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Liberation Travel Hacks 04/2024
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I spent the last few weeks in Georgia. Apart from the absolutely great skiing in Gudairi, Georgia, which I definitely recommend, I have been trying out the Georgian health service.
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Georgia has a deregulated healthcare system, with no obligation to pay health levies, so Georgian health insurers have to compete realistically for customers. Since it is a real health insurance (not a health tax like in the EU), foreigners can also get insurance without any problems, which of course I immediately did and tried the services of the Georgian health system on myself (luckily, since I am healthy, I just had a preventive check-up for now). Thanks to the prestigious medical universities in Tbilisi, there are two times more doctors in Georgia than in the most EU countries, which translates into high availability of healthcare and low prices. If you have a premium SOLO bank account, you can take advantage of a special offer from the insurance company ARDI. Hospitals in Georgia look like in Central Europe (I didn't get the "luxury tourism experience" feeling there like in Bangkok). But unlike the European ones, they work - you can usually get an appointment with a specialist within 1-2 days. And medicines are 2-3x cheaper there than in the EU. If you're a nomad looking for a suitable supplement to your global "inpatient" health insurance, or if you're just a disgruntled EU citizen with inaccessible healthcare, Georgian healthcare is at least worth a try. For a full report, see the article Time for medical tourism - a personal experience of Georgian healthcare.
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I'm flying to Armenia in a week, but my plan to open Armenian bank accounts has been delayed. Armenia is also signing the CRS next year. Georgian banks are certainly better than Armenian ones, so it doesn't make much sense to me personally anymore.
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You have probably noticed an interesting phenomenon - every day, countries around the world (and especially the EU) are churning out new regulations, rules and laws that restrict our economic and personal freedom. One would think that everything is heading towards a complete dystopia and state control.
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It is important to note that this process only takes place in a centralized paradigm of states.
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Thanks to Bitcoin, a new decentralized paradigm has emerged around the world, where special technologies, but also global opportunism, provide new islands of unprecedented freedom.
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Never before has it been easier to opt-out than it is now, to leave the system, have your permanent status revoked, pay no levies, be full crypto, not use the traditional banking system, bypass the enforced censorship, and live in your own parallel society.
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Therefore, it is important to stop mentally focusing on the political change of the outlived centralized paradigm, which is energy and time consuming. And in the long run, in my view, it leads nowhere.
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Instead, we need to step into a new, free, decentralized paradigm. And this in all aspects of personal and professional life.
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Pavol Lupták, 6.4.2024, Budapest
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Malta
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Is there a country in the EU where I can live long term and not pay any taxes on cryptos or my foreign income? There is! Malta!
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But you need to have a tax residency in Paraguay or another good country with territorial taxation. And to fulfill your tax obligations there in an exemplary manner (zero monthly VAT declarations in Paraguay).
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In this case, you apply for non-domiciled residency in Malta (note that this is not normal Maltese residency) and prove that you are a tax resident of Paraguay or another country.
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And then you can enjoy a year of territorial taxation in Malta that you won't get in any other EU country:)
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Paraguay
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I have updated the article Permanent Paraguayan residency to every family according to the current immigration legislation of Paraguay and a couple of years of experience we have with the immigration department there. Although the process has become slightly more complicated over the last couple of years, it is still the best (tax) residency and the easiest to obtain.
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If you are (tax) resident only in a non-CRS country (like Paraguay), then CRS reporting may not worry you that much. You can open a SOLO Georgian bank account, a Gibraltar xapo.com or a Swiss Dukascopy bank account even as a Paraguayan (non-CRS) resident with the option to set up your tax residency in Paraguay. Alternatively, you can still use non-CRS bank accounts in Paraguay. You can change the tax residency of your SOLO Bank of Georgia account to Paraguay online directly through their website.
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Getting a gun licence in Paraguay is easy:
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You can buy guns in Paraguay through Camping 44. This company will also take care of the issuance of a firearms carry permit.
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The price of the license is GS 363 000 and the waiting period is 20 days.requirements are as follows:
1. Have more than 22 years of age
2. Have a Paraguayan ID (cédula)
3. Bring a resume and authorization to receive (SET registration) indicating the purpose of the registration and authorization to possess weapons.
4. Bring a signed police record (criminal record abstract).
5. Physically arrive, fill out your information and just wait.
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Contact the competent gentleman from Camping 44 - Jorge Escobar +595 974 802066.
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Like any firearms licence, it is regionally limited - valid only in Paraguay.
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If you are registered with the Paraguayan tax office (SET) and you do not fill in the required monthly VAT declaration form at the beginning of the month, you may be fined PYG 50,000 (EUR 6.26) by the tax office. This penalty does not increase over time, so you don't need to be stressed. But it's good to have it paid. The exact procedure for generating a payment ticket ("boleta de pago") can be found here. After generating it, just select SET payment in any Paraguayan online banking, enter your cédula number and date of birth. Online banking will automatically show you your total amount owed, which you can pay immediately with one click. Having paid all debts owed to the tax office is required to apply for permanent residency within two years. This requires the generation of a "Certificado de Cumplimiento Tributario" (certificate of compliance with all debts owed to the tax office). This can be generated by online easily by following these instructions.
