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Weekly
Update Bulletin On-Line.........
.. In The News and Readers Write In (with our answers to Questions).......... |
| IN
THE NEWS:
. . Sent in by a Reader: . John, I thought you might find this article interesting. Apparently the Bahamas are feeling the pain now of rolling over and dumping their banking customers' privacy. . http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=8374 . EDITORS COMMENTS: Well, the choice every nation has (which includes so-called tax havens but can be expanded to include many other nations as well) is to do what is in their own best interest economically speaking (compete) or perhaps do what the WTO and OECD want, which may not be in their own best long-term interest. So, many clients ask - What do you think about Belize, Nevis, The Dominican Republic, etc., etc.? The real question is - What do the leaders of these countries think and are they willing to sell their own country out to please the political, social or economic agendas of another (at the expense of their own economy)? Saying you want to play ball with the OECD and the US to eliminate competition (which is what the OECD has said they want, to eliminate so-called un-fair economic competition) may cost you. Is it worth it? Where is the economic help from the US and the OECD when you are in trouble as a result of doing what they want? That is to say, when your own economy goes down the drain, and what exactly is so unfair about offering lower tax rates, tax-free banking or what ever? . An interesting twist on this is the now high un-employment rate in China (up to 20% in some areas), which many say is the direct result of China trying to comply with the WTO (World Trade Organization, which is in effect the US). Of course there are some other issues at play, such as outdated former government run factories in China also. In any event, read the on-line story from TIME Magazines Asia Edition below: . http://www.time.com/time/asia/ . . On another note, we recently passed some comments about the EURO as a new world currency alternative to the US Dollar. In fact, we highlighted the fact that the EURO will most likely trade at par with the US Dollar on world currency markets shortly. But aside from the idea of investors moving funds out of DOLLARS and into EUROS for other reasons (such as avoiding being hassled by the US government as being just one reason many might switch), there may be a severe economic backlash in the US as well. Time Magazine discusses the problem (from the article and link to full story below): . Flying Higher - A year ago, the idea that the euro might challenge the dollar was unthinkable. Now, it's doing just that. BY Charles P. Wallace Berlin . Almost since the euro was born three years ago as Europe's common currency, analysts have been proclaiming that it was undervalued against the dollar. Despite the dot.com wreckage, a sagging stock market and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks the dollar remained unexpectedly and even inexplicably strong. Now the EURO’S day may have finally arrived. Last week, the euro was trading 10% higher than in February and economists think it has room for further appreciation. . The euro last week broke through the psychologically important barrier of 94¢, its highest level since March 2001. Hans-Werner Sinn, chief of the German IFO economic think tank, said last week that he foresaw the euro reaching parity with the dollar by year's end. "The euro will continue to climb and without difficulties can reach a dollar," Sinn told Reuters news agency. Stephen S. Roach, an economist for Morgan Stanley, said it's not whether the dollar will fall but by how much. "Our currency team believes the dollar is almost 15% overvalued — a classic setup for a fall," Roach said. . So if it's not Europe's strength, what's pushing the euro higher? There is evidence that fund managers worldwide have reached a consensus that U.S. stocks and bonds are overvalued, causing them to look for new outlets for investment. "The U.S. has long been the beneficiary of a virtuous circle of foreign investment in which a strong dollar and strong financial markets led to further investment in the U.S., which led to a stronger dollar and stronger financial markets," says an analysis by Bridgewater Associates, a U.S. fund manager. "It is our view that the virtuous circle will now likely flip to a vicious cycle as poor performance of U.S. assets leads to a drying-up of foreign demand." That could be bad news for U.S. markets because foreigners own 13% of the U.S. equity market, 24% of U.S. corporate bonds and 40% of U.S. treasury bonds, according to Bridgewater. . In a survey published in May by Merrill Lynch, 63% of global fund managers indicated that U.S. stocks are seen as the most overvalued in the world. The survey showed that only 22% of fund managers believe that the outlook for corporate profits is strongest in the U.S., down from 45% in March. . At the heart of the debate on the dollar is the continuing controversy over America's enormous current account deficit — $417.4 billion last year — which comes from Americans buying more goods and services overseas than they sell. Just to finance the current account deficit, foreigners will have to buy $1.1 billion a day in U.S. assets. But because there is less demand for American stocks and bonds, the value of the dollar is weighed down. And the appetite for U.S. assets has clearly slowed. In 2000, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, foreigners invested $281 billion in the U.S. In 2001, however, the level of investment sank to $149 billion. While