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New Horizons Paraguay
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Best country for a freelancer / digital nomad post-covid

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Yes, I had a deep look into it,︄ but put it on hold as of now.
It is pretty hot down there, very︅ remote, limited food choices and pretty much a backwater, if you want a certain high︆ standard of living. Also safety is an issue if you build a mansion, you might︇ need private security 24/7 or your mansion is empty when you leave for some vacation.︈
Time zone is also an issue unless you work only for North American clients. (a︉ zoom at 10am in europe requires you to wake up at 1am-ish).

Rest is solid,︊ plus its dirt cheap to live and also appealing if you are single 😉. Cheap︋ power, water and agriculture are also big plus.
Who would have been your lawyer down︌ there?
 
as someone who was freelancing from 2006 to 2014 and did not pay⁢ any tax ever (not on purpose, I was a new grad and I really didn't︀ know that taxes exist outside of scope when the employer "automatically deducts something" from a︁ monthly paycheck - I truly believed that employers/clients "always will take care of that stuff︂ on their end". And only learned about the miracle of "you go somewhere to authorities,︃ tell them how much you earn, and give them money voluntarily by yourself, automagically every︄ year" when I relocated to US. It was new to me, pretty fascinating (think 'culture︅ shock' from the fact how law-savvy and financially smart every citizen must be in order︆ to survive in this country, just think about it, there are still places where people︇ are illiterate - they really can't read text, in Cambodia for example, even in the︈ capital, there are people who never learned to read their own language and only know︉ to talk it, and they're adults, and they're fine and cool about that).

So the question I have is, how in the world, it's enforceable and provable that a︊ person is "working" (Thailand let's say) in order to collect tax, if the person is︋ doing some random stuff online (builds websites, draws stuff, sings a song lol, whatever) and︌ people pay him to some random bank accounts in other countries (well I was traveling︍ a lot so I had a bunch of accounts everywhere) especially because nowadays there are︎ these "online only" banks, even if they report all info and is all shared, I️ highly doubt the tax authorities will even bother trying to ask the questions of "hey‌ dude you have this bank account in country XYZ and we saw some $$$ in‍ there, mind to give me some since you live in our place for X time?"⁠ because it's literally a ton of work to make a case to prove and collect⁤ these pennies (and it'll be pennies if we talk about freelance and 100k-150k annual income⁣ range...).
Just curious what more experienced people think about this? And yes I know these⁢ "forgotten" taxes can come back and bite me in some of the countries one day,︀ and I could get a bill plus interest over all these years, but I had︁ tiny amounts of income so I don't mind even if I'll get a tax bill︂ of 200% over the original tax owed. Would not dare such thing with the US︃ though, these folks are scary, I'd lose my sleep if I owe a single dollar︄ to the IRS 😵😵😵.
 
Speaking about freedom, what are your thoughts about Switzerland?
It seems that they will have‌ more freedom than the rest of EU in the future and taxes seem way better‍ than France/Spain.
 
"Freedom" is a relative term. When it comes⁠ to everyday life then Switzerland is far more regulated, controlled and depressed than France or⁤ Spain. For a reason many Swiss move to Spain when they retire - it is⁣ not only because of the weather.
Even though in Switzerland the popular vote has the⁢ last say when it comes to local or national regulations, that does not come with︀ more "Freedom". In Switzerland you need a license or regulated permission for almost everything you︁ want to do. Even though trivial, Switzerland was the first country which introduced obligatory insurance︂ plates for bicycles already way back in the 1970s - I guess that says a︃ lot about the local understanding of "Freedom".

When it comes to taxes it is pretty︄ uninteresting: Switzerland already has what the EU is about to introduce very soon - wealth︅ taxation. When doing more than a fixed number of stock market trades per year you︆ are even liable for social security contributions + income taxes on capital gains.

Consider the︇ high cost of living, the fact that ever more regulations are being copied from EU-regulations︈ (latest disaster is FinSA, something similar to MiFID) and it is not a worthy alternative.︉
 
Ugh, so I had some agents get back to me about Cyprus just now. A‌ lot of the things I had trouble with seem like they aren't a big hassel,‍ they are:

1. You don't need to setup a company there, you can get residency⁠ by renting and showing you earn $40k EUR/year.
2. You will obviously get 100% tax⁤ exempt if you pay yourself in dividends (from something like a BVI, HK or SG⁣ company), but of course need to pay the 2.65% on top.

The deal breaker for⁢ me though... the COVID hysteria. I left Australia to avoid the vaccine passport s**t back︀ at the start of the year and it's in force in Cyprus, you cannot go︁ anywhere without a SafePass. Which you either need to be vaccinated or prove you have︂ had a covid test within the last 72 hours, which even though it's $10EUR to︃ test, is a lot of hassle to get something shoved up your nose every 3︄ days. So yeah, too dystopian for me, as is the rest of the EU which︅ is also following this with the "Green Pass". I cannot of course say that Paraguay︆ will not have this later, but they aren't in a position now to be able︇ to give their citizens vaccines or even tests, so that to me says I have︈ time.
 
For someone with a high net income or high profits in their business it may‌ very well make sense to move your business and yourself to Lugano or Zug!
 
