Finally after 3 years.....

floridabob

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Dec 13, 2002
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My condo here in Florida has finally reached the selling price I've been hoping for. I'm pretty confident it will sell within a short time so I will be coming soon to rent a place for however long it takes me to find the property I want. I'm looking forward to meeting Dr1 posters and hopefully making lots of new friends in my new life of retirement/semi-retirement.
My question is this: I do not want to leave my money in the U.S. and pay taxes on the interest, nor do I want to put all of my money in a Dominican bank. I am currently researching banks in the Cayman Islands, and from what I understand the interest earned is tax free. I will need access to funds in order to pay monthly bills, etc. Does anyone know anything about Cayman banks that will let me obtain cash thru ATM's or checks for day to day living expenses. Thanks for all your help, past, present, and future.
BYW: I will be working with Dean Brown of Century 21 in my search for property and I would highly recommend him to anyone in their search for North Coast property.
 

Rocky

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Apr 4, 2002
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floridabob said:
My condo here in Florida has finally reached the selling price I've been hoping for. I'm pretty confident it will sell within a short time so I will be coming soon to rent a place for however long it takes me to find the property I want. I'm looking forward to meeting Dr1 posters and hopefully making lots of new friends in my new life of retirement/semi-retirement.
My question is this: I do not want to leave my money in the U.S. and pay taxes on the interest, nor do I want to put all of my money in a Dominican bank. I am currently researching banks in the Cayman Islands, and from what I understand the interest earned is tax free. I will need access to funds in order to pay monthly bills, etc. Does anyone know anything about Cayman banks that will let me obtain cash thru ATM's or checks for day to day living expenses. Thanks for all your help, past, present, and future.
BYW: I will be working with Dean Brown of Century 21 in my search for property and I would highly recommend him to anyone in their search for North Coast property.
I'll leave the money questions for those who are "in the know".
Just wanted to say welcome to paradise.
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
18,948
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Just one question

DO YOU PLAY GOLF?

Other than that you can usually park your money wherever you want and either write check s on it or use debit cards or other placstic.

Once you have established your "bona fides" with a local money exchange house you will be allowed to write checks on the account...

HB :D Welcoming Committee for the nicer part of the country....
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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I would leave the money in a Money Market Fund in the US!

Get the very low interest rate,and pay the taxes due! Bring no money to the DR! Why do you want to buy a house here? To say you have a "Villa" in the DR?
Here is a "formula" that you can use,Invest your capital inthe US,rent in the DR.Houses cost less to rent,than they do to buy! Your capital remains safe,you are not tied to anything,you are better off in the long run! Lots of people come here,buy,don't like it,or poor health,or divorce,(THe list goes on!)then they have to liquidad their holdings,at who knows what current exchange rate,and then repatriate their money!
Dean Brown,may be the greatest guy in real estate,BUT,he wants to sell real estate!He paints the best picture on purchasing property NOW,before the price really takes off,and you are closed out of the market!
I say,come down and stay in a condo where you think you might want to live.See what is going on.You may hate the DR! You can find some incredible rentals from those who have left,and can't sell.
Wait,Wait,wait! Sadly,like the women with their "Sankies",those who want to buy,usually rush in,paying absolutely no attention to those who have the experience! Cris Colon
 

floridabob

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Dec 13, 2002
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HB and Rocky,
Thanks for the reply. Maybe I'll stay at Rocky's for a while. HB I don't play golf, I've been trying to play golf for years and still haven't figured it out. Grahame was nice enough to pick me up at the airport on one of my trips and I know he's a golfer. Maybe between the two of you, you can get together and teach me to master the game. I've lost enough balls over the years to own titleist. I hope we can get together soon for a few rounds.
Criss Colon. Your comments to most every post on this board are negative. I'm not keeping my money in the U.S. because I don't want to pay taxes on it. I don't need advice on real estate or living life in general, thanks anyway. I'm not moving there on a whim, I plan everything I do carefully. I'll never understand why, if a person hates a place so much they simply don't move to another location.
I'll be looking forward to meeting most of the rest of you.
Thanks again.
 

