People are increasingly beginning to understand the need to protect their assets.  In times of turbulence or uncertainty this is as necessary as a spare tire, a fire extinguisher or household emergency kit.  Present economic financial and legal developments are potentially ruinous for the unprepared.  With these developments many of the “safe” solutions for asset protect are not as effective as they once were.

 

Western Governments are now under the weight of an unprecedented burden of debt.  Their attempts to service that debt and continue to provide wide ranging, generous benefits to their citizens have placed the entire financial system under strain.  An aging population expecting to receive pensions upon retirement and an influx of migrants from the third world seeking refuge from war and poverty may cause the system to collapse under its own weight.

 

 

With these new factors and issues such as tariffs, currency devaluation and insolvency Governments are seeking more and more ways prop up the system.  If your assets are exclusively held in local markets your Government will be aware of them and when the time comes be able to resort to further taxation or even asset confiscation. 

 

First, Cypress saw anyone with bank deposits upwards of 60,000 Euros restricted from accessing their funds.  In Greece, banks ceased allowing withdrawals in excess of 100 Euros a day.  More stable European countries are restricting the use of cash.  France has made cash transactions in excess of 1,000 Euros illegal. 

 

Inflation has further eroded asset value and further restrictions on cash are coming with the push towards “digital currencies” as a means of control over the populace.  It is becoming more commonly accepted the financial and market conditions far more ominous than those existing immediately prior to the crisis of 2008 now threaten even more drastic consequences.

 

By moving a portion of your Assets offshore, into jurisdictions with strong privacy protection one can both protect those Assets and realize further growth in products unavailable locally without punitive capital gains taxation.