Liberation Travel Hacks 03/2024

Dear friends,
Bitcoin has reached an "All Time High"!
Congratulations to all those who didn't believe in government money and are now rich because of it.
On this occasion it is important to add that it is indeed very important to do things that may be unpopular, not done by the masses and not recommended by the state, but which we consider intrinsically right and ethical. One of these things is investing in Bitcoin.
For it is difficult to accept that the ubiquitous and universally accepted state fiat money is a normal scam, where the endless issuance and real wealth of billions of people, easily destroyed by hyperinflation, is decided by one central institution at political will. Similarly, it is hard to accept that there is no principled moral difference between the modern state, which we consider "civilized", and the mafia, which offers only a smaller portfolio of services and has worse marketing than the state.
It is therefore crucial to distinguish at all times between what is legal and what is moral.
In today's world full of victimless crimes, many illegal things are moral. Conversely, many immoral things are legal.
If you are afraid of a state power whose budget is practically unlimited, it is necessary not only to live in accordance with your moral principles, but also not to break any laws. And as long as you are in danger of breaking them in a given country (especially tax or drug laws), you need to go to a country that has no problem with that and minimize the likelihood of your senseless criminalization. After all, life is short and the time you have left is usually a lot more important than money. Don't spend it in a prison because you did something that you thought was moral but was illegal in that country.
People write to me to tell me what new problems the state will cause them if they cancel their permanent residence in the EU. And I explain to them that the question should be asked in reverse - what new problems will the state cause them if they keep their permanent residence there. They will then remain much more vulnerable to potential attacks by the state, as they will continue to be in the database of health and social insurance payers, the tax office and all sorts of registers, thanks to which the state will be able to harass them and fine them. They will soon be forced to use the eID, the EU's centralised snooping service with all sensitive data, which will gradually apply to all EU residents (legislation has already been passed). And you really don't want any of this. If only you value your own privacy (plus you're aware of how easy it is to hack state databases), then you should be doing everything you can to completely minimize your personal footprint in a state that is collapsing into digital dystopia and fiscal fascism. You should expect that giving up your permanent residency will become increasingly difficult - Germany has already introduced an "exit tax" and requires you to pay a ransom - a percentage of your German company's assets. This trend is sure to continue. The EU is about to introduce global tax fascism - explicitly disallowing or penalizing rich people who choose to leave tax hell for a country with a lower tax burden. I think that, just as it is essential to save in Bitcoin in the current difficult inflationary times, it is essential to abolish permanent residency in the EU as soon as possible, because then it will only get more complicated. Especially if the EU assesses you as a rich person and starts hunting you down.
If you live in the EU and don't pay tax and health levies on the sale of cryptos, you are breaking the law. If you don't want to break it, then the solution is either to live on (crypto) loans or leave the country. Cancelling your permanent residency and leaving will allow you to legalize your behavior and avoid breaking the law. If you're also a libertarian or anarchist, and you consider paying taxes to be supporting organized crime, then not only will you stop breaking the law, but you'll stop supporting organized crime with a large portion of your taxes.
Not breaking any laws and at the same time not supporting organised crime - isn't that beautiful?
Have a pleasant reading,
Pavol Lupták, 5.3.2024, Isle of Man

Risks and benefits of losing permanent residence

I have tried to summarize the risks and benefits of losing permanent residence in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. It is likely to be very similar in other EU countries.
Risks of loss of residence in the Czech Republic and Slovakia:
  • you lose your firearms licence
  • you cannot renew your Slovak/Czech driving licence (but you can use your Paraguayan licence as a tourist in the Slovak Republic/Czech Republic/EU)
  • you can't vote in regional elections (only national)
  • you cannot apply for a mortgage/loan with a local Czech/Slovak bank (exceptions can be applied for)
Benefits of losing residency and gaining Paraguayan residency:
  • Slovaks will lose conscription! Czechs unfortunately have it tied to citizenship :(
  • you get rid of the obligation to pay social/health contributions and taxes! (i.e. you shouldn't be in Slovakia / Czech Republic most of the time in a year, you shouldn't have a permanent residence and a permanent flat there)
  • you will get rid of the state's annoyance, because it will delete you from many registers - the state will also lose its ability to communicate with you (which is a "feature", not a "bug"), while you will not lose this ability - you will be able to use your passport to do everything at any state office (Slovak citizens can apply for a Slovak ID card for non-residents with an address in Asunción)
  • you will have increased access to health care in the Czech Republic/Slovakia, because you will pay in cash and be reimbursed by a global health insurance company (you will not be a victim of the quotas that the current health insurance companies have signed with doctors)
  • freedom to leave - if there is a lockdown/crisis situation, you will always be allowed to leave the country for home (Paraguay) and always back because you are a Czech/Slovak citizen (note that in April 2020 the Czech government closed the border for Czech citizens who could not leave the Czech Republic because of COVID-19 - if they had a residence in Paraguay, they could leave!)
  • getting rid of a lot of collective obligations (obligation to add up, blanket COVID testing, etc.)
  • on the Paraguayan OP you can travel throughout Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and now Bolivia)
  • you can get a great tax residency in a country with territorial taxation (all those who don't live anywhere else for more than 183 days a year can take advantage of it)