the strong dollar has allowed the U.S. to max out its national credit card with purchases overseas, the currency imbalance is starting to cause pain in the U.S. "There are signs that the U.S. economy is struggling hard because of the strong dollar," says Harmen Lehment, a currency analyst at the Kiel Institute of World Economics. . http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901020617-260662,00.html . EDITORS COMMENTS: Now in plain English – a weak US Dollar and strong EURO means a few a things with a twist. For the US, it means non-US goods become more expensive (which means Americans will NOT be traveling abroad or buying as many European goods in the future as it will cost more due to the dollar’s devaluation), while US goods become somewhat cheaper abroad (which means US exports become cheaper in Europe, whatever is still manufactured in the US, which is not much). However, more interesting is the idea that many think US stocks and bonds are over-priced and that the US economy is in the crapper for some time to come (despite government officials and reports indicating one should think happy thoughts). Since many Europeans now own US stocks and are in fact paying for America’s credit borrowing (the US went from being one largest creditor in the world to one of the largest debtor nations in the world) and since many European Companies now own US companies, they might do the following: They Dump everything now (all US Dollar based assets) and move assets into the Euro. What will that do? Well, it will mean the dumping of US stocks and bonds for starters and that the US stock market could go down and US interest rates could go up. For all those people that think foreigners already own too much of the ole USA, it could also mean that either the Europeans will stay away from the US as an investment option OR they may wait for everything to go on sale later on and buy everything in sight. Of course all of this is just speculation and we will have to wait and see. Either way, forget about rosy predictions of an improving US economy any time soon. (Don’t blame me for being negative, I am just telling you what TIME Magazine says). . . READERS WRITE IN: . In Reply to Our Last Newsletter, One Reader Writes: . Our Comments from the Last Issue: . However, I might dare to say that perhaps at an equal rate, such same nations will be losing their middle class (the wealthy have already left), which will result in other types of problems (especially for those governments who will see tax revenues shrink as unskilled laborers and or new immigrants will tend to earn less - and certainly pay less taxes - than their middle class counterparts who are leaving). The result will be an even more repressive existence for the middle class remaining. . Readers Own Comments: . So John are you basically saying that the new immigrants - the ones from North America will be the ones who have to endure the new repressive governments in the countries they will be flocking to because of their loss of citizens and labor? If so what is the alternative for North Americans if there in fact can be an alternative at this point? . EDITORS REPLY: Well, thank you for your comments and your question, but I never said that the Americans who are leaving might have to ensure anything negative, but rather the contrary. That is to say, many are leaving to live in countries with LESS repressive governments (more freedom) and less taxes. The people who choose not to leave of course might certainly find themselves squeezed even more tax-wise to make up for the shortfall. In other words, I think the unfortunate fallout to be government revenue shortfalls and further tax burdens placed on the middle-calls who do not expatriate. Let’s face facts. A newly arrived immigrant from Bangladesh, or wherever probably does not speak English very well and will mostly likely find a job driving a taxi-cab or some similar lower paying employment. This is nothing wrong with it, but the fact remains, he will pay less taxes. This is true both as a percentage of income (his tax rate) and in physical terms as to the actual dollar amount. Who is he replacing, so to speak? A small business owner or professional person, who was earning and paying taxes on say US$100,000 per year (as an example). So, the person earning more and paying more taxes has left to Belize, Ecuador, Thailand, The Dominican Republic, wherever. The newly arrived immigrant lucky to earn US$20,000 per year is his replacement. That is what is going on to some extent and is the current long-term trend, if it continues. . To be sure, no country is perfect. However, the irony is that many people are finding less constrictive government (less regulations and red tape, lower cost of living, lower taxes, more favorable business environment and certainly better quality of life outside the US. Is that something you should contemplate? I cannot answer that. However, the fact remains, most Americans think life ends at the Florida Keys and that the rest of the world lives under repressive dictatorships, which is not true. Why is it that most US military personnel stationed outside of the US prefer not to return to the US if they can help it? . . Another Reader Writes: . Well! This was the first time I read one of your newsletters from start to finish. What an eye opener. Thank you for educating one of the Middle-Class no thinkers. John you and your agency offer a valuable service. . EDITORS REPLY: Of course thank you for the positive comments. With regards to the information we present and points of view, I do not think that the average Middle Class person is unintelligent, but I do