Five Steps Before Going Offshore

The Crisis No One is Talking About There is a catastrophic economic crisis coming … and no one is paying attention. On December 23, 2013, it could wipe out markets overnight. To find out how you can shelter yourself from this coming storm, click here for our urgent video report. Five Steps to Take Before Moving Your Money Offshore By Bob Bauman JD, Offshore and Asset Protection Editor Dear Sovereign Investor Subscriber, Since The Sovereign Society was founded 15 years ago, we have been advising our members that opening an offshore bank account is the basic first step to take in "going offshore" financially. But if President Obama's campaign ads are to be believed, an offshore bank account is part of some dark, sinister plot worthy of attack. Because Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has several offshore accounts, an Obama campaign video demands: "Americans want to know why a presidential candidate puts his money in offshore accounts." The answer is that Romney, like any smart businessperson, knows that bank accounts in offshore financial centers (places formerly called "tax havens") allow useful and profitable offshore financial activities. Advertisement To Americans Who Want To Retire Comfortably Former U.S. Congressman Bob Bauman says "YES!" you can live a freer, richer, retirement, no matter how Washington spends your hard earned dollars. Discover how in The Ultimate Wealth Protection Resource…. This valuable guide to retiring comfortably has more than 320 easy-to-implement, money saving, tax reducing, and dollar protecting secrets previously only available to the super rich. For details, click here. Opening an offshore bank account can give you opportunities to protect and grow your wealth in ways you can't here at home, but it is not something that should be done in haste. By taking a few simple steps ahead of time, you can make sure that your money's new home will meet all of your future needs. Finding What America Can No Longer Offer Contrary to what some politicians may say, an offshore bank account is not a tool to evade taxes. The U.S. Internal Revenue Code taxes American citizens and resident "green card" holders on all their worldwide income. No matter where or how you earn your money, you may owe some U.S. taxes and must annually file at least a Form 1040 with the IRS, and possibly other forms reporting income and related taxes. The benefits an offshore bank account can offer, however, are numerous. One of the first is protection against the declining dollar. Through currency diversification, an offshore bank account allows you to convert declining dollars into stronger currencies. Since the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913, the value of the U.S. currency has collapsed. What was worth $1 back then is worth less than 4.8 cents today. That is to say, our dollar has devalued by more than 95%. This trend continues almost daily, and that means that having an offshore account is becoming a matter of acute urgency. In troubled times, an offshore bank account can also provide a much needed safe haven for your money. Hundreds of thousands of sovereign individuals around the world use offshore bank accounts for exactly that. Smart people, whether savvy Argentines or Russians, use this simple, yet effective, method to protect their cash from meddling governments and stifling regulations. Now Americans are finally catching on. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirms that "stability reasons" — and not bank secrecy — helped foreign havens such as Switzerland attract 27% (of an estimated $21 to $32 trillion) of the world's offshore wealth in 2011. Offshore accounts also offer what American banks can no longer guarantee – much stronger asset protection and greatly increased banking privacy. But to access all these potential benefits, you need to make sure you choose the right financial institution to open your account in… Choosing the Right Home for Your Money I would suggest taking the following steps to help you choose the right bank, assuming your country of choice has a stable government, low or no taxes and welcomes foreign investment. Step #1: Carefully research established financial institutions in your country of choice. Gauge national banking standards to get a frame of reference against which you can judge individual banks and services offered. Step #2: Check Google News and in-country newspapers and publications for mentions about a specific bank, good or bad. Google will guide you to the website of the country's official bank supervisory agency with facts about each bank, its license, its current standing and any prior complaints or official actions. Step #3: Beware of "banks" that have only an Internet presence. Most countries have outlawed "brass plate" banks that are nothing more than a name on a building or a lawyer's office door. A website without bank officials' names, a physical address and working phone numbers are indications of fraud. Step #4: Be wary of any banks that offer unreasonably high