Paraguay

For all new applicants for Paraguayan residency, we at Liberation.Travel have started offering an unbeatable service - accelerated approval of Paraguayan residency in just 1 month (instead of the standard 3 months). This includes an express service where we will fully represent the client on all subsequent visits (including their Paraguayan OP/cedula application). This means that we can complete the entire immigration process in Paraguay 2 months faster than before.
The conditions for obtaining permanent residency in Panama after two years of temporary residency have finally been published. Permanent residency can be applied for in the 21-24 month of permanent residency (before, not after). If you miss that deadline, you should get an extension of your temporary residency. Applicants should have a university diploma (in the Czech Republic and Slovakia we will arrange for its legalization at the Ministry of Education and subsequent translation into Spanish) or RUC (Paraguayan tax number), make a tax declaration (IVA/DPH) for the last two months and apply for a "cumplimentario tributario" (certificate of compliance with your tax obligations).
If you are a temporary resident in Paraguay and do not have a university degree, I recommend you register with the Paraguayan tax office as soon as possible!
If you are our client, we will do it for you for free, just contact us.
Registration with the Paraguayan Tax Office (SET) means that you are a self-employed person (contractor) who can issue Paraguayan invoices as a Paraguayan tax resident.
However, invoicing EU companies directly as a Paraguayan contractor is a bad idea for the following reasons:
  1. Paraguay and the most EU countries have not signed a double taxation treaty. As a Paraguayan contractor, if you physically supply work in the EU, the client of your work may have to pay withholding taxes of up to 35% (this applies if the work is carried out in the EU, otherwise you have to prove otherwise).
  2. When you invoice as a Paraguayan contractor, you are automatically assumed to be living in Paraguay, so it is "Paraguayan-sourced income", which means a 10% tax on profits to the Paraguayan tax authorities.
If you use your US LLC company as your Paraguayan tax resident, the above problems are eliminated (the US and all EU countries have signed a double taxation treaty).
We stock new Paraguayan thermoses for teréré with a new design and logo for all our clients.
If you are travelling to Paraguay via Brazil, don't get off at the airport. Otherwise, when travelling directly from Brazil to Paraguay, you may be asked to provide proof of yellow fever vaccination (this has happened to some of our clients). However, at the Paraguay-Brazil border (Ciudad del Este - Foz do Iguazu) when you go to see the Iguazú Falls by car/bus, they do not require this certificate.
We are looking for roommates for our new edificio Palmanova in the best neighborhood of Asunción Villa Morra. The edificio is expected to be built in late spring 2025. It will be one and two bedroom apartments of up to 87m2. On the roof of the edificio there will be a swimming pool and a fitness center. Prices for the one-bedrooms start from USD 80k, the best and largest apartments cost around USD 120k. It is also possible to pay for a separate garage. Payment is possible in all cryptocurrencies including cash. If you are interested, please get in touch. So far we are three Paraguayan crypto dudes and our goal is to have a democratic majority at the house meeting :-)
Paraguayan mobile operator Personal provides a 30 GB data package for PYG 200k (EUR 25) with data roaming even in Slovakia. To what extent this works reliably, we have yet to test.
If you're looking for a place in Asunción where you can safely leave a lot of stuff, try Espacio Plus and Big Box.

