Our valued sponsor

Is there any tax free countries for professional crypto traders and investors?

The Bahamas. Where, coincidentally, Tether banks. No need to setup a company or do any trick or accounting of any sort, just do your business as a private individual and enjoy the wonderful sea and beaches!
Yes but then maybe you can only get residency certificate and not the tax residency certificate as technically and officially you are not economically active in the island. After you buy property and get the residency you don't have the right to work. You need to apply separately and it needs to be approved. And then you need to pay payroll taxes.
 
Yes but then maybe you can only get residency certificate and not the tax residency certificate as technically and officially you are not economically active in the island. After you buy property and get the residency you don't have the right to work. You need to apply separately and it needs to be approved. And then you need to pay payroll taxes.
Your own investments are not “work”, you don’t need any kind of permit. Life is easy in the Bahamas!
 
Your own investments are not “work”, you don’t need any kind of permit. Life is easy in the Bahamas!
"There is currently no tax residency designation provided with Economic Permanent Residence, another attractive incentive to being an Economic Permanent Resident. Although Economic Permanent Residence does not afford the applicant with the right to work in The Bahamas, for investors or individuals seeking to relocate to The Bahamas, application can be made for the right to work within one’s own company. This requires a formal application to and the prior approval-in-principle of the National Economic Council (“NEC”), comprised of Cabinet Ministers and headed by the Prime Minister. Once approval-in-principle is procured from the NEC, application for Economic Permanent Residence with the right to work in one’s own company can be submitted for consideration with the Immigration Department."

Business license fee: 0.75% of turnover. Payroll tax: over 9%.
 
"There is currently no tax residency designation provided with Economic Permanent Residence, another attractive incentive to being an Economic Permanent Resident. Although Economic Permanent Residence does not afford the applicant with the right to work in The Bahamas, for investors or individuals seeking to relocate to The Bahamas, application can be made for the right to work within one’s own company. This requires a formal application to and the prior approval-in-principle of the National Economic Council (“NEC”), comprised of Cabinet Ministers and headed by the Prime Minister. Once approval-in-principle is procured from the NEC, application for Economic Permanent Residence with the right to work in one’s own company can be submitted for consideration with the Immigration Department."

Business license fee: 0.75% of turnover. Payroll tax: over 9%.
It’s not that complicated. You don’t need to have a company. Just manage your own investments and enjoy the profits tax free.

Source: I live in the Bahamas and that’s what I do for a living.
 
It’s not that complicated. You don’t need to have a company. Just manage your own investments and enjoy the profits tax free.

Source: I live in the Bahamas and that’s what I do for a living.
Some people need to procure a tax residency certificate. This narrows down the list of favorable jurisdictions considerably. Other people are lucky and their home country does not require this so they can live in many more countries.
 
I left Thailand in 2018 because the government bodies were contradicting themselves and opinions of legal professionals were too vague. The regulatory risk was too high. As with "crypto friendly" jurisdictions in EU the trend was to be less crypto friendly, at least from a tax perspective.
Isn't Thailand tax free if you trade on a foreign crypto exchange and don't remit money in the same year to Thailand?
 
  • Like
Reactions: FlipnShip
It’s not that complicated. You don’t need to have a company. Just manage your own investments and enjoy the profits tax free.

Source: I live in the Bahamas and that’s what I do for a living.
According to the department of immigration of The Bahamas, an affordable way (other than investing BSD $750,000 in property) to get residency is to apply for a Permit to Reside that can grant you a 1 year residence (I assume it's renewable) in the country. In practice, is that easy to get one? Could you share any relevant experience?
 
Isn't Thailand tax free if you trade on a foreign crypto exchange and don't remit money in the same year to Thailand?
No, it is not tax free. The country is a tax hell when it comes to crypto!
Thailand considers crypto to always being with you. Therefore it is irrelevant where you buy/hold/sell your crypto - it is always "onshore" for Thai tax purposes. And Thai tax rates are quite high conf/(% .
Read this -> https://www.offshorecorptalk.com/threads/best-country-for-a-crypto-hermit.35644/#post-193692 (post #10).
 
Thailand has territorial taxation and no CFC rules so they could have developed a good tax regime for crypto as @zzzzzz was thinking. Instead they took the "crypto is always with you" approach that @Bagpacker mentions.

Previously there was a lot of uncertainty there about crypto. The Central Bank of Thailand kept changing its mind about it and the Revenue Department had no clear direction. That is why I got out.

The comparison I make to Georgia is that the direction here has been more positive - each new announcement is more friendly. Of course that could change under pressure from OECD, EU or USA and I expect it will one day - certainly when it comes to the zero-KYC crypto ATMs. Georgian commercial banks don't want to deal with companies involved in crypto yet, which keeps some buffer between crypto traders and the "international financial system". But this can change too. Yesterday the Prime Minister met with SBF and Tweeted about the "stable & favourable business environment", aiming for the world's second biggest crypto exchange to set up here.

