Back to Basics

When you're sitting by the ocean on a warm sunny morning having an American/British breakfast of fried eggs bacon sausage fresh fruit toast tea/coffee marmalade / jam (probably free newspaper thrown in) and the bill in total comes to 50 Baht, it is easy to forget what its like back home in February.

You could sit with a vest, a shirt, a jacket a pullover and an overcoat and heavy boots in a caf? and pay 600 baht to a non smiling waitress for the same meal. And it's unlikely you'd get a broad smile even with a 100 baht tip.
All I'm saying is that if you've lived in Hua Hin for a few years it's easy to loose perspective and get annoyed by something as mundane as, when walking in town, the constant pimping for taxis by the locals.
It is just as easy for the ex pat investor to loose perspective on the benefits of offshore investing. So I thought it worth taking a look at the benefits of being an ex-pat investor in comparison to investing if you lived back home.
Tax is the first major benefit of being an offshore investor. No taxes are applied to your investment It is free from Capital gains tax, corporation tax inheritance tax and personal income tax. There are some inescapable taxes like for instance dividend taxes on North American funds. Consequently offshore funds tend to avoid these and invest in capital North American funds whose profits are not liable to any kind of tax.
Many investors have said mistakenly to me that as they are ex pats, their investments back home are tax free. Half true; they may be free from personal income tax but they cannot escape tax on the gains on the underlying assets of their fund. Some countries call this corporation tax. Over the long term this will make a considerable difference to your personal wealth. Another tax benefit I love is that no government civil servant lays down rules on the maximum I can invest tax free. If I have millions then Offshore, it's all tax free.
The next benefit is confidentiality. An offshore investment in most jurisdictions is totally confidential. A little care in setting up your investment will ensure this remains so.
It is impossible for any creditor, alien tax authority or divorce lawyer to access information on your personal circumstances. However, if you are a terrorist, a gun runner or drug dealer confidentiality is impossible for you. There are so many checks and balances since 09/11 no one that I know would touch you with a barge poll. Mainly because if they were caught handling your dirty money they would go to jail too.
However if you are just plain rich the system works for you.
Consumer protection is your next big advantage. In some jurisdictions you can get up to 100% investment protection but most guarantee around 90% of your fund. In other words if the financial institution handling your money goes bust, under jurisdiction law 90-100% of the value of your investment is safe.
I mentioned last month the benefits of Swiss investing with a free trust. I make no apologies for bringing up this great benefit again. If you die prematurely, your chosen beneficiaries inherit your estate without fuss. Probate is not required thus eliminating expensive lawyer's fees.
You should never put your offshore investment in a will. All you need do is nominate beneficiaries, whom you can change at any time. On your death they will inherit your estate automatically in the same confidential manner that you left it.
If you put all this in a will expect the taxman to come knocking for a big slice. Not just inheritance taxes but all the taxes you have avoided during your lifetime. When the tax lawyers have finally got a settlement for your loved ones there may be just enough left to buy a farang breakfast : in Hua Hin