The secret to live tax-free - the Perpetual Traveling lifestyle

I call myself a Perpetual Traveller, but didn’t write much about this concept yet. That’s about to change with this article. Today, I will tell you what Perpetual Travelling actually means, while we concentrate on the Why, How and Where in further articles. Hopefully, you don’t need to wonder about When you will start, because you want to do it right now after reading this! I am just 25 and been to over 70 countries - you can do the same!

“I am sure, everybody can become a Perpetual Traveller in no time.”

There are so many advantages to be a PT, as I abbreviate this lifestyle. But what does PT, what does Perpetual Travelling mean exactly?

WHAT IS PERPETUAL TRAVELLING?
Perpetual Travelling is best described as the three derivations from the abbreviation PT.

1. Perpetual Traveller: The PT does not necessarily have a permanent residence. Instead, he travels from town to town and country to country as he wishes. He has a lot of homes, not only the one he was born into by chance. The limits of staying in a country are determined by their visa restrictions, which stretch from some weeks to several months. But this does not mean a PT has to be travelling eternally. He can combine the advantages of Perpetual Travelling with the comfort of a permanent residency in over 70 suitable countries. As a traveller, he is not relevant to authoritarian regimes, he does not want to be politically involved, but only brings the often much needed foreign currency into the country. This generally guarantees him a higher freedom of speech compared to all local citizens.

2. Permanent Tourist: The PT is simultaneously a Permanent Tourist. In every country he visits, he is a tourist, not a local resident. This often ensures a privileged treatment in certain countries. While he should obey to the local laws, the authorities do not particularly care about him. As a tourist he is entirely flexible and mobile, he can leave the country as he wishes and is able to do things which would end badly for the local citiziens. If he chooses the right country, he can enjoy absolute personal freedom.

3. Prior Taxpayer: Because he is a tourist, the PT does not need to obey to the tax liability of the country he currently stays in. As long as he is deregistered in his home country and pays attention to a few things, he can be free of direct taxes. In combination with the right country of residence he can even get back indirect taxes. But he does not only escape taxes, but arbitrary restrictions of all sorts as well. He can operate his internet business as he wishes, without the need to consider things like minimum wages, anti-discrimination-laws or other restrictions. The PT enjoys complete economic freedom.

Freedom has many aspects, but the PT fulfils the most relevant ones:

1. As a Perpetual Traveller he enjoys unrestricted freedom of speech.
2. As a Permanent Tourist he can have personal freedom most others can’t even dream of.
3. As a Prior Taxpayer he can enjoy all economic advantages no country in the world offers its citizens.

Of course, the correct organization is crucial for this. That’s where the Flag Theory can help you.

MAXIMIZE YOUR FREEDOM WITH THE FLAG THEORY
The flag theory is not an inflexible concept, but can be varied by your concrete wishes and needs.

Whether you dig in one, a few or all flags is entirely your choice. But the more flags you have in the world, the greater your advantages are.

My consultations concentrate on the following thirteen flags. The first seven are crucial for your personal freedom. The last six are not that much important for your personal freedom, but grant other advantages that are well worth it.I will elaborate on each flag in detail in further upcoming articles.

1. PASSPORT OR CITIZENSHIP OF A COUNTRY WHICH DOES NOT TAX FOREIGN INCOME OR CONTROLS YOUR ACTIONS ABROAD
   For Perpetual Travellers, the Citizenship Flag is the supreme discipline. Every PT should be stateless, but that does not mean to have no nationality. Instead, it means to be acknowledged citizen of as many countries as possible – which as well grants the opportunity to give up the citizenship of countries you don’t longer want to be part of.

Most countries in the world fulfil these requirements, but if you are a US citizen, all your income will be taxed regardless of where you are in the world. But whatever your nationality is, it is always desirable to know the possibilities to gain more nationalities. Your options are immense, and even if you are relatively poor, don’t worry: Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Chile and Uruguay are only some of your possible countries. Especially if your travel freedom is rather poor at the moment, because you were unlucky born in the “wrong” country, getting a second citizenship will boost your life and perpetual travel opportunities!

1. PERMANENT RESIDENCY IN A TAX PARADISE
   The permanent residency in a tax-free country is not a mandatory requirement for the PT. In accord with the current legal situation in most countries, he can easily just deregister from his home country and travel the world without a permanent residency. But the charm of permanent travelling might be over at some point, and some might dream about the stability of a permanent residency. And even the most nomadic PT will be happy to have a basis, as an address and a safe haven.

A Permanent residency is not mandatory for the PT, but it is an essential part of the concept in the long-term. You are safe if you need to leave a country unexpected and have the opportunity to enjoy further advantages – for example, refund of indirect taxes in certain countries, or the much simplified exchange of documents with authorities or businesses. Travelling the world without a residency is an option for beginners who would like to enjoy the advantages regarding earning money with their unrestricted business, but this does have some disadvantages as well. So, at least after a few years, a permanent residency should be a priority for every PT.