think that there is quite of bit of information lacking at times. That is to say, I would say the mainstream news can be biased, plus most people do not see the whole picture or the entire story regarding what is happening politically, economically and socially in the world (or at least this is very true regarding Americans). Similarly, I think people do not analyze what the long-term results or possibilities are either, but instead blindly accept what is disseminated at news conferences. In any event, if in the least, people have the opportunity to hear both sides or the full scope of an issue, hopefully they can make up their own minds and decide for themselves if what they are being told is logical and sensible, or not (and what they wish to do about it). . . Another Reader Writes: . Dear John, . It seems like all the financial newsletters I read these days are predicting a devaluation of the US dollar, saying it has peaked and the government is ready to let it slide against other major currencies. My question to you is this: if the dollar does drop in general, will that likely include a drop against the DR peso (i.e., a reverse of the gradual devaluation of the peso vs. the dollar that we have seen in the past)? If so, then it seems like depositors in DR banks might want to move out of US dollar CDs and get into peso CDs. Maybe you could address this issue in some upcoming issue of your newsletter, as I suspect many of your readers might be interested in this topic. . EDITORS REPLY: This is a very interesting question and the answer is, YES – the new monetary policy of the US Federal Reserve will be to allow a devaluation of the US Dollar in my opinion. Why? It does not cost anything in the short-term either economically or politically. In other words, devaluating the dollar means US manufactured goods cost less overseas (hopefully stimulating foreign purchases of US made products and therefore result in lower US unemployment) and since it means foreign travel will cost that much more for Americans, the tendency would be for them to take vacations inside the US and spend their money inside the US. This is all well and good, however, devaluation of a currency in the same thing as inflation (just another way to say it or explain it). So, products imported into the US will most likely cost more. Oil will cost more and a vast majority of it is bought overseas, and a weaker dollar means higher fuel prices as a result. Higher fuel prices mean increased costs to manufacture, and so on. . In other words, in the short-term, such a policy is meant to curb unemployment. However, since the US imports its fuel, the vast majority of manufactured products and now food (see one of our last articles amount McDonalds buying beef from New Zealand and Australia because they claim there is not enough quality beef in the US anymore) in the long run, they could be creating a worse long-term problem for consumers (inflation). . To answer your other question and the real monkey wrench is, will the US dollar devalue against all currencies or all currencies equally? For example, we hinted that products made in China may cost more due to a weak dollar but only if the US Dollar devalues against the Chinese currency. European products will for sure cost more, there is no doubt, as the Dollar will devalue against other stronger currencies, such as the Euro. But what will be the effect against some currencies, such as the Dominican Peso, the Mexican Peso, the Indian Rupee, and so on? It can be hard to say. . In the case of the Dominican Peso, the peso has historically devalued by about 5% per year against the dollar. If the dollar devalues 5%, then the US Dollar – Peso exchange will remain constant or break even. If the US Dollar devalues by more than 5%, and history repeats, then of course it is possible that the Dominican Peso could actual increase in value vs. the US Dollar (and what you suggest might make for an interesting idea, which is to sell dollars and buy or invest in pesos). It can be hard to predict, but it is certainly true that the economy in the Dominican Republic is much stronger than the US economy at the moment and certainly the DR has had a much lower national foreign debt level (percentage) and much more favorable trade balance in recent years as well. . . Another Reader Asks: . I read the letter pertaining to receiving Social Security deposits and living in a foreign country. I am asking can the same be said about SSI disability payments? I am on SSI, and do believe that I could live in the DR very comfortably. Please reply. Thanks for your information. I love reading your newsletter every week. . EDITORS REPLY: The very simple and short answer is, any payment you currently get as a direct deposit, can be withdrawn or received in a non-US bank account (either directly or via an ATM card). In addition, if it is the case of check, that check can be mailed to a US address, forwarded to you via many of the private mail services, deposited and cleared in your offshore US Dollar bank account without a problem. . . Another Reader Writes: . It's quite discouraging when everything one reads about a DR passport is negative. For example, (and I quote) from the recently published (2002) book entitled The Passport Book - The Complete Guide to Offshore Residency, Dual Citizenship and Second Passports by Robert E. Bauman, JD. Regarding the DR passport, he says the following: "When it comes to acquiring second passports, the problem with the Dominican Republic is its decidedly bad reputation. Unless you make it your residency and live there, we do not recommend anyone acquire Dominican Republic citizenship, not