Right now I'm reading a very unusual book by W.G. Hill simply entitled PT (Confidential Registered Copy No. 1073) published in 1989. What does “PT” stand for? Many things—just to give it whirl:
Travel can and will be a big part of enjoying life as Perpetual Travelers who are Prepared Thoroughly because we are Positive Thinkers doing plenty of Preventative Tinkering. Our main concern is to ensure Pleasurable Times. This does not necessarily mean just plain bohemianism; rather, it means intelligently enlarging the sovereignty of the individual in order that he or she can be free to choose, to optimize his or her life choices so as to live life fully on one’s own terms.
And what, pray tell, does that mean? In short, it means we need to think of our home as the entire planet instead of being “nation-confined.” It doesn’t involve renouncing your citizenship (in most cases) and it doesn’t mean one is unpatriotic or uncaring of his or her country of origin. Not at all!
The PT book is a how-to guide, a Prosperity Tome for those savvy individuals who have demonstrated money-making skills and who wish to safeguard their accumulated and currently accumulating wealth from the over-reach of any government. Governments take via various taxes and schemes reaching into the pockets of people to reduce their personal earnings and net worth. And the United States is the only country that taxes its citizens worldwide and on income earned outside its borders. Thus, being a PT is especially relevant to native born or naturalized American citizens [Note: American state nationals need not worry one bit.]
The old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” applies here. That is, we’re talking here about Persons of Talent with libertarian streaks, Possibility Thinkers who have Prepared Today and thus are Prepared for Tomorrow; yes, PTs have figured out that being Prior Taxpayers is a whole lot better for their entrepreneurial and/or investment instincts, interests, and abilities, not to mention their long-term welfare and quality of life.
Early on, W.G. Hill was a Publisher Temporarily who originally drew on the work of trailblazer Harry D. (for Dynamic) Schulz, the man who wrote the introduction to PT.
Hill first
discovered his innate shrewd capitalist talent when he was stationed overseas. In
his down time he took full advantage as a “Part
Time” soldier, investing his military pay in certain lucrative foreign
opportunities that he, per chance, discovered while being there. After
returning to civilian life he simply kept going with this “Perfect Thing” he had discovered, ultimately fashioning it into a
lifestyle that yielded a Perfect
Treasure—one that he learned to
hold on to and develop.
Quite frankly, in its most stripped down terms establishing yourself as a PT involves all of the following “Five Flags”:
YOUR FIVE FLAGS UNFURLED
Flag 1. BUSINESS BASE.
These are the places you make your money. These places must be different from where you “legally reside”—your personal fiscal domicile. It should be a place that gives free land, grants interest-free loans, a tax holiday to your business, and freedom from over-regulation. Good access to contacts, labour markets or materials are also needed for conducting your business. London, Tokyo, and New York are the Big Apples for Finance and Insurance. Zurich, Hong Kong, Singapore, Frankfurt and Milan are among the secondary contenders.
Flag 2. PASSPORT AND CITIZENSHIP.
This should be from a country unconcerned about its offshore citizens or what they do outside its borders. There must be no tax or military requirement for non-residents. PASSPORTS MUST BE AVAILABLE TO FOREIGNERS
Flag 3. DOMICILE. This should be a tax haven with good communication [i.e., a Perfect Tax haven]; a place where wealthy, productive people can be creative, live, relax, prosper and enjoy themselves, preferably with bank secrecy and no threat of war and revolution. Monaco, the Channel Islands, Campione, Andorra, and Bermuda, are all recommended.
Flag 4. ASSET MANAGEMENT. This should be a place from which assets, securities and business affairs can be handled by proxy. Requirements are availability of highly competent financial managers, confidential banking, no taxation of non-residents and non-citizens. One of the best places in which to plant your fourth flag would be Liechtenstein. Other possibilities would be Austria, Luxembourg, Switzerland, New York or London.
Flag 5. PLAYGROUNDS.
These are places where you would actually, physically spend your time. Normally, because of legal restrictions on how long one may stay without being inducted as a taxpayer, it is necessary to have from two to four playgrounds. One might try to avoid spending more than 90 days per year in any one of them. We look for quality of life.
W.G. Hill, PT, p. 21 (Scope Books, 1989)
And so you can plainly see
that a PT is only Parked Temporarily, Passing Through due to the necessities
as described above. He or she is a Perpetual
Tourist enjoying the full bore of what the world has to offer; you’re not
confined to any one place; instead you’re just a’blowing’ in the wind with the
assets working for you, un-depleted by over-zealous government demands.
Preparing to be a PT requires study and knowledge; treaties, statutes and regulations are always changing, so consultation with professionals is recommended. Even the info presented herein must be checked to see where it is currently outdated. Anything out-and-out illegal is out-of-bounds. Rather, it is really a game of outsmarting the keepers, the controllers, to remain free and retain ultimate liberty to do as you please. PTs must set things up in advance to the extent possible. That is, they must Prepare Throroughly and apply Preventive Tinkering as needed before and during their Perpetual Travel. Being unfettered and free as a bird with nothing but Pleasurable Times ahead sure seems preferable to being tied down and needlessly paying out the wazoo for your captivity!
