IS SEASTEADING THE ULTIMATE LIBERTARIAN’S TAX HAVEN
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I don’t know about you but I have never known a time before in the UK when free speech was so suppressed. I suspect I am amongst the majority of people living in the UK today who have to self-censor what I say for fear of being personally attacked for upsetting others.
Whatever happened to freedom of speech, scientific debate, exchanging views, differences of opinions etc? It seems that unless you express the orthodox view on a subject you risk personal attack, loss of career and/or livelihood, loss of reputation and more. At times it feels as though I am living in a dystopian Orwellian 1984 state. I never thought this could ever happen to the UK but sadly it has.
It has become so bad I am seriously considering alternatives. This has led me down an interesting path of exploring a potentially very different lifestyle to the one I know in my beloved England.
I’ve never been a fan of government whichever party is in power. Governments globally exercise enormous power over people and that power is often evil. I recently read Murray Rothbard’s book “For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto” which has had a great influence on me. A libertarian believes in zero government.
Interestingly the US was quite libertarian after the War of Independence with Great Britain. Also, Ireland was libertarian for 1,000 years before the British started interfering with Ireland’s affairs. Maybe it’s my Irish heritage that is taking me down this path, I am 62.5% Irish because my father was Irish and so was one of my great-grandmothers on my mother’s side of the family. My mother is English. I now possess an Irish passport and I am officially recognised as an Irish citizen. I have retained my British passport though.
When browsing the Internet recently I came across the concept of seasteading which was a new one on me. A seastead is a floating structure where you can live. A seastead is situated in calm waters which typically must be at least 12 kilometres away from land to avoid jurisdiction by the government of that land.
Interestingly water makes up approximately two-thirds of the planet and almost 50% of it is unclaimed by any nation. Therefore if you live far enough away from land you avoid government rule and as a consequence taxation. Well at least in theory!
I was so excited to learn about Seasteads that I immediately joined the Seasteading Institute and bought the book Seasteading by Joe Quirk. What I learned about seasteads was fascinating.
There is a 1,000 kilometers wide band around the world’s equator where seas are calm and perfectly suitable for seasteads.
(source: The Seasteading Institute and Matias Perez)
A seastead floats. It is not anchored to the sea bed nor is it built on stilts which root it to the sea bed either. The way it floats is by having very heavy legs much like the legs of a chair which means it doesn’t float away. Oil rigs are examples of seasteads. Extraordinary but true.
A seastead could be one property or several. You could even have a village or a small town or, in theory at least, a city! Imagine that. A floating city. It’s truly mind-boggling.
(source: The Seasteading Institute and Matias Perez)
There are great opportunities to use renewable energy from the sun, water and wind. Also, seasteads lend themselves naturally to hydroponics which is the art of growing crops without soil which means they can be grown in water. There is of course an abundance of fish in the sea too.
My personal interest in seasteads though is mainly a libertarian one. I am tired of the increasingly authoritarian nature of government and institutions which are having a chilling effect on freedom of speech. The trouble is that once freedom of speech is lost you lose all your freedoms. It’s called dictatorship.
(source: The Seasteading Institute and Matias Perez)
The reason I became a business owner was because I disliked being told what to do. I didn’t want a boss. The trouble is there are more bossy people and institutions today than ever before. I cherish freedom of speech, freedom of movement and freedom of thought. It’s an innate human need. I long to live in a utopian society rather than a dystopian one. You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one to quote John Lennon from his song Imagine.
Oh and then there is the added benefit of possible zero taxation. It all sounds quite appealing.
To paraphrase Freddie Mercury and Queen “I want to break free” and so should you. You know it makes sense.*
*RISK WARNING
The value of investments can fall as well as rise. You may not get back what you invest. The information contained within this article is for guidance only and does not constitute advice which should be sought before taking any action or inaction. All information is based on our current understanding of taxation, legislation, regulations and case law in the current tax year. Any levels and bases of relief from taxation are subject to change. Tax treatment is based on individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future. This blog is based on my own observations and opinions.
