Where in the world to live? (Fun, Luxury, Tax)

theviewer1985

Hey all...

This is the question of all questions. I know it is impossible to answer definitively but I'm sure I can at least get some inspiration and pointers.

I will first lay out our situation in brief terms, so you guys have a better understanding. We are vloggers and earn our money online with no need for any premises. We happen to have been born in England and thats where we live currently. We made ourselves a LTD company and pay ourselves a salary. The UK tax however is a killer. Made more so by the ever looming fact that we have no real reason to live in England. There really is very little benefit in us actually anchoring ourselves to this country. We could live in the Sahara and still earn the same money providing we have an internet connection.

We have a goal also to invest in residential properties to rent out. Again, another minus for England as buying houses here is so expensive compared to elsewhere.

Anyway, that leads me to my question. If we were to base ourselves somewhere else in the world where we can legally reside, register a business and buy houses without paying huge taxes like in UK - but also have a good quality of life in a young vibrant area - where would you recommend?

Realistically, we do need a good infrastructure and we lead a swanky lifestyle. So although I joke that we could live in the Sahara, we would prefer having good transport links and reliable health services. Good internet is paramount. 

Places that have come to our attention are:

Bali: Apparently is tax free and would be very welcoming to self employed immigrants. Is cheap to buy houses. Looks amazing. Great food. Although I am a little bit unsure on the legalities of buying a house there as I hear they can literally take the house from you at the end of a leasehold.

Palermo in Argentina: Keep getting recommended this by Argentinians. They say we could move there and be kings on our money already. The place is young and happening. Its very European with plenty of fun to be had. Tax isn't crazy and we can easily buy houses and rent them. We've never been though, so we just need to travel there next to see what we think.

Dubai: Tax free. Fairly Luxury. Quite cheap to buy and invest. This was recommended highly by a local... but I am always skeptical of them due to religion. We are party animals and love feeling free and liberated - being thrown in jail for skinny dipping on a drunken evening is a bit worrisome. 

Anyway, as I say, I know this is a huge question. Just treat it like a bit of fun. Im sure between you guys you have traveled to many different corners of the world and know of some places that can tick our boxes...

Jeremy535897

I would suggest your choice will depend on

• what languages you speak
• what your children, if any, need
• what wealth you have and how liquid is it
• what religion, if any, you follow
• what health issues you have
• what climate you prefer
• is it a democracy?
• how secure is the country generally
• the tax regime
• where friends and relatives are and where they might wish to visit

You might choose a tax haven with a decent climate that is a British dependency. Somewhere like Turks & Caicos perhaps.

SiliconChip

Before all of the good points that Jeremy makes you have to find a country that will allow you to legally live and work there: there are very few countries that you can just move to without finding your way past some very serious barriers, some of which may be almost insurmountable.

Jeremy535897

SiliconChip said:

Before all of the good points that Jeremy makes you have to find a country that will allow you to legally live and work there: there are very few countries that you can just move to without finding your way past some very serious barriers, some of which may be almost insurmountable.

Very true, which is why I asked what wealth they have. The US look for a standard minimum investment amount of $1.8m, for example.

macman

How is corporation tax at 19% 'a killer'? It's lower than it's been for many years, and, if LIz Truss becomes PM, then she has pledged to cut the planned increase to 25%.
Income tax; I assume you are much to young to remember income tax at 90% in the 1970's then?
Argentina: are you serious? The economy is a basket case. Inflation is currently 71% and rising. Move your capital there and it'll be rapidly eroded in value unless you keep it in sterling. And, I'd imagine that if you want to bail out, there are heavy constraints on export of capital.
How about Eire? Corporation tax there is 12.5%. 

mark_cycling00

Estonia does/used to offer virtual citizenship if you moved a tech-related company (of any size) there. But i think their inflation rate is 25% now due to energy crisis.

Thailand does/used to offer various tiers of residency, buy the top one and you'll get a chauffeur pick you up at the airport whenever you arrive, but you can only purchase apartments last time I checked.

Uraguay is a booming tech country (last time I checked)

India is an even bigger, booming tech country with low taxes and has 20% of all gen Zs in the world. Mrs Sunak was clever to keep citizenship even though paying UK taxes because there is no inheritance tax in India (last time I checked)

Californians are relocating to Mexico but says more about California perhaps...

I wouldn't rule out USA, can live cheaply in many areas, get land and properties, renewables etc. Nashville and Austin are booming now, other places good for home-working will boom soon

Bulgaria has miniscule taxes and is fairly well connected.

Also, you need to be an "energy nomad" and locate in areas with good sunshine year round for solar power. 

MalMonroe

I've lived overseas twice and returned to the UK twice. I have to say that the grass is not greener anywhere else. Life is more or less the same wherever you live. Unfortunately, today you can't just go and live wherever you wish. Unless of course, you have that very big pot of gold with you.