Brazil

If you want to get a CPF (Brazilian Tax Identifier), which you can use to live in Brazil as a Paraguayan resident or for example for Revolut (Revolut does not officially support Paraguayan tax residents), you can get one at any Brazilian embassy. It takes about 5 minutes and they will mail it to you within 3 days. The CPF will stay with you for the rest of your life. You will need your birth certificate, passport, completed and printed form (use your Paraguayan address). The necessary form can be found here.

USA

If you have a US LLC business, the easiest way to open a bank account is probably Mercury.com, where they will also issue you a credit card. Alternatively, Wise.com, but without a card.

Georgia

I inquired with Bank of Georgia what kind of information they plan to report due to the incoming CRS legislation and to which countries (only to the client's country of tax residency or also to the client's country of citizenship?). They don't know the answer yet, they are trying to implement CRS and be compliant with the regulation. I will try later.

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies

I would like to promote my friend's company. He runs a Slovenian crypto OTC service to exchange cryptos to fiat and vice versa https://bitnik.eu/en/.
Compared to a crypto exchange, they have the following advantages:
  • By law, they are not subject to CRS regulation, so they don't do any automated reporting to the tax offices!
  • They can also process large volumes (if you want to buy a house or apartments anywhere in the world)
  • Up to 100k they have fees of about 2%, from 100k 1%
  • They can send money to both Georgia and Paraguay
  • Unlike crypto exchanges, they are not blacklisted by banks, so when you get a transaction from them to your bank, the banks have no problem with it (!), as they don't know it's crypto money. The bank may require the origin of the money - Bitnik will provide you with an official contract for each trade. For example, if you are buying a property and want to pay for it with cryptos, so that the seller only receives a fiat payment to his account, Bitnik can service him without having to touch the cryptos - the fiat will go straight to his bank account. He then shows the bank the bill of sale for the property. The "source of funds" for the seller's bank will be the property, which the bank accepts better than the income from the crypto
If you are looking for another safe alternative to non-KYC exchanges, try OrangeFren.
If you want to buy anonymous prepaid VISA cards up to $1,000 in BTC/XMR, you can try Trocador.app.
If your bitcoin or crypto wallet is no longer supported (or won't be in the future), here are instructions on how to restore it.

Cheap accommodation

In addition to Hotel Five, Liberation.Travel now has discounts at other hotels in Paraguay, Uruguay, Panama and other countries (especially the better 4-5 star hotels). If you are interested in accommodation with a better price than booking.com, then email deals@liberation.travel:
  1. A link to the booking.com accommodation you want (including dates, number of guests, rooms, etc.).
  2. The name for which you want to make a reservation.
  3. Preferred payment method (payment link for card payment), BTC or BTC Lightning or Monero.
We will only book if the price is at least 5% better than Booking.com. Otherwise no. Please contact us for bookings of at least USD 300.

Interesting links

If you want a universal ID card in any name with a valid MRZ code that you can show to anyone who pesters you for €15, you can order it from digitalcourage.de. I don't recommend showing it to police officers and other staff.
Why is KYC the worst global legislation and will we be able to get around it thanks to AI?
I recommend the book The Illusion of Democracy: Why Democracy Does Not Lead to Solidarity, Prosperity and Freedom, but to Conflict in Society, Uncontrolled Spending and Tyrannical Government
You can find my review of the book on Twitter.
My new article from a visit to a Brazilian favela: A place where the distinction between the state and the mafia is lost. I visited Brazilian favelas and realized once again that the modern state we consider "civilized" is just the mafia, with a bigger portfolio of services and better marketing to convince you that you need them.
If you use Signal, set up your username.
If you are interested in issues of freedom, ethics and parallel society, I recommend the newsletter of Paul Rosenberg - Free-Man's Perspective Parallel Society, who is also an annual speaker at our HCPP conference in Prague.

Events

19-21.4 there will be several interesting events where you can celebrate the next Bitcoin Halving. You can go to the Bitcoin Festival in Warsaw or to the Halving party in Bratislava or to the European LibertyCon in Tbilisi. I'll be at the latter event.
18-19.5 Pizza Day will be in Parallel Polis in Prague. Buy tickets here.
7-9.6 Monerokon will be in Parallel Polis in Prague. Buy tickets here.
13-15.6 BTC Prague, the largest European Bitcoin conference will be in Prague.
If you have time 23-30.6.2024, go to the nomadic festival in the Bulgarian town - Bansko. I would love to go there, but I will be at the Future Festival in Munich.
Unsubscribe | Manage your subscription