even legally. In 1999, a Russian national was arrested at London's Heathrow International Airport with a suitcase full of Dominican Republic passports. In recent years, there have been several similar scandals in which quantities of DR passports were apparently sold by people with government connections. Although the stolen passports involved were official, the fact that they were being sold on the black market called into question everyone traveling on DR passports . The customs and immigration services of every major nationa knew this and acted accordingly, much to the chagrin of the legal DR passport holders." (Emphasis added.) As you know, we are in the process of obtaining second passports from the DR. We have never intended to live or work in the DR, but simply saw the wisdom of obtaining a second passport as soon as possible due to the downward spiraling civils rights in the US and the hatred for the US by many other countries in the world. John our serious concern is that after we have obtained the DR passports, along with DR citizenship, we will not be able to travel anywhere using our DR passports due to the problems stated in the above paragraph. For instance, if we wanted to visit New Zealand or Australia for a few months, would we even be able to obtain a visa to enter those countries on our DR passports? We would appreciate your viewpoint on this. . . EDITORS REPLY: From the perspective of traveling extensively on a Dominican Passport, the answer is that you while need a visa certainly for many countries whereby you would not with say a Grenada Passport, or say an Irish Passport. However, the process in the Dominican Republic is less cumbersome and less expensive. It is hard to say what the motivation is by some of these articles other than to say I have declined to work with some other people involved in similar services for a variety of reasons. Meaning, I do not like to get involved with referral agents elsewhere as it can be too much of a headache and quite possibly there are people out there who want to use my name, collect money from clients and never follow through. In any event, I do not know what the motivation is to highlight the DR alone as being a problem as nonsense goes on everywhere. . For example, an American employee of the State Department working in an embassy in Latin America was recently funding his retirement by selling US passports and 10-year tourist visas. So, if I knew about it, how many other people knew about it also? Also, there was a major problem involving the Russian Mafia two years ago and false passports from France, Spain and Greece. That is to say, the passports were very real, but simply stolen out of some passport office and not registered in the computer system. The rub? This is how some of the terrorists got into the US as holders of French and Spanish passports do not need visas to enter the US. Have travelers with French passports been scrutinized more so lately than travelers from other nations? I do not know, or I have not heard might be more correct. In summary, I guess it correct to say that I have quite a few comments and criticisms about other jurisdictions and that means that I must accept the criticisms that might come my way as well. So, if someone wants to discourage you from investigating the Dominican Republic, the answer is listen to all sides or points of view, and investigate further as to who is correct and who is simply blowing smoke. . My wife is Dominican and travels with me quite a bit on her Dominican Passport, and I travel quite a bit as well without any problems or negative experiences. I have friends and colleagues who are of course Dominican and they travel quite a bit to Europe and the US on their Dominican Passport and they have never expressed being singled out for any reason. In short, maybe it is sour grapes on the part of the author, or maybe I guess he is entitled to his opinions or comments even though I would tend not to agree. Also, keep in mind that the Dominican Passport did offer visa free travel to Europe many years ago. What happened? As the economy was, shall we say, not doing well and many Dominicans did take advantage of the fact they could enter Europe easily with the purpose of staying (and working illegally). As a result, one by one, the European nations started to require tourist visas. However, a few things have changed since then. Certainly the local economic situation is very different and many Dominicans are in fact returning from abroad (immigration reported an average of one family per day arriving in Las Americas airport from New York and Miami). Also, due to tourist competition with the US (and certainly there are many more Dominicans with the income to travel today) and the local labor shortage in Europe, you are seeing a more visa friendly environment. Spain recently allocated 50,000 work visas to be granted to Dominicans this year alone, in order to now encourage Dominicans to go work in Spain. So, while it can be difficult to predict if complete visa free travel privileges with regards to Europe especially will come back altogether, I do see a trend moving in that direction. . . Another Reader Writes: . Dear John, . I have an opportunity to apply for Dutch citizenship since I have lived in the Netherlands-Antilles for five years. Do you have any information on the tax regulations of the Netherlands? Does Holland tax your income no matter where you live? If money is earned outside the Kingdom of the Netherlands (including the Netherlands-Antilles) is it subject to tax by either Holland or the Netherlands-Antilles? . EDITORS REPLY: Most European nations have a much