Yeah I do understand that for US citizens, PR is as good as it gets. Aren't dividend taxes taxed lower than other forms of income in the US though?
Move to Puerto Rico and pay no taxes?
- Thread starter dsiomtw
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Yeah I do understand that for US citizens, PR is as good as it gets. Aren't dividend taxes taxed lower than other forms of income in the US though?
Depends, we have qualified dividends which is lower and unqualified which is taxed as earned income. The qualified is based on tax treaties with the US or US based companies.
Microsoft pushes all of their North American software sales through Puerto Rico. I gather they make the actual dvds there and thus get a really low tax break. The Washington base is "research and development" and their overseas operations pay a certain percentage to the Washington base.
Detroit might be highest city, but for states Louisiana has been number one for over 20 years.
I've pointed out in here before that homicide rates can vary greatly from one neighborhood to another at the city level, so of course I would agree about the variance among areas within a state.
Well, homicide rates can often correlate with other things. A person might be statistically likely to stay alive in a "bad neighborhood", but the quality of the school system or whatever else in that particular area might not be what they want.
Now why hasn't Suddenly Ass come in here with pics of Jennifer Lopez or someone yet?
Sure. I don't think anyone looking at Puerto Rico is looking to move to the "bad neighborhoods" though.
And for anyone else with kids - they have some awesome private schools so no worries there. In fact they have a few schools that are over the top like you'd find in places like Greenwich, CT etc . - tuition over 10k a year per child, most of the graduates feed into Ivy League schools, etc.
If you treat women like shit, theyll return the favor. get over it. man up. i dont care.
PR is great if you're an investor or are self-employed AND totally career focused. Meaning you have no kids to take care of, and no commitments in mainland USA.
LEGALLY paying zero taxes while being a US citizen is remarkable.
And to those saying PR is a shithole...well there's everything for everyone, available everywhere. There are affluent areas in PR.
Think about it this way - you save 35%-45% taxes, meaning it takes you only 1-2 years to make what you would normally take you 3-4 staying in mainland USA. Think about the opportunity cost.
LEGALLY paying zero taxes while being a US citizen is remarkable.
And to those saying PR is a shithole...well there's everything for everyone, available everywhere. There are affluent areas in PR.
Think about it this way - you save 35%-45% taxes, meaning it takes you only 1-2 years to make what you would normally take you 3-4 staying in mainland USA. Think about the opportunity cost.
Talk to me again once Puerto Rico has a skilled high tech workforce. Even taking zero taxes into account I'd make much more money stateside.
I like what you're saying, except the part about kids. I know people who've moved there with kids and they all love it, the kids LOVE it, and when we stayed for a handful of months our kids loved it too. What do you see as the problem with having kids in PR?? Just about everyone speaks English, there's awesome private schools, tons of gringos and gringo kids, tons of fun shit to do and explore, a new culture and language to learn about, etc.
Depends on your biz I guess. Mine cranks out the green without needing a skilled high tech workforce. What kind of "skilled high tech workforce" are you referring to? Unless you need 100s of these people I'm sure you could find the handful that you need in PR no problem, or shit, just bring them with you. From what I hear companies that are moving there are having no problems convincing many of their key employees to move there as well ... the financial opportunities when you pay 4% or less taxes on income and investments is fucking huge.
Right now four full time software engineers, not including myself. We have job openings now, and my goal is 10 full time software engineers by this time next year, and many more than that in the future.
I imagine it would hurt my recruiting quite a bit if I tell potential hires from Johns Hopkins/Carnegie Mellon/University of Maryland/University of Delaware that they need to relocate to Puerto Rico.
Really what my point was, is that it seems considerably more difficult to scale a company beyond 7 figures/year in Puerto Rico.
Seriously bro? You don't think you can hire a few good "software engineers" in PR? I'm telling you right now you can. Period. The pharmaceutical industry is a big part of the economy in PR and they employ 1000s of "software engineers" on the island.
Seems like a lot of you peeps are thinking of PR as a 3rd world country or something. It's not. They have more Walmarts per capita than anywhere in the US. Not saying that's a great thing, but we're not talking about Barbados or St. Lucia for crying out loud.
Re: scaling I guess it just depends on your biz model ... I know of 1 and 2 man operations that make 7 figures profits a year.
Not at the same level as the US, no way. Most top CS students go to school in the US and when they graduate they stay in the US. The pharmaceutical industry might be big in Puerto Rico, but the software industry is big in the United States.
For instance we generally hire 3-5 interns at nearby colleges each summer. Then if they are a good fit we hire them full time when they graduate. Such a practice is nearly impossible in Puerto Rico since there are no nearby colleges to recruit from. Here in Baltimore, we have two of the top 25 computer science schools in the world within a 30 minute drive from our office.
I said scaling beyond 7 figures (not scaling to 7 figures). I've seen many 1-2 man operations make 7 figures (although only a handful of them are stable long term businesses), but nearly every single 8+ figure business requires a centralized team to continue growing.
Again, I've never been to PR, so correct if me I'm wrong here. Been reading a bit on it, and see things like 26% unemployment, median household income of $18k, and from the cost of living numbers I see, $18k isn't going to get you very far.
So am I correct in assuming the majority in PR are either unemployed or piss poor? And if that's the case, am I also correct in assuming that you can easily live a good life there, but you basically have to live in a bubble?
