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In depth...

You're aware of the "Four Paths to Freedom" discussed in this e-book. Of all of those roads, ONE holds out the promise of becoming truly and completely free - a freeman. And that's to completely remove yourself from the "master's" domain.



What many people don't know, is that this is relatively easy to achieve - once you have absorbed the mindset and weaned yourself off your attachment to your home country. (You'll also need to be either retired, financially independent - or in business for yourself, and able to live anywhere.)



And contrary to what many people believe, this strategy need not involve living on some deserted island!



Let's look at just one example: If you're a US citizen, you could do this. Go and live in Canada and take up residence for 3 years, in order to qualify for a Canadian passport. Once you have that, renounce your US one. Now you have a world-class passport - from a country that won't tax you if you leave (at least not yet!).



With your brand new Canadian passport, go and live in the UK - taking side trips around Europe as your fancy takes you.



Now, this is where it gets interesting, for the UK is perhaps one of the world's least known tax havens! How can this be? Well, the UK allows persons who are not domiciled (not permanent residents) to live in the UK without paying tax on remitted capital.



(Note: the word domiciled means more than just residing - it is a legal term which implies intent to "stay" somewhere.)



So, say you have an offshore IBC - holding your funds, or business income. This money is your capital when first arriving in the UK. And you can remit this tax free at any time.



In order to comply with UK tax law, you simply set up two offshore accounts - one called "capital" account and one called "income" account. As your "capital" account earns interest - you have this transferred to your "income" account - so your "capital" account only ever has capital in it - the funds you can bring into the UK without tax liability. Meanwhile, your "income" account is growing - but you don't bring any money in from that account (or it would be considered income - and taxable).



When your "income" account is big enough for you to want to take out funds - you simply leave the UK for a few months, return and then remit the funds from your "income" account - which is now deemed to be your "capital" account!



Okay, what if you're NOT a US citizen? Here's another option. If you have an EU passport - then you can literally move around and live where you like in the EU. All you need to do is make sure you don't put down any "financial" roots - like a bank account etc - and you can live in any EU country (other than your country of tax residence) and effectively live as a "freeman". Of course, you'll need to "leave" your home country first.



If you don't want to live in the UK, then you have quite a choice of countries where remitted capital is non-taxable.



A non-exhaustive list includes: Alderney; Barbados; Belize; Bolivia; Botswana; Britain; Columbia; Costa Rica; Cyprus; Ecuador; El Salvador; Gibraltar; Guatemala; Guernsey; Guyana; Hong Kong; Iran; Ireland; Japan; Jersey; Lithuania; Macao; Malawi: Malaysia; Malta; Montserrat; Nicaragua; Nigeria; Peru; Romania; St Lucia; Singapore; South Africa; Swaziland; Taiwan, Uganda; Venezuela and Zaire.



Now, sure, not all of the above are "ideal" countries - but look closely and you'll find enough choice of desirable places!



The main point is that it IS possible to escape taxes - if you are prepared to be mobile. And when you've found the ideal place, you'll find it quite easy to reside permanently - under favorable tax conditions.



And for those who have moral "scruples" about avoiding tax in this way - just consider how your country views tourists. It welcomes them of course, because they spend money into the local economy. And not only that - they probably pay expenditure taxes as well - like sales tax, VAT, GST etc.



As a "tourist" you are elevated to a special status. You are no longer one of the local tax-slaves - to be browbeaten into tax submission. No, you're a "celebrity" and "most-wanted" person, someone who is good for the economy. As a "tourist", the local government treats you differently - just like a FREEMAN!



Previously, such a choice was limited to people of independent means - either very wealthy and/or retired - given that earning money internationally was something quite difficult to do.



Not anymore. The Internet has literally made such a lifestyle possible for anyone who really wants it. Sure, you need to overcome your habit of wanting to stay in one place - but it's just a habit after all, and one that may be worth changing when you consider the "cost" of staying at home.



What the Internet has done, is to make the idea of being a "gypsy" possible in the cyber-age - a Cyber-Gypsy.