fairer system of taxation for expatriates than does the US. If for example, you are a citizen of a European country, but declare yourself resident elsewhere (let us say the DR, which is why there are so many Europeans here) then of course the European Government country does not tax you for one simple reason. The logic is, if you are not living here (in Europe) then you are not using the services you would normally be paying taxes for, so why should you pay for something you do not or are not using? . You may want to check in with a qualified tax advisor in the Netherlands (or the Antilles country you are currently living in), but to the best of my knowledge, this is the case (as it is for citizens of Germany, France, the UK, etc.). Also, at one time (and I do not know if it still exists) there were actually tax incentives for you to retire to or relocate to the former Dutch controlled islands in the Caribbean (if you were a Netherlands Passport holder). Your situation is a bit different in that you are already in one of these Dutch Caribbean islands, so I do not have a definitive answer for you. Also, keep in mind that the status has changed for some of these places in that they became quasi-independent recently and this might mean no more tax subsidies from the Netherlands. But it is worth checking into, and probably more favorable for you to get rid of your US passport in exchange for a Netherlands Antilles passport certainly with respect to many taxation issues (and certainly if you are interested in living in a less expensive place as an expatriate). The Dutch Islands are nice, but are very expensive or have a very high cost of living. . . Another Reader Writes: . See the story below. No mention of the US imposing their view of what tax structures "should" be on other countries, or of the whole OECD tax blackmail. Not from a Canadian newspaper, but from a US policy organization. . Instead of trying to establish a global welfare state and ramming socialism and mediocrity on everyone they should eliminate the free ride that social programs give and make people responsible for their own destiny instead of the government. I know this is a polar opposite to the European Socialist Union way of thinking, but one can hope. Keep up the good work! Cheers. . www.nationalpost.com/search/story.html?f=/stories/20020604/442174.html . EDITORS REPLY: Finally we see that here is the rub or the exact problem or issue. Which is to say, both the US and EU are seeing their middle class feeling with their money to escape both high taxes and high cost of living (compounded by companies moving manufacturing, jobs and operations elsewhere as well). As a result, a mad dash to fill up the government coffers in the US and Europe by chasing down all those terrible so-called tax havens or low tax jurisdictions. How? By attempting to convince the other nations in the world to act as a tax reporting and tax-collecting agency, thereby eliminating the benefit or incentive for someone (or a company) to relocate. HOWEVER, while we can see the very one-sided issue of doing this with the smaller developing nations that do not currently have such an internal problem (excessive socialist programs and high tax burdens on its citizens), it is another matter altogether when it involves two high tax nations cannibalizing each other’s tax revenues. Stated another way, what now happens when France, for example, starts asking the US to collect and send tax payments to France (and we can say vice-versa)? What happens when we find out that the end result is the US collecting and sending US$20 Million to France, yet the tax payments coming back to the US is only US$1 Million? What about the reverse of France seeing more money going to the US than what it takes back in? Here is where it really starts to get very interesting politically. Also, how ironic is it really that the US is considered to be somewhat of a Tax Haven for Europeans? . All nations are in competition with each other, and this is both normal and a good thing as well. Meaning, Canada would like to see new investors, new companies, and new jobs come their way, as would the US, as would Europe, as would any country. How do they do that? Simply by providing for a variety of incentives, lower taxes being just one, to encourage this to happen. What would be the case and the result when the new jobs and the new investors stop coming? It is easy enough to beat up on China, Panama, Guatemala, Singapore, The Dominican Republic, etc., etc., because these countries have very attractive business and tax incentives in place (or lower labor costs) as a very general statement, but what happens when the US and Europe start going after each other? . We have said this before and it cannot be stressed enough. The agenda of the OECD and the US is to somehow, someway stop themselves from going broke. Fair enough, but at the same time, they are looking to stop competition in world markets and take away the very incentives from the smaller developing nations that they themselves had in the past (meaning the economic growth environment that previously existed in the US, Canada and nations in Europe). All while stating they are trying to encourage FREE MARKETS, fairness and transparency. HOWEVER, at the same time, such nations refuse to balance their budgets, cut back on excessive spending and refuse to see the real problem for what it is. In other words, many so-called modern and developed nations are in denial. . In brief, it comes down to both an economic and political struggle between the Socialists and everyone else. We can also say, between those that truly believe in the Free Market