracket while being "reasonable" ) and pay the marginal taxes on that income that you yourself were paid. Your company, however can keep its corporate gains it made to itself in its bank account offshore.
If you don't know how to buy a "company boat" or "trips" or other misc expenses thru your company, then you don't see the big picture on this method. Oh, and yes your "company" car can be paid this way as well. Protop: You need more then yourself as the principal in your offshore company for this to work out well.
if you dont report the accounts you have overseas its an automatic 10k fine if the government finds them, 10k per account.
^^ you can report the accounts, but as a foreign entity the US doesn't have jurisdiction to tax said entity if your not the only principal involved. They can only tax what you yourself, as an American, were paid in salary or dividends/receivables.
Why is it any different? Lots of millionaires bank in Switzerland, Bahamas, Caimans, Belize and other tax havens... how is it different if you make 100k a year or 100k a month? A good bank in a good and stable tax haven will give you all the services you need regardless...
The Canadian government or the US government?
The original poster is Canadian, but many seem to be posting American rules/laws in here.
You don't know what you're talking about. The health care system in Canada is great. Just ask Michael Moore or any Canadian.
that might be fine in Kentucky, the problems however exist when you make this $65k salary and live a $400k/year lifestyle.
Oh your mortgage every month is more than your salary and you're married and filing jointly and your wife doesn't work? Little flag.
But you're right- you can EASILY do this and KEEP THE FUNDS offshore. It's a great way to defer taxes, strategically tax plan, or even roll this into other vehicles (ie dual citizenship with retirement/investment accounts in said country via the company, etc etc etc).
It's the problem of ever bringing them back onshore where you start running into issues that challenge some of the amateurish smoke screen setups I bet a lot of people have, and presume they'll hold water. A lot of people have gone down the same way. And yes, this post is referring to US CITIZENS only. We've made it a real PITA to do things kosher, and they cost a lot. Hell I'd had someone w/ an offshoring booth at a trade show tell me without laughing "oh you just wear your wealth back in"
lol
"oh- this kilo of bl... uh flour in my trunk officer? It's just flour buddy"
pass
I think you may have missed the bigger picture somewhat here. It has nothing to do with Kentucky or where you live. I picked 65k out of a hat basically, but if you wanna live a more boisterous lifestyle then you can do this same method as well.
I'm not saying you have to confine your lifestyle to 65k. I picked that because before I started making great money I already have my house's paid for at the time, cars, and boats. For me, with no debt and everything else planned out, 65k is just fine and reasonable for me to live comfortably. I can however, use my company funds to pay for other things like travel, entertainment, gas/mileage, and other things as long as I can prove business relation. Since I also own a farm, my business helps me with even more deductions because the requirements are basically having more then 7 acres of land and some revenue ( buy a piglet and sell it later in the year ).
If you wanna live a 400k lifestyle and your wife doesn't work.. hey thats great. Take my idea and give yourself a 400k salary and pay the highest tax bracket in the US all you want, but you better be putting back at least a million a year into the business to make that even worthwhile. For those not hitting a million a year to put into a sep. offshore biz account though or those not needing to live a rockstar life, then 65k-135k should be more then fine to claim and keep under the 28% tax bracket though
Sorry this wasn't supposed to be an attack on you (nor kentucky!) at all.
My point was simply that let's just make an example of someone living in NYC who's 25 and a big affiliate.
Let's say income wise before this they were making $125k on wall street. No inheritance nor other 'wealth' that's been reported.
In my humble opinion this person is gonna have real issues if they start claiming they make $85k/year via the salary they're paying themselves, but simultaneously (or shortly after) buy something with a park view for $2M in NYC.
Obviously this is over simplified, but you get my point, many feel they can take this to extremes because it's made out (especially on here in prior threads over the years) to be "really easy"
Certain aspects are easy, but if you wanna make X yearly and report 1/10'th of X to the IRS (at some of the rough income levels mentioned in this thread and still live (Through other purchases and financial obligations, withdrawals, travel, etc) like you're making near X (or, squarely in the 35% tax bracket) there is more creativity to be done than simply buying it via the offshore company.
Now - make $10M/year and want to keep most of it out of the IRS's hands? Much easier to do (though this isn't a $2500 trip/account opening to a lovely tropical destination and then thinking you can have CX and Neverblue wire you there b/c they're Canadian and that's it).
At least not without incurring some very real (to me) and stupid risk.
The US has done a great job of doing all they can to make US citizens indentured servants - it's really ridiculous.
LOLOLOL.
no sir. that's just FEDERAL tax. we also get nailed on provincial tax.
