Archives
2026
Monaco vs. the French Riviera: Where Should You Put the Next €10 Million?
For investors with substantial capital, the question is rarely whether Monaco or the French Rivie...
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Beyond the €1.3 Million Line: How French Wealth Tax Shapes Real Estate Investment Around Monaco
The French impôt sur la fortune immobilière (IFI) is often presented as a tax issue for wealthy i...
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Why Family Offices Are Moving Toward Alternative Assets
The traditional investment portfolio was built around public markets: shares, bonds, cash and per...
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The Return of Private Equity to Wealth Management
For decades, private equity was largely an institutional investment. Pension funds invested in it...
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The European Investor Has More Choices Than Ever
There was a time when the European investor had a relatively simple choice. London was the financ...
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Cyprus: From Investment Migration to Wealth Management
For much of the last decade, Cyprus was discussed internationally through the lens of investment ...
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France's Wealth Tax and the Monaco Investor
There is a particular irony in the relationship between France and Monaco. The two jurisdictions ...
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Monaco: The Last Great Wealth Haven?
There are very few places in Europe that can genuinely be described as wealth jurisdictions. Ther...
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The New Geography of European Wealth
For much of the modern era, the geography of European wealth was remarkably predictable. It was L...
Read More2025
The End of the Golden Visa Era?
For more than a decade, the European Golden Visa was one of the most successful products in inter...
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Tax Residence Is Becoming an Investment Decision
For most people, tax residence is something that happens to them. They live in a country. They wo...
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The Rise of the Family Office State
There was a time when governments competed for companies. Then they competed for foreign direct i...
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The New Competition for Wealthy Europeans
For decades, the European competition for wealthy individuals was relatively simple.
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When Governments Change the Rules After Investors Arrive
There is a risk in every investment that rarely appears in the investment memorandum.
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Malta and the Future of Citizenship by Investment
Malta’s citizenship-by-investment programme has always been controversial. For investors, it repr...
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Spain Set to Close Its Golden Visa: What Does It Mean for Europe?
Spain is about to close one of Europe’s largest property-based investment migration programmes.
Read More2024
The New HNWI Playbook: Residence, Tax and Capital
The wealthy investor used to have a relatively simple problem.
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The Return of the Wealth Tax Debate
For several years, the European debate about wealth taxation appeared to be moving in one directi...
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The EU's New AML Rules and Investment Migration
There has always been a connection between investment migration and anti-money laundering, but hi...
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Is Real Estate Still the Best Investment Migration Asset?
For more than a decade, real estate was the natural asset of investment migration. If an investor...
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Portugal's Golden Visa Without Property
Portugal has done something that few European countries have attempted. It has effectively separa...
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2023
Wealth Migration After COVID: Permanent Change or Temporary Phenomenon?
COVID-19 changed many things. It changed the way people worked, the way companies operated, and t...
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Why Investment Funds Are Replacing Real Estate in Migration Programmes
For more than a decade, European investment migration was largely a real estate story. The propos...
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The Death of the European Property Golden Visa
For more than a decade, the European Golden Visa was one of the most successful investment migrat...
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Citizenship by Investment: Product or Public Policy?
There is an uncomfortable question at the heart of the citizenship-by-investment industry: Is cit...
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Greece: The New European Golden Visa Leader?
Europe’s investment migration market is changing quickly. For years, Portugal was the obvious lea...
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Portugal's Golden Visa: When Success Becomes a Problem
Portugal’s Golden Visa was one of Europe’s great investment migration success stories.
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The End of Easy Tax Planning in Europe
There was a time when international tax planning could be relatively straightforward. Establish a...
Read More2022
The 15% Global Minimum Tax: What Happens Next?
For years, countries have competed for international business by offering lower corporate tax rat...
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The European Tax Competition Nobody Wants to Talk About
Europe does not like to talk about tax competition.
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Investment Migration Is No Longer Just About a Passport
For many years, investment migration was described in very simple terms.
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The New Geography of Wealth
For much of the modern financial era, the geography of wealth was relatively predictable.
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Is the UK Becoming Unfriendly to Wealth?
For generations, Britain understood the value of attracting wealthy people.
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HNWIs Seeking to Leave the UK
The migration patterns of high-net-worth individuals departing from the United Kingdom amid a per...
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Hungary Blocks Global Minimum Tax
Hungary has blocked an EU directive that would introduce a 15% minimum tax on large multinational...
Read More2021
Why Malaysia's Failure on MM2H Will Result in Decreased FDI Interest
Malaysia’s decision to impose substantially stricter requirements on its Malaysia My Second Home ...
