You are technically a slave when 100% of the fruits of your labor is taxed or otherwise confiscated by force. So, at what percentage are you not a slave?
When you consider the totality of the countless direct and indirect taxes on the local, state, and federal levels in the US, as well as the pernicious effects of inflation – the hidden tax – many of us are at least already halfway to 100%.
Some in France have recently reached this grim milestone.
It was reported that more than 8,000 French households had tax bills that exceeded 100% of their income in 2012. This occurred due to a so-called “one-off levy” imposed by the socialist president in an attempt to “offset” previous tax breaks. Ouch.
Contrast France with these 18 countries that have no personal income tax.
When it comes to confiscating wealth, desperate governments know no limit – other than “what they can get away with.”
Just in the past couple of months in Europe, we have observed that they can get away with outright theft of bank deposits in Cyprus and an effective 100% tax in France.
In other words, it is only pragmatic to assume that anything within a desperate government's immediate reach becomes fair game.
Fortunately it is still legal and practical to take steps to internationalize and put your savings, yourself, your income, and your digital presence outside of their immediate reach.
We have recently published Going Global 2013 in order to help you do exactly that. It's full of up-to-date and actionable advice from renowned experts on the best countries to consider for international gold storage… opening foreign bank accounts and IRAs… second passports and foreign real estate… the best foreign currencies to invest in…. and much, much more. Simply put, there's no better resource available on international diversification than Going Global 2013. Get the details and start internationalizing your life now – while you still can.