Trump Says Will Sell 'Gold' Residency Permits For $5 Million

[Martin Everson]

It could succeed if foreign income is tax exempt for an indefinite period after paying that gold card.

Exactly this would be minimum requirement I would say.

One big problem is that it would only apply at the federal level. (Blue) States with income tax are very unlikely to exempt it as well.

True so they would need to avoid blue states and maybe move to Florida, Texas and Las Vegas. I would say 99% would move to Florida for weather and also to moor their superyachts .

 

[JohnnyDoe]

So @JohnnyDoe, would you move to Florida or Texas if most of your passive income is foreign-sourced?

if buying real estate qualifies (and I can throw in some 3-5 full time employees) then I will definitely start googling “buy ranch in Texas” and “beachfront florida real estate”.
The Donald knows how to scam sell.

 

[Martin Everson]

UHNWI is considered 30M+? I always worked with like 1B+

In banking terms it used to be:

Affluent > $250k
HNWI > $2m
UHNWI > $20m

I guess inflation hit the UHNWI segment

 

[pomo]

UHNWI is considered 30M+? I always worked with like 1B+

That would be a very small group, about 3,000 people worldwide.

 

[void]

if buying real estate qualifies (and I can throw in some 3-5 full time employees) then I will definitely start googling “buy ranch in Texas” and “beachfront florida real estate”.
The Donald knows how to scam sell.

Florida sounds ok, 5M would be a reasonable budget to work with but everything depends on whether one would trust the future US governments that the foreign income will stay tax-free perpetually - for some reason I'm really reluctant to believe that

Affluent > $250k
HNWI > $2m
UHNWI > $20m

no kidding - my self-esteem just pumped to ATH

 

[Martin Everson]

List of countries by number of millionaires​

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_millionaires

Florida sounds ok, 5M would be a reasonable budget to work with but everything depends on whether one would trust the future US governments that the foreign income will stay tax-free perpetually - for some reason I'm really reluctant to believe that

Yes he would need to give assurances to this effect that will withstand the US legal system if challenged by future governments.

P.S He is not getting anything close to 1 million people he claims could apply. But a substantial amount of UHNWI who were considering moving their European businesses or manufacturing to US will jump on this as not paying tax on offshore wealth is alluring to some.

A US golden visa is economic war on Europe....blame Macron....lol

 

[HardRJones]

This is going to take significant congressional action to implement. He might be able to implement a new visa type administratively, but the taxation and path to citizenship is going to need Congress to pass laws. They can barely get much easier changes to tax laws through right now.

 

[Martin Everson]

but the taxation and path to citizenship is going to need Congress to pass laws.

Does the Federal tax part need congress - I have no idea I am not American? I don't think citizenship is a UHNWI's number one priority as I would imagine you would then lose all tax benefits if its a non-dom type program.

 

[void]

This is going to take significant congressional action to implement. He might be able to implement a new visa type administratively, but the taxation and path to citizenship is going to need Congress to pass laws. They can barely get much easier changes to tax laws through right now.

the foreign income tax exception and path to citizenship doesn't make much sense to me... how on earth could anyone expect to be acceptable for the public that there is a privileged class of citizens when it comes to taxation?

 

[OKboomer]

Amusing how warmly a forum full of people trying to escape the tax shackles receives some vague promises of a lifelong scammer turned president of a decaying country with a history of draconian taxes, broken promises and asset confiscation

 

[ilke]

If the $5M was investments inside the US, and there would be evidence for the fact that I can continue to receive foreign income tax-free endlessly (as mentioned by @void), this actually seems very interesting.

But let's see what actually happens, what program he will create, the exact legal situation, etc.

Because I have no interest in donating $5M to the US or becoming a US citizen or paying American taxes on my general income as would be expected by default.

Nevertheless, unlike a lot of the forum members, I actually quite like the US , could imagine myself living there if there were to be a more effective tax status

 

[HardRJones]

I’m already well within the US tax net so this is immaterial to me. The US government is notorious for shitting all over Americans in favor of foreign countries. Not to say that it doesn’t often s**t all over foreign countries as well, of course. A privileged status like that would be perfectly within the bounds of expected here.

