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Ask HN: Does legal tax evasion work for regular people?

8 points o1o1o1 | 1 comments | 15 Mar 25 06:16 UTC | HN request time: 0.212s | source

Hello fellow HN readers,

For some time now I've been researching how to become a digital nomad and legally optimise my taxes.

There are numerous services that claim to be able to help with this, here are just two examples that I found:

https://taxhackers.io

https://denationalize.me

Does anyone have any experience of this and can tell me if it really works and is legal?

Also, why do they charge so much when there are other services that can do this for much less (e.g. Stripe Atlas: https://stripe.com/atlas)?

I am thinking of moving to Thailand, but I do not want to be a perpetual traveller. Can setting up a US LLC as a non-resident (or a UAE free zone company) be considered "foreign sourced income" without being taxed even if I am a tax resident of Thailand (>180 days living there) and what experience can you possibly share if you have tried something like this before?

What additional advice can you give me and others to make this a great trip instead of a nightmare?

Thanks for all your input and a healthy discussion on this topic!

Show context
carlosjobim ◴[15 Mar 25 10:41 UTC] No.43371588[source]▶
Your life should be split like this:

One country for citizenship, one country for residence, one country for your money.

This arrangement earns you a lifetime of peace of mind.

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scarface_74 ◴[15 Mar 25 13:57 UTC] No.43372555[source]▶
Why is that optimal?

I understand at least having a dual residency as a back up plan and that’s our plan with establishing residency in Costa Rica before retirement and keeping our by then paid off condo in the US.

replies(1): >>43373432 #
carlosjobim ◴[15 Mar 25 16:12 UTC] No.43373432[source]▶
It's optimal because you get left the hell alone. Governments do not know what they citizens do if they are neither living in the country nor having their money in the country. Governments do not know what their residents do, if they are neither citizens nor have their money in the country. Governments do not care what foreigners do with their money in their country if they are neither citizens nor residents.
replies(1): >>43374480 #
scarface_74 ◴[15 Mar 25 18:59 UTC] No.43374480[source]▶
Can you explain a real world scenario based on ease of applying for residence, tax situation, etc?

I haven’t researched anything aside from the US && (Costa Rica || Panama) scenario. There are really no tax advantages or disadvantages that way.

replies(2): >>43375120 #>>43375711 #
carlosjobim ◴[15 Mar 25 22:59 UTC] No.43375711[source]▶
If you're thinking in these terms, then the advice isn't really for you. You are probably better served by staying where you are, paying the tributes you duly owe and obeying the commands of your government.

The real world application of this advice is that you don't ask for permission, and involve governments as little as possible in your life. This of course means that your source of income has to be adapted to this, usually meaning having your own LLC.

replies(2): >>43375739 #>>43377243 #
o1o1o1 ◴[16 Mar 25 06:24 UTC] No.43377243[source]▶
I understand that you're trying to make a point, but there's no need to provoke him like that. Everyone has to make their own decisions based on their own circumstances, and pushing them in a certain direction doesn't really help. Let's keep it constructive please.

@scarface_74: My goal is to avoid a high tax that I am used to from my home country without getting (enough) in return in my opinion. I would rather take my chances and prepare for retirement etc myself than leave it to a government.

I never want to be "stateless", quite the opposite! I would like to collect some citizenships to have more freedom, because even with a strong rank other passports still give you access to different areas of the world.

I am fine with paying taxes if the rate seems fair (e.g. not 50% of my income if I am not a multi-millionaire) and if I get a good value for it. Yes, security is one of those values, but depending on your situation, a government may or may not be able to provide that (in my case, my home country was not able to do so, another good reason to believe that my tax is not being used well enough to achieve that goal).

replies(2): >>43377327 #>>43378463 #
1. scarface_74 ◴[16 Mar 25 06:55 UTC] No.43377327[source]▶
Thats much easier - finding countries with lower taxation, citizenship via residency and stable economies. Your initial ask was way more complicated.

Look for countries where you just have to prove stable income, or do some type of investment in the country and then depending on the country it takes between 3-8 years to qualify for citizenship after you become a legal resident