Here’s a question (actually a bunch of related questions) that’s been a bit of a thorn in my side lately. I’ve already combed this forum as well as several others but would love some more insight from more knowledgable people.
So, here goes…
Background: I’m a perpetual traveler and haven’t stayed in a single country longer than 6 months for around 5 years now. I’m a non-US person so no IRS worries but my country of citizenship (Korea) has a residential tax system and since I haven’t claimed residency anywhere else, it seems possible for my government to claim me as a tax citizen.
Which brings me to my first question: At what point does forming a solid business structure to cover your taxable a** become worth the hassle? $100K/year? At $200K/year? I sort of feel like most governments wouldn’t bother with this because it’s relatively “small fish” - thoughts?
And that brings me to another question: If I’m not needlessly spending time worrying and I should finally pull the trigger and set something up that makes me more “legit” - even if it requires paperwork - what’s my best option? Here’s what I’ve come up with:
Set up an offshore company - I’m leaning toward RAK Offshore since it seems to have no paperwork requirements and has no taxes - and use that to hold and re-invest the income I receive while paying myself a nominal amount every month, like $3,000, which I then file Korean (income) taxes for. This makes sense in my head since that’s roughly the amount I spend every month anyway but would this qualify as tax evasion?
Last question: for all of you who are perpetual travelers and aren’t filing tax returns with your country of citizenship/last tax residency - what are you doing in terms of investing the money you’ve saved? From what I’ve read, banks will report accounts that hold over a certain amount to the country of the account holder and online brokerage accounts seem to be the same.
Oh, and is the money accrued (without being reported tax-wise) considered black money?!
Okay, I’m done for now. Apologies for writing a book - I’m not so learned on this topic. Would appreciate any insights. Thanks in advance!