| 19 November 2008
It’s a few weeks since my last blog entry, and the reason for this is
that I have been travelling in Latin America with a small group of investors
– concerned privacy-minded and freedom loving individuals who are concerned
about how our financial and personal freedoms are being gradually eroded. We
had an interesting ten day trip starting in Panama City then taking in Paraguay
and Brazil.
When I talk about “concerned individuals” what I really mean is
that if and when things get worse in the western world – in terms of financial
and political restrictions - it’s important to be prepared. An established
business or residence presence in one of the more remote corners of the world
will be a great fallback or hedging position. Even a second passport or citizenship
might be your ultimate goal.
You might be surprised to learn that Paraguay scores highly on all this –
a free society, no personal income taxes and an economy that is completely self
sufficient with plenty of fresh water and clean, green power. In fact Paraguay
is the world’s largest exporter of hydro electricity, and one of the highlights
of the trip was a visit to the Itaipu Binacional hydro-electric power plant
– the largest in the world, and an incredible feat of engineering and
international co-operation. We also visited the spectacular Iguassu Falls, one
of the seven wonders of the natural world.
But the most important thing I think we all learned from this trip was the
importance, even in this internet age, of actually getting on a plane and seeing
things for yourself. We all know the comfort of familiar places and people,
but that often also comes with a feeling of frustration, a feeling that we are
not in full control of our lives as we should be. On the other side, we all
have a natural fear of the unknown. This internal fear is perpetuated by the
mainstream media. But by confronting and overcoming it we can open up a whole
new world of opportunities.
For example, one of our delegates, a successful UK businessman, said TV and
press coverage had led him to believe he would find machete-wielding individuals
a mile or two from the financial district of Panama City. But by going there
and getting a feel for the place by visiting local and expat-owned internet
businesses, he found instead that it’s a great place to do business. Now
he is making plans to move his operating base down there instead.
Here at The Q Wealth
Report our business for over a decade has been writing about not just how
to preserve your assets offshore, but how to create wealth and develop opportunity
by actually living offshore. As a famous offshore author once said, “You
don’t know until you go.” The instability in the world right now
means that you truly need to know about safe places and new opportunities. Right
now would be the time to start, and here on lowtax.net you will find a lot of
information to begin your quest.
Peter Macfarlane is joint editor of The Q Wealth Report an established newsletter
dedicated to informing readers about creating, protecting and growing wealth
in a secure offshore environment. It also covers international living, banking,
retiring and investing. Visit www.QWealthReport.com
to see more.
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Peter Macfarlane of The Q Wealth Report blogs on Freedom, Wealth and Privacy
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