221

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Jun 28, 2004
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YA!!! He's right CC

anyone that posts on the internet that they are going to become tax evaders needs NO ADVICE
 

TCIDR

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Sep 7, 2003
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Good banks outside of DR

you can park you cash or investment in Cayman Island, Bahamas or Turks and Caicos for a relatively safe place.
In Turks and Caicos the interest is very low, but very very low risk too.
You can invest in via an investment broker, and return would be tax free or purchase properties. Long Term rental is very demanding and a secure investment yeilding between 5 -20% of your initial investment annually - hint *look into this*
Its a be a boring place to live, but good to do business, offshore banking, investment, real estate (relatively quick turnovers).
You'll have a better option to access your cash or investment from the DR as it is only 40 minutes flight time on a small aircraft (cost is only about $249 buxs or less) with almost daily flights out of POP or Santiago
 

floridabob

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Dec 13, 2002
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Colon and 221

You guys never read a post, you are the experts who know everything, and assume you know everything. I asked a simple question about a bank in the Caymans. How do you know I've only been there a 'few' times on vacation. And by the way, I'm not a tax evader, and maybe you think twice before you accuse someone of a potential crime. Not wanting to pay taxes on interest in the U.S. is not a crime, but I guess neither one of you are smart enough to figure that out. If you guys have been swindled out of all your money by hookers and other no gooders, or are on the brink of living illegally why must you assume that everyone else in the world is in the same class as you.
Believe it or not, there are people in this world with enough intelligence to make a plan and research, and not jump into bad experiences like you guys have apparently done. It appears you have lots of issues and want to take it out on everyone else.
Have a nice day.
 

abe

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Jan 2, 2002
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Tax liabilities

I haven't been on this board in a long time, so it's nice to see nothing much has changed. Floridabob, I have no ax to grind in your debate, but it's a simple matter of US tax law that you are obliged to pay income tax on your worldwide income to the US no matter where you live. If you choose to ignore that, you do so at your own risk. There are plenty of people who take radical positions on the right of the US government to tax you at all--and you will meet them throughout the DR, and in lots of other tropical escapes, but the long arm of the IRS is getting longer and longer. Good luck.

floridabob said:
You guys never read a post, you are the experts who know everything, and assume you know everything. I asked a simple question about a bank in the Caymans. How do you know I've only been there a 'few' times on vacation. And by the way, I'm not a tax evader, and maybe you think twice before you accuse someone of a potential crime. Not wanting to pay taxes on interest in the U.S. is not a crime, but I guess neither one of you are smart enough to figure that out. If you guys have been swindled out of all your money by hookers and other no gooders, or are on the brink of living illegally why must you assume that everyone else in the world is in the same class as you.
Believe it or not, there are people in this world with enough intelligence to make a plan and research, and not jump into bad experiences like you guys have apparently done. It appears you have lots of issues and want to take it out on everyone else.
Have a nice day.
 

rdost

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Feb 13, 2004
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abe said:
I haven't been on this board in a long time, so it's nice to see nothing much has changed. Floridabob, I have no ax to grind in your debate, but it's a simple matter of US tax law that you are obliged to pay income tax on your worldwide income to the US no matter where you live. If you choose to ignore that, you do so at your own risk. There are plenty of people who take radical positions on the right of the US government to tax you at all--and you will meet them throughout the DR, and in lots of other tropical escapes, but the long arm of the IRS is getting longer and longer. Good luck.

Hi Abe,
Actually, if you are deemed to be a non-resident for tax purposes, you do not have to pay income tax on your investments. US citizens who leave the US but leave their US investments there MAY be deemed to still be residents of the US and have to pay tax....but if you research and plan, you will not be deemed so. It sounds like FloridaBob is doing a smart AND legal thing by not only planning his move well....but researching his financing options.
 

floridabob

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Dec 13, 2002
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Abe,
Sorry but you are incorrect. I have worked overseas in many locations and even if you are employed you are not liable to US taxes as long as you are overseas more than 12 months. This is why I do not want to leave any of my money in the U.S. If my bank account is elsewhere and my residence in not in the U.S. I am not liable for taxes. I am not doing anything illegal nor do I intend to do anything illegal. The U.S. simply cannot tax you if you have no income there and are not a resident, even though you may retain citizenship if one wishes to.
 

floridabob

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Dec 13, 2002
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Escott,
You are correct to a certain degree. If you reside in the U.S. you must report that income from a Cayman bank, a Swiss bank, or any other income from any source. But if you are not a U.S. resident and make no income in the U.S. you do not pay taxes. It's really that simple.
 