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El Salvador
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You must be a tax resident of El Salvador to benefit from it. Which means you must live there continuously for at least 200 days a year (you can't leave) or have a primary income from El Salvador (from a local business).
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Unless you are in the IT and technology business, where it is possible to apply for an exemption and tax holiday for up to 15 years, an El Salvador company is unusable for most nomads and people who don't want to do business in El Salvador. El Salvador has only signed a double taxation treaty with Spain, and conversely has classified many countries around the world as "tax havens" where they enforce 25% withholding taxes when invoicing. Similarly, if your EU (non-Spanish) company receives an invoice from El Salvador, it faces a 35% withholding tax. From this perspective, invoicing from a US LLC company towards the EU is priceless (especially if you are solely a Paraguayan resident). So if you want to avoid withholding taxes, your El Salvador company should invoice mainly local Salvadoran companies (but there territorial taxation does not apply and you have to pay 30% tax on profits, unless you have an exception in the law and a tax holiday).
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In any case, if you're willing to live more than 200 days a year continuously in El Salvador, it might be a good place to live (with the benefits of territorial taxation). El Salvador has radically reduced crime (it's already a safe country) thanks to President Bukele's crackdown on gangs, they have the sea, beautiful beaches, low prices and high local taxes.
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Norway
The "exit tax" or the tax for wanting to leave is becoming a common reality in European countries (and it is to be expected that all of them will gradually introduce it). When you leave a startup in Norway, you have to pay up to 30% tax on the assessed value of the startup, even if you haven't earned anything from it yet. And it gets worse.
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Turkey
Bangkok or Tbilisi is not the only place for medical tourism. There are also great hospitals in Istanbul - I recommend to try the "Beauty Health Travel" services of the company Aladiva, which will arrange medical treatments and services in Istanbul from those that are not covered by EU obligatory insurance (new teeth, hair transplant, plastic and aesthetic medicine, eye surgery...) to classic medical procedures without complicated processes and long waiting times, as well as preventive checkups. If you use the LIBERATIONTRAVEL discount coupon, you will even get 8% discount on all the above services with them (just write/tell them when ordering and it is of course possible to pay by crypto). Although Turkey has problems with hyperinflation, but it has a very potent economy and great health services at low prices (thanks to hyperinflation itself).
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USA
Georgia
Many people complain that international transfers from Georgia (Bank of Georgia and TBC bank) are expensive. Yes, a guaranteed transfer (where the recipient receives the exact amount) costs €40. Instead, I recommend using a non-guaranteed transfer (where the addressee maybe, but often not, pays to receive that international transaction), which costs €15. Alternatively, use the paysera.ge solution, where you pay €7 for a SEPA transfer and it is instant. For personal (not business) transfers, you can also use Western Union and Remitly. For example, I managed to pay a Western Union transfer to Paraguay with my Georgian Mastercard World Elite card without any problems, with a fee of about €2. Which is probably absolutely the most convenient way to send money from a Georgian bank to a Paraguayan one.
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Caribbean
At the moment, Antigua & Barbuda probably has the best citizenship (the most available countries at the best price) that can be obtained by investment.
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Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies
Secure laptop
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After many years I migrated from Purism Librem to System76 Lemur - the best Linux friendly laptop I can think of (I am writing this newsletter on it). Now the new ultra-light Lemur Pro is coming out, which can have up to 56 GB of RAM and an 8 TB SSD.
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If you have a problem with shipping from the US to the EU and the inevitable customs clearance, check out Linux Tuxedo laptops from Germany.
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If you like the "thinkpad experience", give it a try safe Nitropad X230 laptops. Thanks to the combination of Coreboot (instead of BIOS) and Heads and USB Nitrokey hardware, you can verify that your laptop's hardware has not been tampered with in transit or in your absence (the so-called "evil-maid" attack). If you want more powerful hardware, try NitroPad NS70.
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Interesting links
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Many people ask me which anonymous eSIM/SIM is the cheapest at the moment in the EU.
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In the case of physical anonymous SIM cards, the Czech O2 SIM card for Ukrainians is still the best in my opinion - 15 GB for 299 CZK (1 GB for 0.79 EUR), which works across the EU. You can top up Czech SIM cards anonymously with crypto via simstr.lnk.
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If you want an eSIM and need the maximum amount of data in one month, try Bitrefill Europe, where 20 GB for 30 days will cost you EUR 28.66 (1 GB for EUR 1.43). If you don't spend that much and want your data to last as long as possible (at least a year), I recommend KeepGo Corvus Lifetime Prepaid Data, where you can buy 100 GB for $180 USD (1 GB for 1.66 EUR). If you want global coverage around the world, I don't know of anything cheaper than PokeFI, where 1 GB costs $2.5 USD (2.3 EUR).
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Beware of eSIM swapper hijack attacks that can break your two-factor authentication. I recommend not using SMS verification at all and replacing it completely with OTP (Google Authenticator).
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If you're looking for a secure contact (PGP keys) for me, you can find them on my microweb.
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Events
On 4.5 Cryptobyte 2024 will be in Liberec / the Czech Republic. Buy tickets here.
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13-15.6 will be in Prague the largest Bitcoin conference BTC Prague.
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If you are going to Monerotopia in Buenos Aires, don't buy your tickets yet, because the organizer announced that he might change the place and the country completely. More information.
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