Andrew Henderson, Managing Partner at the offshore lifestyle consulting firm Nomad Capitalist, joined Lisa “Kennedy” Montgomery on Fox Business Network to discuss how opportunities for legal tax savings abroad compare to those within the United States.
Henderson recently became a citizen of Liberland, and holds a collection of passports as part of his “diversified” international business and personal life strategy. He is a former U.S. citizen, having renounced his native citizenship (an action which freed him from America’s worldwide income tax system).
During the interview, Henderson repeated his “five magic words are ‘Go Where You’re Treated Best.'” However, he observes that “a lot of folks in the United States are going where they’re treated a little bit better …hoping that things don’t catch up with them.” He is referring to the tendency of Americans to (when they move due to over-taxation and over-regulation) to go to a more business-friendly state within the Union. This strategy fails to change the fact that they still live under a federal government that has a very progressive income tax structure. In order to change that, argues Henderson, one must leave the U.S. entirely.
“Go where the taxes are zero percent, four percent, ten percent. You can do that legally as an American. You can go to Puerto Rico. You can go overseas and you can find the best place where they actually want entrepreneurs rather than New York where they’re arguing with each other over who wants the biggest wealth tax.”
-Andrew Henderson
Montgomery noted, “from 2012 on, Congress has worked really hard to take expat money that Americans earn overseas… tax it and bring it back to the U.S. and… they argue for that like it’s a real Robinhood tradition. But they basically are just stealing people’s money.”
On his YouTube channel, Henderson has noted a similar tone within the American government, including when notable political figures would call for making it more expensive for companies to outsource production overseas. One such official has been President Trump, who has argued many times in favor of economic protectionist policies (like tariffs) in order to protect the interests of those who were “once left behind by globalization’s failures.”
Figures on the Political Left, like “tax the rich” proponent Elizabeth Warren, have likewise taken up the populist mantle, saying, “We can navigate the changes ahead if we embrace economic patriotism and make American workers our highest priority, rather than continuing to cater to the interests of companies and people with no allegiance to America.”
Henderson admits that, in order for one to free themselves from the umbrella of all U.S. tax liability, “…you would have to renounce your U.S. citizenship” and live overseas.
“What the government’s been doing is trying to enforce more regulations on people who have offshore bank accounts,” Henderson notes, “Obviously you want to follow the law. Report those bank accounts. There’s forms to do that. You want to file the tax returns for your foreign companies. There is compliance on the U.S. side, but you can dramatically reduce the rate potentially into the single digits or even zero” by doing business outside the U.S.
While Montgomery reacted affirmingly to “the idea of legal tax avoidance—you know, ‘legal’ being the operative word here,” she was more hesitant about the idea of leaving the U.S. permanently, reflecting, “I love the United States. I love living here… I like that I can protest. I like that if there’s a hurricane or wildfire, that I’ll be able to rely on my friends and neighbors. And, I don’t know that that is necessarily the case in some of the places that you’ve mentioned.”
Henderson responded that, despite what some Americans may believe, the U.S. does not rank number one for “personal freedoms,” while still “not [being] the worst” either. Based on his personal experience as a global traveler, he affirmed, “countries like Malaysia have great friends. I think [that with] people there’s a very close-knit community in places like that—certainly not every country is going to be perfect, but I think that …the biggest thing for people to do is to get out into the world.”
Malaysia is one of the three nations Henderson admittedly spends the majority of his time in for his “Trifecta” strategy. Other nations include Serbia (which borders Liberland) and Mexico.
“If you wanna dip your toe into this, go to a country that’s open right now. Open a bank account and go and see how it’s not as different as you thought it was.”
-Andrew Henderson
When people he speaks with express fearfulness of the foreign world, Henderson suggests to them, “If you wanna dip your toe into this, go to a country that’s open right now. Open a bank account and go and see how it’s not as different as you thought it was.” One such country that he often touts as being a good place for opening a foreign bank account is the ex-Soviet Republic nation of Georgia, which is “beating the U.S. in economic freedom right now.” When an American follows that advise, they often respond to Henderson, “This is a lot better than I thought it would be. The people are nice; they’re friendly; they’re welcoming. I’ve been there for years and I feel that I have the same, you know, comforts that I would in the U.S.”
Montgomery also questioned how an American would be able to cope with living in another nation, since there could often be a “language barrier” to effectively connecting with the local communities. Henderson responded that an increasing number of people in other countries speak English, “even when the official language is something else.”
In the closing moments of the interview, Henderson commented, “My problem with the U.S. and a lot of these Western economies that now just want to tax, tax, tax, is they are legacy brands that take people who create value for granted,” while smaller, developing nations are more aware of their need for investors and entrepreneurs, and thus are more willing to provide a better tax/regulatory environment.
“My problem with the U.S. and a lot of these Western economies that now just want to tax, tax, tax, is they are legacy brands that take people who create value for granted…”
-Andrew Henderson
In the meantime, the Free Republic of Liberland continues to stand for minimal government and a voluntary tax system, where citizens pay whatever amount they choose in taxes.
Liberland Press has reached out to Fox News and a member of the Nomad Capitalist team for comment.
DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this article should be considered legal, tax, financial, investment, or any kind of professional advice.