Escott

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Jan 14, 2002
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floridabob said:
Abe,
Sorry but you are incorrect. I have worked overseas in many locations and even if you are employed you are not liable to US taxes as long as you are overseas more than 12 months. This is why I do not want to leave any of my money in the U.S. If my bank account is elsewhere and my residence in not in the U.S. I am not liable for taxes. I am not doing anything illegal nor do I intend to do anything illegal. The U.S. simply cannot tax you if you have no income there and are not a resident, even though you may retain citizenship if one wishes to.
Just to give you some sort of a HINT as to where to look there is a exclusion if you have an earned income up to 80k offshore and are either a resident of a foreign country (permanent legal resident) or you are out of the country for 360 days out of 365 and don't even fly over a US possession. This does NOT include passive income no matter where it is made. Taxes have to be paid on interest income offshore but not if you have a job offshore and under 80k of income. This may be a bit higher now adjusted.

Hope this helps you. You can actually search on this message board and come up with the specific laws that say this here on DR1.

Now if you want cheating help post such:)

Scott
 

TEHAMA

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Feb 3, 2004
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Us Taxes

FloridaBob:
No ax to grind here either. But I appreciate CC's comments. In my opinnion I dont think he ever states them as facts but rather his view. Similar to an Andy Rooney of DR1.

Please re-read the expat tax laws in its entirety. I have not looked at them for awhile but I recall a stipulation that you must remain out of the country completely for a given period of time and NO TRAVEL OVER any US territory. I clearly remember this as I thought it was odd. Good luck to you and welcome.
TEHAMA
 

221

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Jun 28, 2004
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swindled by hookers and other no gooders

i cant speak for mr rooney but i've only ever been swindled on my taxes. lol.

there is no "legal" way of doing what you are planning. at least thats what a highpriced tax lawyer advised me. he must be wrong. your research must be right. the irs must not of thought of closing that loophole as we all like paying tax.

so there u go ...... i guess i got swindled by the tax lawyer too ....... damn
 

floridabob

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Dec 13, 2002
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Escott and Tehama,
You are both abosolutely correct on the money figures and the days out of country. Your opinions and information are greatly appreciated. Let me clarify my position. My objective (as always) is to pay the MINIMUM tax I am legally obliged to pay. Tax laws say that as a U.S. citizen you must file a return no matter where you reside. The only legal way to avoid filing a return (I believe) is to give up U.S. citizenship, and I don't at the present time intend doing this. As a matter of fact you are better off filing a return since the current law states that the statute of limitations for auditing an expat's return is 3 years. So you are better off filing a return just in case you have to return to the States, otherwise if you don't file a return they can audit back for an unlimited period of time.

As I am not rich, but should be able to live comfortably off my saving account, I believe that the interest I earn will be offset by deductions for housing, and other deductions, and should make my LEGAL tax liability either $0 or close to it.

My original posting was only to find out if anyone had any experiences with any Cayman Island banks. Cayman banks are probably some of the most secure in the world, and if I need to go there, it is surely a cheaper flight than paying AA fares back to Tampa. Also my opinion is that part of the reason for being an expat is to disassociate myself from the U.S. as much as I can. I want to be able to enjoy my retirement without about all the petty laws, political correctness and all the other insane things that are going on in this country right now (and seem to be getting worse). If I wanted to keep my banking and all my other ties to U.S. culture then I would simply remain here.

I realize the DR isn't perfect, and has a different set of problems, but I have traveled all over the world and the DR is the place I want to be.
 

abe

New member
Jan 2, 2002
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Foreign Earned Income Exclusion

It is still $80K on earned income (with all those residency conditions) but as some of you may recall, it was almost eliminated in a recent session of Congress. As the Treasury continues to look for revenue sources other than big business interests who are so carefully protected by the politicians they "support", do not be surprised to see this loophole closed.

Most tax attornies will only give opinions that are open to interpretation by the IRS, tax courts, etc. It is effectively impossible to get comfort without a "no action letter" from the IRS and it's unlikely that FloridaBob (or anyone else with leaving the US on his/her mind) would want to go through the process.

The DR is a very nice place to be for a lot of reasons. I miss the Presidente and the beautiful people. Especially because they are beautiful even without the Presidente, unlike some places where I have spent time!