Finance - Personal Income Tax
I've stayed out of this thread 'cause I kinda went through all this with the 'snowbirds' thread - op search for that here you'll learn a bit more - I'm Canadian as well with similar moves. Here's what i found in my research. Debate it all you want, I got facts, talked to 5+ immigration laywers, accountants, tax advisors, others that have offshore shit and this is what it comes down to for Canadians vs. Americans:
* There is a big difference between tax avoidance, and tax evasion. NO not all offshore activities are considered blackhat or tax evasion. NO it doesn't automatically put you on some hit list.
However, the big difference here is just that, tax avoidance and tax evasion. If you decide to open offshore accounts, it doesn't matter if you're from US or CAN, you are free to do so. It's not that hard actually, just choose your bank wisely as INTL banks can be notorious for shady shit re small/mid sized new comers.
The hard part is this: You have to declare it just like you would any other income. Telling the gov you moved some money to a different account somewhere isn't a requirement when you file, it's none of their business as long as you claim all your shit and pay accordingly. Many do this and just keep their savings/assets under protection and or hidden from crazy wives/husbands etc. People also go offshore to gain a MUCH better interest rate than you can imagine getting here...
If you decide not to claim it, you're fucked either way whether you move your money offshore or not. Not claiming AND moving xxx,xxx at a time, or even in 50/50 or 33/33/33 increments is not a wise idea at all.
Canadians: You are taxed on all your income as long as you remain residents of Canada. You can get residency in DomRep, Panama, Belize, Dominica, and or citizenship there through sponsorship programs (domrep is cheapest), and expatriate so now you are a Canadian citizen but your residency is DomRep let's say. < This now allows you to avoid taxes (NOT evade). Why? Because by law, Canadians are only taxed on foreign income when they reside here. So you can live wherever as a full time res, travel wherever even back to canada, and bank all your monies (taxes are literally nill/low $x,xxx max - considering you're making international money and not monetizing the local job market).
Americans: Unfortunately, to put it short, you're fucked. You cannot simply claim res. elsewhere, because your guv says that by law, you are taxed on all foreign income, despite where you reside in the world. So you can live in Germany, run an online biz making international money, and be taxed by the US if you are a citizen. You guys have to actually renounce your citizenships, and if you DO decide to go down that path, do so very wisely. I've heard your guv makes it next to impossible to do legally, especially if you make (them) good money.
^And yes, sorry we are taxed just the same as the US - highest tax bracket over 40%, i wish it was just provincial or just federal but...
N.
* There is a big difference between tax avoidance, and tax evasion. NO not all offshore activities are considered blackhat or tax evasion. NO it doesn't automatically put you on some hit list.
However, the big difference here is just that, tax avoidance and tax evasion. If you decide to open offshore accounts, it doesn't matter if you're from US or CAN, you are free to do so. It's not that hard actually, just choose your bank wisely as INTL banks can be notorious for shady shit re small/mid sized new comers.
The hard part is this: You have to declare it just like you would any other income. Telling the gov you moved some money to a different account somewhere isn't a requirement when you file, it's none of their business as long as you claim all your shit and pay accordingly. Many do this and just keep their savings/assets under protection and or hidden from crazy wives/husbands etc. People also go offshore to gain a MUCH better interest rate than you can imagine getting here...
If you decide not to claim it, you're fucked either way whether you move your money offshore or not. Not claiming AND moving xxx,xxx at a time, or even in 50/50 or 33/33/33 increments is not a wise idea at all.
Canadians: You are taxed on all your income as long as you remain residents of Canada. You can get residency in DomRep, Panama, Belize, Dominica, and or citizenship there through sponsorship programs (domrep is cheapest), and expatriate so now you are a Canadian citizen but your residency is DomRep let's say. < This now allows you to avoid taxes (NOT evade). Why? Because by law, Canadians are only taxed on foreign income when they reside here. So you can live wherever as a full time res, travel wherever even back to canada, and bank all your monies (taxes are literally nill/low $x,xxx max - considering you're making international money and not monetizing the local job market).
Americans: Unfortunately, to put it short, you're fucked. You cannot simply claim res. elsewhere, because your guv says that by law, you are taxed on all foreign income, despite where you reside in the world. So you can live in Germany, run an online biz making international money, and be taxed by the US if you are a citizen. You guys have to actually renounce your citizenships, and if you DO decide to go down that path, do so very wisely. I've heard your guv makes it next to impossible to do legally, especially if you make (them) good money.
^And yes, sorry we are taxed just the same as the US - highest tax bracket over 40%, i wish it was just provincial or just federal but...
N.