Navigating the New Global Rules: Business, Taxes, and Asset Protection

Don’t Be Stupid. Build Smart.​

If you're still clinging to the past like a drunk ex, the present is slipping through your fingers, and the future’s lining up to hit you in the face with a brick.

Rule #1: Don’t Start a Business If You Can’t Afford a Calculator​

Calling yourself a boss but can't even handle basic accounting? What kind of operation are you running, a disaster relief fund?
Accounting costs pennies compared to the cost of being laughed out of a bank, rejected by a PSP, or fined into oblivion by tax authorities.
Yes, audits suck. But basic books? That’s not “oppression,” it’s breathing. If you can’t afford oxygen, maybe don’t climb Everest.
Raise the damn money. Use OPM: Other People’s Money. Friends. Family. Angels. Banks. Seed funds. Private equity. Doesn’t matter. If you’ve got the hustle to dream, you’ve got the hustle to pitch.
Just don’t steal it. That brings us to...

Rule #2: Don’t Start a Foreign Company If You Don’t Understand Substance​

Substance isn’t optional anymore. The OECD is out there like a tax zombie apocalypse, and if your company is just a paper ghost, they’re coming for you.
Yes, Samoa still plays dumb. No, that won’t last. Look beyond today. Extrapolate. Position yourself for what’s coming, not what’s fading.

Rule #3: Don’t Commit Tax Fraud (You're Not That Smart)​

Tax evasion, VAT fraud, fake invoices, it’s all suicide in slow motion. The burden of proof flips, the penalties multiply, and you end up poorer and dumber than when you started.
If you hate tax, fine. Move. Don't whine.

Rule #4: Residence Is Everything​

Don’t like the taxes where you live? Then why are you still living there? There’s no excuse in the age of remote work and $500 flights.
Sure, the “Perpetual Traveller” fantasy still lives on Instagram. But reality bites. Most jurisdictions want to see ties: homes, bills, feet on ground. The game’s changed.
Find a place where you’re treated well and play by those rules.
Pay some tax. Even a little legitimizes you. Makes banking easier. Makes crossing borders smoother. And guess what? It might actually make you feel like less of a cockroach.

Rule #5: Banking Secrecy Is Dead. Let It Go.​

You're not Jason Bourne. The myth of anonymous accounts in jungle banks is over. CRS killed it. The ones that remain? You wouldn’t want to leave your kid’s piggy bank there.
Structure your life so that transparency doesn't hurt you. Then you can sleep well, and clear customs without breaking a sweat.

Rule #6: Corporate Secrecy Is on Life Support​

Anonymity is a nice story. But you need to understand what is public, to whom, and when.

• Public: Anyone can Google it.
• Limited: Governments and journalists with warrants.
• Private: You and the tax man - until someone leaks it.

Use nominees if you must, but don’t be stupid about it. A “nominee” isn’t a magic cloak. It's a tool. Use it wisely.

Rule #7: Asset Protection Isn’t a PDF Template​

No, a $199 “instant trust” won’t save your assets from a judgment creditor.
If you’re serious, get real advisors. Build bespoke structures. Layer your defense. Respect the law, but know where its cracks are.
You’re not buying a microwave. You’re safeguarding your life’s work.

Rule #8: Don’t Pay Peanuts for Brain Surgery​

There’s a time for monkeys. Jungle villas in Costa Rica. Tourists in Gibraltar. But not for tax advice or company setups.
Cheap advisors cost you more in cleanup than good ones cost upfront.
That said, don’t be an idiot. Even the best lawyer will drain you dry if you let them scope-creep the engagement. Define your needs. Agree on a price. Manage them like any other asset.

Rule #9: Stop Drowning in Hypotheticals​

Some of you are still stuck in “analysis paralysis,” dreaming up 5D chess schemes for tax-free crypto cashouts in Cambodia when your business barely clears $2k/month.
Less fantasizing, more doing.
You don’t need a Maltese foundation and a Marshall Islands holding structure to sell t-shirts. Grow first. Optimize later.

Rule #10: Grow Your Business​

You want to be international? Start by being profitable.
A $500k/year business needs love, not offshore complexity. Scale it. Build something that needs to go global, not something pretending to.
Then and only then should you start moving pieces on the chessboard.

Bonus Round: KYC and the Illusion of Order​

Fiat is fiat. If you want to use it, you play by its rules. Source of Funds. Source of Wealth. Invoices. Agreements. Tax returns. Utility bills. Proof of address.
Yes, it’s all stupid. But not as stupid as pretending it doesn’t apply to you.
Keep clean records. Store them redundantly. Backups of backups. When the bank asks, smile and send the PDF. Move on.

Final Thought: Get Your Ducks in a Row​

Literally. Figuratively. Legally. Financially.
The system is broken, yes. But whining won’t fix it. Play it better than they do. And always remember: freedom favors the prepared.