interest rates or returns. If an offered deal appears too good to be true, it is just that. Step #5: Confirm that an offshore private bank meets or exceeds the minimum standards set by the international Basel Accords. These rules limit a bank's risk and require minimum capital, shareholder equity and disclosed reserves, as well as limiting holdings in debt and equity instruments. One other important and relatively new consideration is an offshore bank's status with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) compliance and registration. In the UBS Swiss tax evasion bank scandal that began in 2008, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service played the major role in prosecuting U.S. account holders who evaded taxes. This got most of the news media coverage. But UBS was fined $200 million for failure to register with the SEC. As a result, a growing number of offshore banks have established special, separate SEC-qualified investment banking units for American clients only. Some independent offshore investment advisers also are now SEC-registered, allowing them to advise American clients. As part of your due diligence, check to see if the offshore bank you are considering is SEC-registered. Whether it's in Switzerland or Liechtenstein, Hong Kong or Singapore, an offshore account serves you as a simple, yet effective tool to protect your wealth against both intrusive government and its inflated currency. But before you take your first steps offshore, always make sure to do your due diligence. Doing so will make sure that you get the most out of what offshore has to offer. There is nothing sinister about an offshore bank account. The real question is: why don't you have one? Faithfully yours, Bob Bauman P.S. Though there are many options out there, finding a new home for your money offshore does not have to be a scary proposition. For my Offshore Confidential subscribers, I am constantly finding safe, quick and legal ways to help build a better future for their wealth abroad. To find out how you can become a member and start taking the first steps toward going offshore, click here to learn more. Chart of the Day Honey Boo Boo for President There's no question our country is in serious trouble. Government debt is out of control, the poverty rate is at record levels, median household income is declining – the list goes on… But do Americans really care? Although a recent survey shows only 10% of citizens think Congress is doing a good job, I have reason to believe a lot of people don't really care. Recent TV ratings, for example, suggest Americans are not really interested in politics. Reality TV show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, for example, beat the Republican National Convention in ratings. It also tied CNN's coverage of the Democratic National Convention, including the speech from former President Bill Clinton. If you've never watched Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, congratulations! You're not brain-dead. It's a ridiculous spin-off of Toddlers and Tiaras, which follows the world of child beauty pageants. It shows a bunch of parents doing all kinds of crazy things to make their toddlers look like sexy women. And it's more watched than either of our potential future presidents. Here's another example: Last Sunday, there was an interview of both presidential candidates on CBS. But most Americans were too busy watching Sunday Night Football and the Emmys, as you can see in the chart below. Heck, the cartoon Family Guy even gave the candidates a run for their money. See larger image It seems plenty of Americans don't really care if our politicians are running our country into the ground. If we keep heading in this direction, maybe Honey Boo Boo will be our president someday… Regards, Evaldo Albuquerque Senior Analyst Related Reading: To Hell with Politicians: Write Your Own Platform The Real Safe-Haven CD to Protect Your Lifestyle As Swiss Banks Close Their Doors, Look to Uruguay Is The World's Biggest Ponzi Scheme About to Unravel? RECENT ARTICLES 9/27/2012 The Cheapest Play on Gold Todayl The Fed is basically telling you to buy gold! With more money being printed, investing in junior gold miners is the way to profit today. 9/26/2012 How to Start Lawyer-Proofing Your Life in 72 Hours With civil lawsuits on the rise, protect your assets by establishing an offshore asset protection trust in the Cook Islands or Panama. 9/25/2012 How the Fed is Secretly Stealing Your Dividends With the U.S. inflation rate rising from the fed, protect yourself by investing in foreign companies that pay dividens in foreign currencies. 9/24/2012 The Future of America: Think Small Small, localized governments are the future of America. Large governments and bureaucracies are on their way out and less government is in. STATE OF OUR WORLD National Debt Clock: $16,064,861,713,305 BECOME A MEMBER For more valuable information from The Sovereign Society on how to protect and grow your wealth, become a member today. 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