To your favour, the advantages of Perpetual Travelling can be combined with the advantages of a permanent residency in a whole lot of countries. In 71 countries in the world, foreigners can live tax-free. In 23 countries you don’t need to pay income-taxes at all, but these are the ones where immigration is not easy as well. But there are 46 other countries where you don’t need to pay taxes on income you generate in foreign countries, perfectly suited for online-businesses and self-employed persons. Only some of many options are the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Panama, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Costa Rica or Malta.

1. PLACE OF BUSINESS IN ANOTHER TAX PARADISE
   You register your business and pay yourself a salary in this country. Because it’s a tax paradise, your income will be taxed only marginally or maybe even not at all. As long as you followed the above two principles of the Flag Theory, neither your home country nor the country you have a permanent residency in will tax you. In the best case, your offshore-destination is a little, relatively unknown country which does not have the interest nor the possibility to make your life hard. Good destinations in this regard are Belize, Panama and the Seychelles, or, if you put emphasis on greater reputation, Hong-Kong, Singapore or the US states of Wyoming and Delaware. In the European Union, you choose from low-tax countries like Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Montenegro or Malta and utilize double tax agreements to your favour. But beware of CFC-laws – your home government may not want you to use this opportunities, especially when you are from a high tax country. CFC means Controlled-Foreign-Company, is an anti-avoidance measure and makes it quite hard to legally have an offshore business in many high tax countries (more on that in future).

1. BANK ACCOUNTS IN SAFE COUNTRIES
   Your business account should be in another country than the one you have registered your business in. Your private assets should again be in another country as well. You need a stable country which guarantees your assets with an effective jurisdiction, preferentially with low public debts and without capital taxes or high interest rates. It is best to have your business account in Europe, due to low remittance fees and other reasons, while you have your assets on safe offshore-accounts. Good countries in Europe are Malta, Georgia and Latvia, while the rest of the world offers a lot of opportunities where Uruguay, the Cook-Islands and some Caribbean states are just the most notable.

1. “PLAYGROUNDS” WHERE YOU ENJOY LIFE
   While the first four flags are especially important for your economical freedom, this flag maximizes your personal freedom.

Singapore may be perfectly suited for the first four flags, but it is your death sentence if you are a passionate drug consumer. To your favour, you can just book the next flight to Seattle and enjoy as much cannabis in the US state of Washington as you want.

Or maybe you like gambling? In this case, you should do this in Macao or Nevada, and do not waste your time in overregulated establishments elsewhere.

Drugs, gambling or a lot more of certain activities are forbidden in many countries, but as well allowed in many others. You should be smart and visit certain countries for certain activities, to have completely no worries on the one hand, and to be able to do it especially well or cheap on the other hand.

You do not need to spend a fortune for skiing in the Swiss Alps. For the same price of one day of skiing in Graubünden, you are able to enjoy a whole week of Heli-skiing in Kirgizstan. Why learn sailing in cold seas when you can do it cheaper in the Caribbean? You do not need a licence or expensive classes if you want to play golf, when there are so many countries where you can just start to play without having any experience beforehand.

Use the power of geo-arbitrage to your advantage. There is always a country where your preferred activity is better, cheaper or more unrestricted.

1. ONLINE-PRESENCE
   Everyone is somehow online today. Not everybody does have an own website, but still you should care about data protection and your freedom of speech.

2. Domains should be registered in safe countries which lay outside the direct influence of the EU or US.

3. You should host your website in countries with high standards in data privacy, such as Iceland, Norway or Swiss. You should be careful about your provider as well.

4. Email and Cloud-services should be positioned in mentioned countries as well. Additionally, it is never wrong to be informed about encryption methods such as PGP or anonymous payment opportunities like Bitcoin.

1. INVESTMENTS
   Your own business may bring you unexpect freedom as a PT. Yet you still have to work to enjoy all benefits of the Perpetual Travel lifestyle. And are you really free, when you need to work?

There can be certainly some discussion about that topic, but there is actually a solution.

Don’t work for yourself, let your money work for you. Invest in the amazing opportunites all the world has to offer.

Scared of negative interest rates? Why not open a savings account in Georgia and earn 8% on USD deposits – even up to 15% in local currency Lari.

Expecting the crisis? Buy gold and other resources, but store them safely. As a PT you don’t have a home probably, so choose wisely in which country and storage you put them. Singapore is where mine is.

Speculate on high profits? Go locally in countries like Colombia, Myanmar or Mongolia and profit from extreme high yields.

Or are you into Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies? There is definitely a lot to learn and gain from them.

Whatever is your investment choice – this chapter can just give very little ideas – go global and invest in the best the world has to offer – not financing the debt of your country by buying even more certificates.