Yeah, those are some reasons why you might not want to choose it. I'm still looking︂ for one (lawyer), or deciding if I will do it solo. To do it solo︃ is possible, but it takes longer because you need to first rent somewhere and get︄ a utility bill. And yes, if you're single 🙂 Or like me, want to grow some︅ stuff to be self sufficient - my "mansion" is more of an eco village, so︆ I am hoping with some others (locals, expats) living there with me as a family︇ I won't get the same hatred as the "rich farmer" (i.e. eat the rich). We'll︈ see, I may end up just living there for long enough to secure some money︉ and move to Ecuador where the land taxes are less and you can get interest︊ payments tax free (at 8-12% I might add).
 
If you're doing a bit of web design and living a typical "cheap⁤ expat" existence then it is very unlikely that anyone is going to find your secret⁣ income. There was a raid in Chiang Mai some time ago, when officials decided that⁢ this kind of work didn't count as Thai income anyway. I guess you already have︀ a visa for some purpose (e.g. student) and can live that lifestyle while getting paid︁ offshore for your work.

If you make good money while working in Thailand for foreign︂ clients and buy a big house and a Ferrari then I would expect attitudes to︃ your Thai Permanent Establishment to change.
 
Yeah, they have actually posted officially︁ stating they will not chase digital nomads. The main problem with this, it's almost impossible︂ to get a tax file number here. That's why I am leaving Thailand, I've no︃ way to prove to my home country that I lodge tax returns 🙁
 
Basically you are flying under the radar and︀ 99% are fine doing this. Assuming the amounts are not huge <$100k you are "probably"︁ ok and your home country will matter here. If you have left your home country︂ and they accept you are not resident there any more and they are not too︃ aggresive in their tax departments you are fine. Compared to the US where you must︄ always file taxes on everything you own and they often and do audit random people︅ then it is probably less safe.

The risk is, that some country who might have︆ a claim on you does an audit and you cannot answer their questions, then you︇ are in trouble. Does this happen yes, is it likely to happen to you? No.︈

Come from the UK, I like you had no idea of taxes, it was always︉ PAYE (employer handles it all) the concept of filing taxes was completely alien to me.︊ And in similar years to you I was working away, getting paid through paypal and︋ never declared anything. Had it all going through my UK bank, never had an issue.︌ Didn't try to hide anything, just didn't do anything that I probably should have done.︍

Is it a clever tax free strategy, hell no. Will it work for most who︎ are earning a bit of money whilst travelling / nomading / whatever you want to️ call it, yeah probably.
 
Germany is as aggressive as they come. Plenty of Germans have moved to Cyprus⁠ without issue. Are you possibly confusing the concept of 'non-dom' with some particular length of⁤ time you need to spend in Cyprus? If you spend over 183 days in Cyprus⁣ and meticulously eliminate all ties with your source country, it can be done. It may⁢ be laborious, but if your country has DTAs with Cyprus, it can be done.

You definitely need a conversation with a tax advisor in your home country, someone conversant with︀ the DTA.
 
I too am from Australia and I need to︉ leave as soon as possible. Easy to get my wealth out, not so easy for︊ me to physically get out. Things are heading to hell in a hand basket here︋ very fast. Looking at all options. Looking at Portugal re tax and I have been︌ there before but expensive now.
 
Be aware guys: in Philippines its a badge of honor for the local︆ to ditch and scam foreigner. There is no easy way to find out company debts︇ and sometimes you may even lose your shares in the company if you partner with︈ locals. If you are see-through type and can read people well - it may be︉ ok. Plus not many people there actually have sufficient education and attitude to perform administrative︊ duties without raking up penalties from the gov.

P.S I seen a US guy losing︋ their entire business and properties due to asset transfer signature faked by their local attorney.︌ Another guy who is German he had his business ran down into problems by his︍ admins who were stealing money from his cash register and then extorting him with reputation︎ issues.

Aside from that, law in the Philippines doesn't exist in a normal sense. There️ is no open source where you can check the local legislation as a book. Many‌ things are uncertain and depends on interpretation. There are numerous contradictions within the law. Even‍ Georgian law is a lot more precise and structured compared to Philippine law
 
Most western foreigners have the attitude of colonialists. If they‍ turn out to be different they are treated different. If a German runs his Philippine⁠ business like as if it would be located in Prussia he won't have many sympathies⁤ in the Philippines.
Btw., successful businessmen in the Philippines are mostly foreigners - it all⁣ depends on the foreigners' ability to understand the cultural differences .... .
No, Philippine law is very precise and structured. The problem in the Philippines is︀ the court system. You easily wait 4 years before having your first hearing. Again, this︁ has nothing to do with what is written in the law. However, when you consider︂ your case to be urgent it is up to you to let the judge know︃ (think culture!).
Regarding the tax-code: There is nothing unclear. Specifically with TRAIN (Tax Reform for︄ Acceleration and Inclusion) the simplicity of this tax code is obvious. Very clear text, obscure︅ "public decisions" and "internal rulings" are reduced to the bare minimum. And compared to the︆ court system no need for dubious advisors and lawyers.
 
Looks like things have not changed much‍ in the Philippines since the 1990s. We had to buy office supplies including coffee and⁠ toilet paper daily or it was stolen. The only reason business did well was because⁤ all sales staff was western and locals could not figure out what we were doing.⁣
 
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