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When Investment Migration Programs Go Wrong
When examining the problems that have emerged around Cyprus’s Citizenship Investment Program (CIP...
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The Pending Paradigm Shift
Western liberal democracies are confronting a combination of fiscal, political and institutional ...
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Wealthy Beware
High-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in Asia and the Americas should increasingly consider investme...
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For the 99.5% Act
On March 25, 2021, Senator Bernie Sanders introduced the For the 99.5 Percent Act, a significant ...
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US Attempts to Create a Global Tax Baseline
The Biden administration is attempting to do something that would have been politically and econo...
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Cyprus Changes Permanent Residency Program to Reflect Fund Options
Cyprus has modified its permanent residency by investment programme in a way that represents a me...
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Crypto & Taxes
Cryptocurrency has moved rapidly from the margins of the financial system into mainstream discuss...
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FATCA and Foreign Bank Accounts
Significant changes to U.S. anti-money laundering and financial-transparency laws are giving Amer...
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NY Beware. Americans are Looking Elsewhere
A recent New York Post article by Carl Campanile and Kate Sheehy, “NY legislature proposes nearly...
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Democrats Push for a 'Wealth Tax'
The United States has never imposed a federal annual tax on individual net wealth. Nevertheless, ...
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Rich Indians are Set to Leave
India’s wealthy have increasingly been looking beyond the country’s borders as taxation, regulati...
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Options for Wealthy Nigerians
Wealthy Nigerians are increasingly examining international relocation options, with citizenship b...
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US Taxes Set to Rise
With Joe Biden assuming the presidency and Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress, the U...
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US Ends UBO Privacy
There is a growing international trend toward greater transparency in beneficial ownership. Gover...
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Closure of Cyprus CIP 'a Great Travesty'
I was featured in IMI Daily’s “Ten On The Weekend”, discussing the closure of Cyprus’s Citizenshi...
Read More2020
UK Wealth Tax
The potential implementation of a UK wealth tax would prove economically damaging. The imposition...
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Argentina and Taxes
Argentinians have traditionally looked first to Uruguay and then to the United States when consid...
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UK Starts to Tax Wealth
Like other major economies in 2020, the UK is facing a significant fiscal shortfall as a result o...
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India Introduces Citizenship Based Taxation
India has recently implemented citizenship-based taxation, marking a significant shift in its tax...
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Portugal to Allow Birthright Citizenship
Portugal has implemented a significant policy change regarding birthright citizenship. Children b...
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Real Estate Collapse in Cyprus
As of November 1, Cyprus will suspend its existing Citizenship by Investment Programme. The decis...
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Structural Impediments to the Cyprus Economy
My article has been featured in IMI Daily, discussing the two chief vulnerabilities of Cyprus’s C...
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Global Real Estate Collapse
Financial-industry predictions of a limited global real estate correction may prove overly optimi...
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'Neither fair nor helpful' - Thoughts on Al Jazeera's Investigation
I was asked by IMI Daily to provide commentary on an Al Jazeera investigation examining Cyprus’s ...
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Tax Their Obscene Wealth
With the Democrats now solidifying around a Biden-Harris ticket, the U.S. faces a real choice bet...
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COVID-19 and the Pending Collapse of Real Estate
COVID-19 represents a global turning point that will shift toward more restrictive international ...
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How COVID-19 Will Change the World
COVID-19 represents a pivotal moment for the global economy and citizenship by investment (CBI) p...
Read More2019
Cyprus Amends Naturalization Program
The Republic of Cyprus has updated its Naturalization by Exception Programme, with the revised ru...
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Some Thoughts on Austria
Austria’s Ministry of Finance recently clarified whether a home office arrangement for an employe...
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Dividends in Austria
An Austrian Supreme Administrative Court ruling addressed dividend withholding tax treatment for ...
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Hungary vs. Google
In September 2019, the European Court of Justice’s advocate general ruled that Hungary’s advertis...
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Bulgarian Transfer Pricing
Bulgaria’s parliament enacted fresh transfer pricing regulations on July 31, 2019, aligning with ...
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Czech Cross-Border Disclosure
The Czech Republic is implementing DAC 6, an EU directive requiring mandatory disclosure of cross...
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Bulgaria Starts Again with GDPR
In late January 2019, Bulgaria’s legislature adopted the EU’s GDPR regulation, but the Bulgarian ...
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Amendments to the Hungarian Labour Code
Hungary updated its labour regulations to expand overtime allowances. The annual permissible over...
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Albania Tax Update
On January 1, 2019, Albania modified its Income Tax Act to establish new regulations addressing i...
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Serbia Institutes UBO Registry
As of the end of 2018, Serbia established a central register for ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs...