Gypsies - for those who don't know - are those who live "on the road" - earning money in various ways while "traveling".



Naturally, in the pre-cyber world, trying to work in such a situation would be nearly impossible - except for odd jobs and manual work. But now technology - in particular communications technology - has made it possible to revisit this "old" lifestyle option (minus the caravans!).



So, what do you need to become a Cyber-Gypsy?



1. A business you can conduct from anywhere on earth

2. A laptop computer

3. An Internet connection



The last two requirements are readily available to anybody - and represent a very low capital investment/overhead considering the financial possibilities.



That leaves the "business".



To those who have spent their lives working for someone else, then one obviously has to come to terms with removing the security blanket - and getting out under one's own steam. But it has never been easier to do so.



Not only that, but you have the option of earning in the cyber economy - and spending in a place where your dollar will go a lot further - meaning you don't have to earn huge money to make this work.



What sort of business options are there? Well, that is beyond the scope of this e-book, but the choices and possibilities are huge. And to give you some food for thought, let me mention just three types of business that are ideally suited to international mobility - web design, consulting, and brokering.



Web design is where you create web sites for other people. Those who have some sort of desktop publishing or programming experience (or lots of talent!), can learn the required HTML skills within about a week. Add to that a couple of weeks of practice - and you're a web designer, and can earn up to $100 per hour from anywhere in the world - and even more if you also learn a few web programming languages like Perl or Java.



Consulting is where you provide customized advice to individuals and businesses. Whether it's psychology, marketing or investing - simply pick the area of your expertise and chances are you can start a profitable online consulting business which you can conduct through email and online chat from anywhere in the world.



Brokering is where you match people/goods/services with other people/goods/services - and make a commission on the deal. You don't need any capital to start up as a broker - and you don't take any financial risk.



To illustrate, let me tell you the brief story of a woman I met a couple of years ago. She had created (almost out of thin air) a great business opportunity for herself. She had a "skill" that was not very common in her home country (New Zealand), and decided that with her extra language she could travel to French Polynesia (New Caledonia and Tahiti) and offer to broker business deals.



She started by visiting businesses in New Zealand - asking if they would be interested in exporting their products to these countries. The answer was almost uniformly "yes" - for what respectable business doesn't want to sell their products?



Once she had a long list of products and services on offer, she simply flew to New Caledonia and Tahiti - and using her fluent French, visited various businesses offering the New Zealand products. The end result is that she built a highly successful business for herself - a complete niche. On every deal concluded she received a prearranged commission.



The last I heard of her, she had concluded a deal worth more than a million NZD for wool carpet - to be laid in a new hotel. The beauty of this was that even though the deal was extremely lucrative, setting it up was relatively easy.



One can broker most things these days - goods for import/export; people needed for overseas contracts; travel; financial services; and the list is as long as your imagination.



The point is - it is possible to break the chains that hold you to country you now live in. It is possible to go international and become a high-tech Cyber-Gypsy.



And just in case you think your country is simply the very best country to live in - and that there can't possibly exist a place that would even "tempt" you - then consider these latest results from the newsletter "International Living"



The world's 10 healthiest countries. (in order): Monaco; Macau; Japan; France; Isle of Man; Slovakia; Luxembourg; Israel; French Guiana and Austria.



Or, the world's best environments: Georgia; St Kitts & Nevis; Armenia; Estonia; Canada; Puerto Rico; Azerbaijan; Ecuador; Kyrgyzstan; Lithuania.



Or, the world's most cultured: Norway; Sweden; Liechtenstein; Hong Kong; Croatia; El Salvador; New Zealand; Macau; Canada; Switzerland; United Kingdom.



Think outside the square you live in - and perhaps, you could make the world your oyster!

For example, I might include an essay on a controversial subject, like the effectiveness of capital punishment. Or I might write a personal essay about growing up or about my philosophy of life or child-rearing.

Writing essays requires a little more work than writing log entries, but it also gives me a chance to really shape and express my thoughts.