A friend of ours married a Thai citizen - it isn't easy to go and live there even when you're married to a citizen. Every year he has to present his bank statements to the government and he's allowed to stay. Just because he has a Thai wife doesn't mean that he can stay there. He's retired now and he receives a UK pension but it will never increase. He has Australian citizenship but his wife isn't allowed to go and live there, even though she's married to an Oz citizen. The Thai government is totally different from ours and their laws are very lax. He's fairly settled for now but he has his Thai wife to lean on to sort out things like dentists and doctors and recently, the operation and hospital stay he had to pay for. No NHS and a two tier health system. He has bought a four bed, three bathroom house. And they are sometimes visited by snakes. Also they have monsoons. Driving is a nightmare for him as motorists rarely stick to the 'highway code' - if there even is one. He leaves that to his wife.

That's just one example but you have to do a lot of research before even applying and most places need you to have a visa. 

Getting into the USA is very difficult.

A friend of mine emigrated to Canada in the 1980s and had to wait 18 months for immigration to be cleared, at that time.

Australia has age limits, New Zealand the same. And they don't want you unless you have that pot of gold, too.

Dubai says "While permanent residency visas are relatively easy to obtain for Brits with employment in the UAE, it’s virtually impossible for those without. This is especially difficult since the global financial crisis precipitated a severe downturn in the UAE and led to the government introducing quotas for foreign workers."

I'd say just pick a country or two and see what they say. It's fun to do research. 

theviewer1985

macman said:

How is corporation tax at 19% 'a killer'? It's lower than it's been for many years, and, if LIz Truss becomes PM, then she has pledged to cut the planned increase to 25%.
Income tax; I assume you are much to young to remember income tax at 90% in the 1970's then?
Argentina: are you serious? The economy is a basket case. Inflation is currently 71% and rising. Move your capital there and it'll be rapidly eroded in value unless you keep it in sterling. And, I'd imagine that if you want to bail out, there are heavy constraints on export of capital.
How about Eire? Corporation tax there is 12.5%. 

I didn't say corporation tax... I said "tax" 

So between Corporation tax, VAT (which does nothing for us, as we have very little expense), income tax and then every other avenue the GOV tries to squeeze us on, it feels as though we would be better off elsewhere seeing as we are veeeeeery flexible. ie. Young, no kids, work online

Eire... good shout. I have considered it once or twice over the years and would help get us back into the EU which is a mega mega plus for us personally.

theviewer1985

mark_cycling00 said:

Estonia does/used to offer virtual citizenship if you moved a tech-related company (of any size) there. But i think their inflation rate is 25% now due to energy crisis.

Thailand does/used to offer various tiers of residency, buy the top one and you'll get a chauffeur pick you up at the airport whenever you arrive, but you can only purchase apartments last time I checked.

Uraguay is a booming tech country (last time I checked)

India is an even bigger, booming tech country with low taxes and has 20% of all gen Zs in the world. Mrs Sunak was clever to keep citizenship even though paying UK taxes because there is no inheritance tax in India (last time I checked)

Californians are relocating to Mexico but says more about California perhaps...

I wouldn't rule out USA, can live cheaply in many areas, get land and properties, renewables etc. Nashville and Austin are booming now, other places good for home-working will boom soon

Bulgaria has miniscule taxes and is fairly well connected.

Also, you need to be an "energy nomad" and locate in areas with good sunshine year round for solar power. 

Uruguay... good shout. I never knew they were a tech country. I met a few guys form there just the other day and all seemed very positive towards their home country.

I will put some research in.

India - Ive never considered living there. I'd have to visit I think as I probably have some incorrect assumptions about it being overcrowded everywhere.

Bulgaria - Another good shout! I remember that being a place on my radar back in the day due to it being cheap to live and buy

Thailand - One of our fave countries. Never heard of that "tiers of residency" thing. I wonder how much the top tier is? hmmm. Although someone else below you said Thailand is almost impossible to get citizenship for even for someone who had a Thai wife.

plumb1_2

So you made use of the nhs on the day you were born and ongoing.Made use of free schooling.
Now you have to give something back by paying taxes, you want to leave.
Let me know the date and departure airport you choose, as I’ll provide a free taxi.

macman

theviewer1985 said:

macman said:

How is corporation tax at 19% 'a killer'? It's lower than it's been for many years, and, if LIz Truss becomes PM, then she has pledged to cut the planned increase to 25%.
Income tax; I assume you are much to young to remember income tax at 90% in the 1970's then?
Argentina: are you serious? The economy is a basket case. Inflation is currently 71% and rising. Move your capital there and it'll be rapidly eroded in value unless you keep it in sterling. And, I'd imagine that if you want to bail out, there are heavy constraints on export of capital.
How about Eire? Corporation tax there is 12.5%. 

I didn't say corporation tax... I said "tax" 

So between Corporation tax, VAT (which does nothing for us, as we have very little expense), income tax and then every other avenue the GOV tries to squeeze us on, it feels as though we would be better off elsewhere seeing as we are veeeeeery flexible. ie. Young, no kids, work online

Eire... good shout. I have considered it once or twice over the years and would help get us back into the EU which is a mega mega plus for us personally.

No, you didn't, but since you claim to be running such a successful business, it's assumed that you would be running it in the most tax efficient way possible and so minimising income tax by using a ltd company, paying corporation tax, and then taking dividends rather than a larger salary?
General taxation is lower in the UK than many EU countries, so I'm not quite sure where this 'gov't tries to squeeze us' line is coming from?
You are working online, from home presumably, so no business rates to pay, no commercial rent?