In other words, is PR one of those places where instead of just avoiding the bad neighborhoods, you kind of have to avoid everywhere except the good areas?
So am I correct in assuming the majority in PR are either unemployed or piss poor? And if that's the case, am I also correct in assuming that you can easily live a good life there, but you basically have to live in a bubble?
In other words, is PR one of those places where instead of just avoiding the bad neighborhoods, you kind of have to avoid everywhere except the good areas?
No doubt they have fallen on hard times, in large part due to the US economic crisis a handful of years back. Unemployment numbers are as you probably know hard to pin down. By most accounts the real unemployment rate here in the US is still around 18-20%. It's probably the same or a little higher in PR right now. But Acts 20/22/273 are creating more new jobs every single day so it's getting better.
Are many Puerto Ricans "poor"? Yes. Is there a growing middle class? Yes. Are there wealthy areas in Puerto Rico? Yes. Do you have to live in a bubble? Not at all.
No not at all. The majority of Puerto Ricans are incredibly friendly, and in fact, Puerto Ricans are actually known for their hospitality to strangers and "foreigners" - unlike for example the Thais.
PR just seems to have too many problems of being 'Murikan with too many problems of it's own. The tax benefits are awesome, I'd be all over that in one of the 48 continental states, but being in PR is just way too high a price to pay, and doesn't protect you at all from the coming hyperinflation/greater depression that is due to start any day now.
(Since OP is a statist I'll throw in a fancy chart so he gets the idea of what I'm talking about faster...)
By many estimates, August is the month that China's GDP officially surpasses ours, and even McDonalds has started selling corporate Bonds in Yuan recently. Make no mistake, China's about to be the only world superpower, and their currency will be the new global reserve currency. (until bitcoin takes over of course.) Trillions and trillions of US dollars are about to be sent packing from the rest of the world, and the US Fedgov is going to have to make cut after cut after cut, massive capital controls, all while a loaf of bread doubles in price every week.
Being in a place like PR seems to have none of the federal protection you'd desire from your dollars turning to shit, and Puerto Ricans might even decide they don't want anything to do with the US anymore once we get poor enough.
Sounds quite dangerous in our modern times. That, and the people can be pretty heartless there. Don't expect to make too many friends.
(Since OP is a statist I'll throw in a fancy chart so he gets the idea of what I'm talking about faster...)
By many estimates, August is the month that China's GDP officially surpasses ours, and even McDonalds has started selling corporate Bonds in Yuan recently. Make no mistake, China's about to be the only world superpower, and their currency will be the new global reserve currency. (until bitcoin takes over of course.) Trillions and trillions of US dollars are about to be sent packing from the rest of the world, and the US Fedgov is going to have to make cut after cut after cut, massive capital controls, all while a loaf of bread doubles in price every week.
Being in a place like PR seems to have none of the federal protection you'd desire from your dollars turning to shit, and Puerto Ricans might even decide they don't want anything to do with the US anymore once we get poor enough.
Sounds quite dangerous in our modern times. That, and the people can be pretty heartless there. Don't expect to make too many friends.
Dude, you're the laughing stock of wickedfire. Clueless as usual. I ain't talking to you...
Plus you're just parroting what Simon Black said this morning. Weak.
Plus you're just parroting what Simon Black said this morning. Weak.
PR just seems to have too many problems of being 'Murikan with too many problems of it's own. The tax benefits are awesome, I'd be all over that in one of the 48 continental states, but being in PR is just way too high a price to pay, and doesn't protect you at all from the coming hyperinflation/greater depression that is due to start any day now.
(Since OP is a statist I'll throw in a fancy chart so he gets the idea of what I'm talking about faster...)
By many estimates, August is the month that China's GDP officially surpasses ours, and even McDonalds has started selling corporate Bonds in Yuan recently. Make no mistake, China's about to be the only world superpower, and their currency will be the new global reserve currency. (until bitcoin takes over of course.) Trillions and trillions of US dollars are about to be sent packing from the rest of the world, and the US Fedgov is going to have to make cut after cut after cut, massive capital controls, all while a loaf of bread doubles in price every week.
Being in a place like PR seems to have none of the federal protection you'd desire from your dollars turning to shit, and Puerto Ricans might even decide they don't want anything to do with the US anymore once we get poor enough.
Sounds quite dangerous in our modern times. That, and the people can be pretty heartless there. Don't expect to make too many friends.
After all this hype though, I'm assuming you have plans in motion to permanently move to PR?
As I mentioned in my OP, I'm seriously considering moving there for at least 2-3 years until I sell my biz. After that who knows...
Why are you still beating this horse, dude?
You've already convinced yourself, nothing we can possibly say will invalidate that.
Don't let the door hit you, etc., and Good Luck Bro.
Lol, if half you "ballers" spent half the time you spend dreaming up avoidance schemes actually making monies, you wouldn't worry about taxes or moving to some third-world Caribbean cockroach heaven. A good accountant will handle that.
Lol Taxes.
You've already convinced yourself, nothing we can possibly say will invalidate that.
Don't let the door hit you, etc., and Good Luck Bro.
Lol, if half you "ballers" spent half the time you spend dreaming up avoidance schemes actually making monies, you wouldn't worry about taxes or moving to some third-world Caribbean cockroach heaven. A good accountant will handle that.
Lol Taxes.