System and competition vs. those that think excessive government is the answer. Those that believe in and cherish freedom vs. those that wish to be managed by some government agency that supposedly knows more about your own best interests that you do. It comes down to those that think government handouts are the answer vs. those that wish to find a more permanent non-government solution through economic prosperity in the private sector. There is an old saying that sums it all up. Give a starving man a fish and he starves off hunger for a day (waiting for the next handout). Teach a man to fish and he has the where with all to solve his hunger problem on his own – permanently. How do you apply that for a country? By putting the proper economic, tax and business incentives to encourage new jobs and new investment, thereby creating an upward tidal wave that carries the citizens of a society to a better standard of living in the end. This has already worked in many smaller developing countries and the proof is in the results (the Dominican Republic is only one example where we can see this). Not everyone likes this idea, because if China, for example, offers lower labor costs and lower taxes, that means that jobs will be lost elsewhere (due to company relocation or the shifting of manufacturing from the US to China, or we can say from Europe to China also as a direct illustration). . However, since ALL nations have the opportunity and ability at their disposal to offer incentives for foreign investors (and they already do, such as tax-free capital gains for foreigners with US stock brokerage accounts) then it cannot be argued that one particular nation is engaging in unfair competition. Is it then so unfair for countries such as Panama or the Dominican Republic to offer tax-free banking when the US themselves does the same thing (with regards to capital gains on brokerage accounts)??? Or is it that all economic competition is unfair? How you answer that will tell you if you are a socialist or not, and might also tell you if you would rather stay and pay or expatriate to someplace more in line with your thinking. . FINAL POINT: It is NOT that the US does not like tax havens (they are one themselves). It is just they do not want anyone else to be a tax haven with regards to US citizens. As Sergeant Shultz would say to Colonel Hogan, this is very interesting. . . Another Reader Writes: . John: Thank you for the latest newsletter. I, like so many others, read every word and look forward to each new issue. There are two items in which I wanted to comment on... . Item #1 - I was encouraged to read in this issue that there are other young US couples looking to expatriate to the DR. I thought my wife and I were pretty much alone as everyone around us seems to still be buying the advertising of the empire still being the most-free nation on earth. . Item #2 - What are the laws pertaining to the private ownership of firearms in the DR? Given the agreements and treaties that the DR has signed onto with the UN, I presume it is totally forbidden? Is this correct? . Although they are working overtime to destroy the 2nd Amendment here in the US, I believe it to be a most valuable right and one of the bulwarks that have at least slowed the march of the tyrant in America. Politicians seem to be a little less nervy if the population is well armed. Thanks again for your fine newsletter and I look forward to enlisting your professional services very soon! . EDITORS REPLY: Thank you for your letter. On the first point, I can most assuredly tell you, you are not alone. In fact, as I mentioned before, Roger Gallo of the Escape Artist website (or Escape from America web-site as it is also known) gets close to twenty million visitors per year now. I remember when the only two people that use to visit were the Pizza Guy and myself. So this tells me two things. One, Roger has spend a great deal of time and effort trying to put together one of the best sources of information around regarding everything related to expatriation, and it shows. More importantly, there are a whole lot of people thinking about it, or doing it. Many people have chosen the Dominican Republic as the place they would like to relocate to, but the truth of the matter is, many people have chosen Panama, Belize, Ecuador and a number of other places. Where you decide on really is a function of what you want (lifestyle, cost of living and other items of importance to you). . On the second part of your question, I am not aware of any changes regarding the ownership of guns by private individuals in the Dominican Republic. A large number of local citizens have guns (and gun permits) and Permanent Residents may apply for and own guns as well. I have a client that very recently applied for and obtained his gun license without a problem. The only thing private citizens cannot own is a automatic weapon, apart from that, the gun shop has a huge selection (and I have seen no evidence of any social problems one way or another or any better or any worse issues in comparison to any other country that permits private gun ownership). . On the third statement, the police here were quite nervous when the current President decided to raise sales taxes, so your comments are dead accurate. . This information has been compiled and presented by John Schroder of Ascot Advisory Services, for the benefit of clients and readers. Ascot Advisory Services provides assistance with such matters as offshore company formation, Panama Foundations, offshore banking, and special services in the Dominican Republic regarding residency, free zone applications, etc. For more information: |