I don’t know about you but I have never known a time before in the UK when free speech was so suppressed. I suspect I am amongst the majority of people living in the UK today who have to self-censor what I say for fear of being personally attacked for upsetting others.
Whatever happened to freedom of speech, scientific debate, exchanging views, differences of opinions etc? It seems that unless you express the orthodox view on a subject you risk personal attack, loss of career and/or livelihood, loss of reputation and more. At times it feels as though I am living in a dystopian Orwellian 1984 state. I never thought this could ever happen to the UK but sadly it has.
It has become so bad I am seriously considering alternatives. This has led me down an interesting path of exploring a potentially very different lifestyle to the one I know in my beloved England.
I’ve never been a fan of government whichever party is in power. Governments globally exercise enormous power over people and that power is often evil. I recently read Murray Rothbard’s book “For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto” which has had a great influence on me. A libertarian believes in zero government.
Interestingly the US was quite libertarian after the War of Independence with Great Britain. Also, Ireland was libertarian for 1,000 years before the British started interfering with Ireland’s affairs. Maybe it’s my Irish heritage that is taking me down this path, I am 62.5% Irish because my father was Irish and so was one of my great-grandmothers on my mother’s side of the family. My mother is English. I now possess an Irish passport and I am officially recognised as an Irish citizen. I have retained my British passport though.
When browsing the Internet recently I came across the concept of seasteading which was a new one on me. A seastead is a floating structure where you can live. A seastead is situated in calm waters which typically must be at least 12 kilometres away from land to avoid jurisdiction by the government of that land.
Interestingly water makes up approximately two-thirds of the planet and almost 50% of it is unclaimed by any nation. Therefore if you live far enough away from land you avoid government rule and as a consequence taxation. Well at least in theory!
I was so excited to learn about Seasteads that I immediately joined the Seasteading Institute and bought the book Seasteading by Joe Quirk. What I learned about seasteads was fascinating.
There is a 1,000 kilometers wide band around the world’s equator where seas are calm and perfectly suitable for seasteads.
(source: The Seasteading Institute and Matias Perez)
A seastead floats. It is not anchored to the sea bed nor is it built on stilts which root it to the sea bed either. The way it floats is by having very heavy legs much like the legs of a chair which means it doesn’t float away. Oil rigs are examples of seasteads. Extraordinary but true.
A seastead could be one property or several. You could even have a village or a small town or, in theory at least, a city! Imagine that. A floating city. It’s truly mind-boggling.
(source: The Seasteading Institute and Matias Perez)
There are great opportunities to use renewable energy from the sun, water and wind. Also, seasteads lend themselves naturally to hydroponics which is the art of growing crops without soil which means they can be grown in water. There is of course an abundance of fish in the sea too.
My personal interest in seasteads though is mainly a libertarian one. I am tired of the increasingly authoritarian nature of government and institutions which are having a chilling effect on freedom of speech. The trouble is that once freedom of speech is lost you lose all your freedoms. It’s called dictatorship.
(source: The Seasteading Institute and Matias Perez)
The reason I became a business owner was because I disliked being told what to do. I didn’t want a boss. The trouble is there are more bossy people and institutions today than ever before. I cherish freedom of speech, freedom of movement and freedom of thought. It’s an innate human need. I long to live in a utopian society rather than a dystopian one. You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one to quote John Lennon from his song Imagine.
Oh and then there is the added benefit of possible zero taxation. It all sounds quite appealing.
To paraphrase Freddie Mercury and Queen “I want to break free” and so should you. You know it makes sense.*
*RISK WARNING
The value of investments can fall as well as rise. You may not get back what you invest. The information contained within this article is for guidance only and does not constitute advice which should be sought before taking any action or inaction. All information is based on our current understanding of taxation, legislation, regulations and case law in the current tax year. Any levels and bases of relief from taxation are subject to change. Tax treatment is based on individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future. This blog is based on my own observations and opinions.
Tony Byrne
Chartered and Certified Financial Planner
Managing Director of Wealth and Tax Management
If you are looking for expert guidance in Financial Planning contact Wealth and Tax Management on 01908 523740 or email wealth@wealthandtax.co.uk