I’d want to see something codified into law before taking that plunge.

Administrative agencies can typically only clarify existing law or use powers delegated to them in drafting of laws by Congress. Visa creation is one thing they might be able to do. Creating a pathway to naturalization seems to be a stretch for an administrative rule change. Carving out a tax exemption like that is not possible without a law passed by Congress. There is nothing in current law to support it.

Citizenship based taxation is an abomination but there are advantages to living in the US or having access to the business environment. Outside of the tax laws and the antiquated IRS, business formation is easy and there is a lot of access to capital. It’s easy to become rich. Eccentricity is well tolerated in society and it’s a large country, so it’s easy to create your own space and lifestyle without outside interference. I’m not all negative on the US, but consider myself to be clear-eyes and pragmatic about the positives and negatives.

 

[friedrich5000]

Might be good choice for some wealthy people. I think its good move from Trump. The program might not be reliable long term though. Some socialists might come in to power in USA in 4-8 yrs and ditch the program

 

[Martin Everson]

Yes truth is everything Trump promises is indeed a half truth or lie. But I want to see how this plays out legally and read the text of any program for myself . For me its a no go program as I don't ever want to set foot in US for ideological reasons. But I appreciate there are plenty of people who would investigate this program.

Also a one time donation of $5m is not crazy money for a UHNWI. I mean in Italy their program requires donation of 200,000 euros each year and lasts only 15 years. If a one time $5m gets you a guaranteed indefinite tax program it is not that absurd an amount to pay. Plus no EU or foreign country could bully U.S into ditching the program or abolishing it in future if it actually happens.

 

[0xDEADBEEF]

How likely is it that other countries will increase their Golden Visa requirements if this goes through?

 

[JohnnyDoe]

How likely is it that other countries will increase their Golden Visa requirements if this goes through?

more likely they will decrease it.
If the Donald sells this the proper way, it’s checkmate for all the other Golden Visa programs.

 

[Alonzo]

Also a one time donation of $5m is not crazy money for a UHNWI.

If you’re worth $100m+ it’s indeed not crazy - I don’t think anyone at $20m NW would give up 25% of their net worth for a residence card unless the tax regime that comes with it is extremely beneficial.

I mean in Italy their program requires donation of 200,000 euros each year and lasts only 15 years. If a one time $5m gets you a guaranteed indefinite tax program it is not that absurd an amount to pay.

Much cheaper though… €1.5m in total back then (now double since last year). Not for a lifetime but still.

A low annual payment is financially safer than a huge one time fee in the long run - Will those benefiting from the regime be grandfathered when the Dems takes back control of the White House and repeal it?

Plus no EU or foreign country could bully U.S into ditching the program or abolishing it in future if it actually happens.

True

 

[JohnnyDoe]

If you’re worth $100m+ it’s indeed not crazy - I don’t think anyone at $20m NW would give up 25% of their net worth for a residence card unless the tax regime that comes with it is extremely beneficial.


Much cheaper though… €1.5m in total back then (now double since last year). Not for a lifetime but still.

It’s undeniable that living in the U.S. gives terrific opportunities. I see the ticket price for such privilege well justified.

 

[JackAlabama]

the foreign income tax exception and path to citizenship doesn't make much sense to me... how on earth could anyone expect to be acceptable for the public that there is a privileged class of citizens when it comes to taxation?

that is already the case today. Albeit more hidden and less in your face.
Govs all over the world hand out secret deals to all kind of interest groups, only the middle class pays and swallows the tax scam.

 

[JackAlabama]

If you’re worth $100m+ it’s indeed not crazy - I don’t think anyone at $20m NW would give up 25% of their net worth for a residence card unless the tax regime that comes with it is extremely beneficial.


Much cheaper though… €1.5m in total back then (now double since last year). Not for a lifetime but still.

A low annual payment is financially safer than a huge one time fee in the long run - Will those benefiting from the regime be grandfathered when the Dems takes back control of the White House and repeal it?

True

due to very high amount of bad blood in the us politicw, its nearly safe to say all trump things will be cancelled after the 2028 election.
The only way it wont happen is if he remains king for life and 2024 was the last "normal" election.