The Tax Exile Report by Marshall Langer

An offshore book review by Matt Blackman

If you haven't heard of Marshall Langer, tax lawyer extraordinaire, you are probably new to the offshore investment world. His book, The Tax Exile Report, outlines the step-by-step process to ending your income tax paying days forever. The advice might be somewhat drastic for some folks and can be irreversible for those from specific countries such as the U.S. The only sure-fire way to stop paying income taxes is to leave the country that you presently call home and become a tax exile in a low or no-tax jurisdiction. Thanks to tax hungry governments, this option is becoming increasingly more difficult!


As Langer points out early is his book, it is intended for "the minority of well-to-do individuals who are no longer willing to tolerate the present system and are prepared to vote with their feet." New laws make it more challenging to leave with assets intact and countries such as Canada have imposed expatriation taxes. He believes that this trend will continue and that we can expect an expatriation tax from the U.S. shortly after the turn of the century.


Langer counters the Perpetual Traveler theory expounded by author W.G. Hill in his books PT and PT2. Hill promotes the idea of simply leaving your high-tax country and becoming a global nomad thus negating you of the responsibility to pay income tax. The idea may seem romantic except that many countries, including the U.S., U.K. and Canada will continue to consider you a resident for tax purposes unless you have taken the proper steps to relinquish you residency (and citizenship for those from the U.S.) and establish new residency elsewhere.


Most countries with the exception of the US, Eritrea, the Philippines, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands and Sweden base taxation on residency and do not make it necessary to relinquish citizenship. Those mentioned above tax on nationality so one must acquire another nationality to be free of taxation in your previous country. Langer explains the method of first becoming a dual citizen. There are many good reasons for this especially if you are fortunate enough to acquire citizenship in one of 15 countries that are members of the European Union. It will give you the right to live and work in an of the EU countries. New legislation enacted in 1996 authorizes the US Attorney General to treat an individual who renounces citizenship to avoid taxes as excludable meaning they may not be allowed back into the US even to visit.


The book is essential to US citizens especially who are considering relinquishing citizenship and covers the new legislation in detail. If a US citizens is determined to be giving up citizenship for tax purposes (which applies to all those with net worth of $500,000 or more) they will be obligated to continue to pay tax on US source income for the next ten years.


Chapter 3 explains the eight criteria (aptly named the octopus) which governments use to impose taxes. Each one must be dealt with properly so as not risk an unexpected tax bill later. They are as follows:

Each one is explained with examples for citizens of various countries. Langer clearly defines the difference between residence and domicile which is a very important distinction to insure you do not have a tax liability when give up residency.

Part IV of the book is devoted to outlining more than 45 countries including the high-tax nations for visiting part-time and it goes into detail on the advantages and disadvantages of each jurisdiction. Most well known tax havens are covered as well. Some of the countries covered along with some of the topics discussed are:


There is also a discussion entitled "Should you become a tax exile?" which covers estate planning and the past, present and future in the US and Canada. A resource list is included to help those do further research.


For those who are looking to move to a lower tax regime or who just want a change, the book is well written in layman's terms and easy to understand. If you are tired of "an ever-increasing expansion of the Robin Hood theory of taxation under which governments take from the middle class and the rich and give to the bureaucrats and some of the poor," the book provides some excellent alternatives.

This is certainly the best and most credible Scope book that I have read to date. Some of their other books tend to be overly-sensational and can come across as less than credible. I have also found instances of errors.

The Tax Exile Report does not fit into that category and is highly recommended, especially given Mr. Langer's credentials and background as one of the world's leading tax lawyers. (Please see bio below.)

The Tax Exile Report is available from Scope International for $100 US and is updated annually.

Bio of Marshall J. Langer

Marshall J. Langer is an American lawyer from Florida, now living in London. At the University of Miami, Mr. Langer became the first summa cum laude graduate in the history of the law school. He was also Comment Editor of the Law Review, Chief Justice of the Appellate Court, and a member of two honorary societies, Omicron Delta Kappa and Iron Arrow.


Following graduation, he practiced law in Miami for over 30 years before moving to Neuchatel, Switzerland. He has written extensively on subjects relating to international tax law.


Mr. Langer's first book, How to Use Foreign Tax Havens, was published by the Practising Law Institute (PLI), New York, in 1985. The third edition, Practical International Tax Planning, published by Practicing Law Institute in 1985, is in loose-leaf format and is updated every year.


Mr. Langer is co-author (with Rufus Rhoades of California) of a 6 volume set published by Matthew Bender, called Rhoades & Langer, U.S. International Taxation and Tax Treaties. Mr. Langer and his co-author update this loose-leaf set four times per year.


He has previously served as President of the Greater Miami Tax Institute and Vice President of the U.S.A. Branch of the International Fiscal Association (IFA). He has also served on the Executive Council of the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law and is currently on the advisory committees of the International Tax Planning Association (ITPA) and the American Tax Institute in Europe.

*Rated 8.5/10 - Reading Level - Novice through Advanced *

Disclaimer: The views expressed are independent and the sole opinion of Matt Blackman who has not and will not receive financial remuneration from the publisher or author for this review. Although great care was taken in writing this review, the author cannot and does not gaurantee the accuracy of information contained herein due to its complex nature. Readers are advised to obtain legal councel before making any investment or estate planning decision. Review copy of this publication was supplied by publisher.

Note: This column is dedicated to reviewing books on the subject of offshore investing and asset management. It is designed to provide an insight into the publications available to assist readers looking for the best information available for the money. If you have a comment or question about a review or have read written a publication of interest that you'd like to discuss, please:

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