From Agenda.ge:
The government administration also said the talks - also attended by the administration head Ilia Darchiashvili - had involved the growing dynamics of the expansion of cryptocurrency and derivatives stock exchange activities, both regionally and globally.
Malta made the mistake of over-announcing crypto-friendliness while being a money laundering centre and ended up being crypto-unfriendly in most regards. Georgia's approach is different, and could stay positive for natural persons while giving better support to crypto businesses and attracting inward investment - and good jobs in the way that online gambling has (evolution are constantly advertising for staff).


I am interested in @JohnnyDoe's comments about The Bahamas. The location is more convenient for some than others, but there are certainly plus points about living there and The Bahamas are supported by all major exchanges, unlike Georgia and UAE that lack access to Gemini and Coinbase for example.
 
Thailand has territorial taxation and no CFC rules so they could have developed a good tax regime for crypto as @zzzzzz was thinking. Instead they took the "crypto is always with you" approach that @Bagpacker mentions.

Previously there was a lot of uncertainty there about crypto. The Central Bank of Thailand kept changing its mind about it and the Revenue Department had no clear direction. That is why I got out.

The comparison I make to Georgia is that the direction here has been more positive - each new announcement is more friendly. Of course that could change under pressure from OECD, EU or USA and I expect it will one day - certainly when it comes to the zero-KYC crypto ATMs. Georgian commercial banks don't want to deal with companies involved in crypto yet, which keeps some buffer between crypto traders and the "international financial system". But this can change too. Yesterday the Prime Minister met with SBF and Tweeted about the "stable & favourable business environment", aiming for the world's second biggest crypto exchange to set up here.

From Agenda.ge:

Malta made the mistake of over-announcing crypto-friendliness while being a money laundering centre and ended up being crypto-unfriendly in most regards. Georgia's approach is different, and could stay positive for natural persons while giving better support to crypto businesses and attracting inward investment - and good jobs in the way that online gambling has (evolution are constantly advertising for staff).


I am interested in @JohnnyDoe's comments about The Bahamas. The location is more convenient for some than others, but there are certainly plus points about living there and The Bahamas are supported by all major exchanges, unlike Georgia and UAE that lack access to Gemini and Coinbase for example.
What about Portugal who advertises itself as 0% crypto country? Is that only for hodlers or also active traders?
 
According to the department of immigration of The Bahamas, an affordable way (other than investing BSD $750,000 in property) to get residency is to apply for a Permit to Reside that can grant you a 1 year residence (I assume it's renewable) in the country. In practice, is that easy to get one? Could you share any relevant experience?
I have a permanent residence permit as a homeowner (min $750k value), which is easy to obtain. Once you have it, nobody bothers about what you do. That’s my personal experience.
Other types of permits are available but are less straightforward. Anyway, one should not think about moving to the Bahamas if he can’t afford to buy a $750k house: life is expensive here.
 
I am intrigued about the "continuous trading as opposed to infrequent " aspect to UAE taxation. I haven't heard this principle before in regards to the UAE for non-UAE source trade. (obviously onshoring crypto like TH and UK did would be a different and dramatic event).
I am also interested by the remerks from Verbatim about UAE, if you are a day trader, as a professional activity, and doing this activity online, but from the UAE, your desk and your computer and your connection are in the UAE, despite it is your own money that you trade, aren't you conducting a business and subject to the 9% taxation
 
@JohnnyDoe Thanks for your feedback.
Regarding crypto, how do you cash out in The Bahamas? Can you recommend any crypto-friendly local bank(s) that will accept without issue USD/EUR wire transfers from crypto exchanges such as for instance Kraken?
You don’t necessarily need to use a bank in the Bahamas. Anyway, Deltec has no problems with crypto, being the depositor of Tether (all the USD held as collateral of USDT is with Deltec).

PS: https://www.offshorecorptalk.com/threads/bahamas-villa-for-sale-in-crypto.36041/ (renovation works are ongoing)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mercury
I am also interested by the remerks from Verbatim about UAE, if you are a day trader, as a professional activity, and doing this activity online, but from the UAE, your desk and your computer and your connection are in the UAE, despite it is your own money that you trade, aren't you conducting a business and subject to the 9% taxation
In theory yes but whether this will be enforced is another matter.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: khinkali
Not sure why someone would want to live in the desert, in a lunatic dictatorship that uses slaves to build a fake impression of wealth and has total disrespect for human rights (see what happens with the female members of the royal family). The UAE is certainly very good at marketing itself, but under the shiny surface it’s one of the shittiest shitholes of the world.
 
I am also interested by the remerks from Verbatim about UAE, if you are a day trader, as a professional activity, and doing this activity online, but from the UAE, your desk and your computer and your connection are in the UAE, despite it is your own money that you trade, aren't you conducting a business and subject to the 9% taxation
You should more worry about things that are ecplicitly illegal: using vpn, cursing in public, crossdressing at home, drunk in public, sex outside of marriage, watching porn online, having porn on your laptop, swearing online, eating or drinking during ramadan, taking photos of people without their permission...
 
It’s not that complicated. You don’t need to have a company. Just manage your own investments and enjoy the profits tax free.

Source: I live in the Bahamas and that’s what I do for a living.

Interested in Bahamas, but enjoy travelling/working remote in different place throughout the year.
Is there a days spent in requirement in Bahamas? Or if you have buy a home ($750k value) you are good to go.
 

Latest Threads