Read More2018
Austria Changes Its Data Protection
In November, Austria’s Data Protection Authority mandated that data processing operations in all ...
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Romania Changes Insolvency Laws
Government Emergency Ordinance GEO 8/2018 introduced significant amendments to Romania’s insolven...
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ESMA Updates AIF Disclosure Requirements
On October 4, 2018, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) released updated guidanc...
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Germany Moves to Regulate Online Retailers
Germany advanced legislation in August targeting VAT avoidance for goods sold through online mark...
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US Expands Restraints on Transfer of Sensitive Goods and Technologies
The U.S. government introduced regulatory measures to control sensitive goods and technology tran...
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New Collective Agreements in Slovenia
In August 2018, Slovenia implemented a new collective agreement baseline affecting employer sched...
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Monitoring Polish Employees After GDPR
Following GDPR implementation, Poland enacted specific regulations governing employee monitoring ...
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Bulgaria Adopts Changes to Public Procurement
Bulgaria has implemented new appeal procedures for public procurement to streamline processes and...
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Croatia Changes Its Capital Markets Regime
In July, Croatia’s parliament enacted a new Capital Markets Act to harmonize domestic legislation...
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Russia Moves Forward on Countermeasures
Russia has responded to U.S. sanctions imposed in April 2018 by passing legislation that grants t...
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EU Affects Cross-Border Transactions
The European Union implemented new cross-border transaction reporting requirements through Counci...
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US Puts WTO Into Crisis Mode
The Trump administration has created significant dysfunction within the World Trade Organization ...
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Hungary Proposes Screening of FDI
The Hungarian government introduced legislative proposals to establish regulatory oversight of fo...
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Major Changes to Romania's Public Procurement Regime
Romania recently enacted Government Emergency Ordinance 45/2018 to amend its public procurement f...
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Serbia to Institute UBO Law
The Serbian parliament adopted legislation establishing a central registry for ultimate beneficia...
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European Commission Legislative Update
On May 24th, the European Commission released proposals promoting SME growth markets. The initiat...
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Poland Introduces Debtor Registry
Poland has launched the Register of Public Law Dues, designed to track financial liabilities of i...
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Bulgaria Introduces GDPR
Bulgaria’s government announced plans to introduce additional protocols under the EU General Data...
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Cyprus Adopts EU Exchange of Tax Information
Cyprus has aligned its domestic legislation with EU Directive 2016/881/EU through Law 33(I)/2018,...
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US Customer Due Diligence Regime Goes Live
US banks have implemented the Treasury’s new customer due diligence (CDD) regime, requiring verif...
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Oil and Gas Industry Strengthens
Key trends are emerging in the oil and gas sector as the industry gains momentum amid rising comm...
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Greece Amends Cadastral System
Greece has restructured its property registration system by establishing a new public entity call...
Read More2017
M&A in Cyprus
This comprehensive overview examines the regulatory framework governing mergers and acquisitions ...
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A Short Discussion on Energy Regulation in Albania
Albania’s energy sector demonstrates reasonable strength overall, particularly regarding regulato...
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Republic Srpska Tax Update
The National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska adopted amendments to the Profit Tax Law on Decem...
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Belarus Tax Note
A proposed amendment to Belarus’s Tax Code was released by the Ministry of Finance, providing bus...
Read More2016
New Amendment to the Hungarian Civil Code
The Hungarian Civil Code amendment, effective October 1, 2016, introduced the independent mortgag...
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How Brexit May Impact British Property Owners in Bulgaria
Approximately 1.3 million UK citizens reside in Europe, with many choosing Bulgaria for vacation ...
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The New Enforcement and Security Act (Serbia)
Serbia’s Enforcement and Security Act (ESA) took effect on July 1, 2016, following its adoption i...
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How to Establish a Limited Liability Company in Czech Republic
A limited liability company represents the preferred business structure for foreign investors in ...
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The Bulgarian Supreme Court Repeals Cumbersome Fee Rates Under the Public Procurement Act
The Bulgarian Supreme Court issued a judgment on February 29, 2016, that invalidated Regulation N...
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Cyprus: Proposed Amendment on Automatic Exchange of Information
An important legislative proposal is being considered by Cyprus’s Council of Ministers regarding ...
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Banking Secrecy in Cyprus
Complete bank secrecy is becoming obsolete. The Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) framewor...
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Brexit - Potential Impact on London Based Private Equity Managers
On June 23, 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union, triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon T...
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Slovenia Amends Insolvency Law
Slovenia modified its Financial Operations, Insolvency Proceedings and Compulsory Dissolution Act...
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