Get your ultimate passive income as a PT – not worrying about having to work anymore. Invest the money, you saved on taxes, and invested wisely you wont need to work in 10 years from now. Maybe it’s even fife. That just depends on how you apply flag theoy!

1. MEDICAL TOURISM
   While you learn more about health-insurances in flag thirteen, this topic is something worth to know about. While most European health-systems may be good, they are hopelessly overpriced. Medical tourism allows treatments which are much cheaper for the same quality, or allow for several treatments in different countries at the same time. Additionally, some countries may do not have certain restrictions that would prevent your live-saving operation in your home country.

There are a lot of countries who are good destinations for that. Especially eastern European countries like Hungary, Armenia and Turkey, but countries like Malaysia, Mexico, Costa Rica and many others as well.

1. SPOUSE (ADDITIONAL NATIONALITY THROUGH MARRIAGE)
   This may be controversial, as many would argue you should not pick your partner just to utilize this flag. While I approve that, you should not disregard the opportunities this offers. For unwealthy people, a marriage is a fast cutoff to the nationalities of Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Slovenia, Belize, Colombia, Mexico and many more.

Not to forget the fact that many men and women do not find their dream partner in their home country. Searching globally instead of locally offers a whole lot of opportunites.

1. CHILDREN (NATIONALITY BY LOCATION OF BIRTH)
   Another controversial topic, but as above, do not disregard this opportunity. You could give your children two different nationalities from birth on, which is for example possible in almost all of Latin America.

Or, you do not have children, but want to find your happiness through adoption. The requirements for this differ immensely in different countries.

As well, you might want to free your children from compulsory education, which, in its very extreme form, is only practiced in Germany and Sweden.

1. EMPLOYEES/VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS
   The smart PT does not do everything by himself. The world is big enough to delegate some work to others. This leads to more free time or the possibility to deal with more important things a bit more detailed.

1. EDUCATION
   Education is a difficult flag. As a PT, you might already figured out the illusion of formal education, as you see you learn so much more every time you travel to and work from different places.

But nevertheless, a lot of proposals regarding education and personal development are better and cheaper in certain countries than anywhere else, whether it is internal martial arts in Indonesia, yoga in India or meditation in Nepal. Additionally, you probably better learn Spain in Nicaragua, or English on Malta than in the obvious locations for such cases. But most important for every PT are of course the endless opportunities the internet has to offer, which he can use entirely to his personal preference.

1. INSURANCES
   While a good health-insurance does not exactly grant you more freedom, it may help you to have a better sleep. There are many offers for cheap limited travel health insurances or still inexpensive permanent international health insurances which secure you from all risks.

Your insurance does not need to be from your home country, but instead, you can look for the best offer globally. That does not only apply to health insurances, but to all other sorts of insurances as well. Get a cheap liability insurance and rest with piece in mind.

DOES PERPETUAL TRAVELLING HAVE RISKS?

If done right, Perpetual Travelling does not have legal risks. While there are some snares, it is easy to do everything right if you inform yourself.

The only real risk is the unrealistic dystopia of a totalitarian world regime who surely would not like Perpetual Travelling too much, but that is it. All possible scenarios do not need to worry you.

If your home country forbids Perpetual Travelling without a permanent residency, just get a permit of residence in another country.

If your home country does tax you based on your nationality, just abandon this nationality after you got yourself another one.

While the right countries for certain flags may change, it is easy to adjust to that. As a Perpetual Traveller, you are flexible and mobile and can react to risks as well as opportunites in no time.

“The Perpetual Traveller loves crises, because he profits from them”

Real risks of Perpetual Travelling are just those any travelling businessmen, digital nomad or other foreign citizens have: Missing contact to family and friends, homesickness or trouble to find one’s way in unknown environments. But that may only apply to a few, while others do never have problems like that.

THE PERPETUAL TRAVELLER – A MODEL FOR THE FUTURE?
Perpetual Travelling exists since thousands of years. This concept is neither new nor am I its inventor. Travelling merchants organized themselves in the ancient times or the middle ages after similar principles.

Perpetual Travelling does not need to be a secret. It is 100% legal and in my eyes 100% ethically correct as well. Don’t pay your government to wage wars, oppress people and steal their money.

In the age of digital nomads a lot of people discover the advantages of being able to completely decide about their own lives. Unknown countries attract, the restrictions in their home countries are too high. It was never so easy to earn money as today over the Internet.

The concept of Perpetual Travelling is an amazing alternative. It has so many advantages. A total of 23 advantages will be shown in my next article.

After that, we will discuss the most important question: How?

After all, you need money to travel the world. No question, you need money, but it is a myth that you would need a lot of money. It’s a myth as well that you can not earn that money while travelling at the same time. That’s why I want to show you How all this is possible.
Or maybe you already know all this, but are undecided about the Where? I already gave a little inside about this with the twelve Flags in this article. All this information should help you on your first steps to total individual freedom.