Here in New Zealand, we’re worried about the upcoming election.

Parties on the other side want to introduce capital gains taxes, wealth taxes, and land taxes. They argue that the wealthy are not paying their fair share.

According to the Taxpayers’ Union:

  • The top 20 percent pay nearly two-thirds of all personal income tax.
  • The top 10 percent pay more than the bottom 80 percent combined.
  • And the top 1 percent contribute more than the entire bottom half of taxpayers.

It turns out that just 46,939 taxpayers pay more income tax than 2.35 million people combined.

We manage wealth for Wholesale Investors — by definition, people with higher levels of wealth, though not necessarily income. Some of them have told me should the envy parties win and seek to tax what they’ve worked hard for, they may leave.

Our Global Managed Accounts are country agnostic. If these people wish to move to another country that allows them to better protect and enjoy their wealth, their portfolios will continue to deliver wherever they are.

There are a few lessons from those countries that are currently acting as magnets for wealth.

 

Source: Visual Capitalist

 

Firstly, most of them are small, nimble countries that don’t tax capital.

New Zealand ranks number two. This may come as a surprise to some readers, but despite our remote location, we outperform on the wealth front. Our households are among the wealthiest globally. We remain a very desirable location for wealth migration. Of course, we could do far more given our safe-haven position — but for now, we’ll be fortunate to keep the destructive left out of power.

Another surprise might be Italy’s competitive position on this list as a high-tax European power. But if you’ve been following the tax incentives Giorgia Meloni’s government has been using in Italy to incentivise and attract prosperous and productive people, you may not be. We started investing in Italy a few years ago when we saw the changes emerging — and equity positions have delivered excellent returns.

 

 

Today, however, I want to look at an emerging business in another underrated, under-the-radar location on this list: Panama.

Along with very favourable tax and wealth migration settings, the country operates as a key hub-and-spoke centre in global trade, aviation, and maritime logistics — anchored by the Panama Canal…

 

Your first Quantum Wealth Report is waiting for you:

⚡🌎 Start Your Subscription: NZ$37.00 / monthly

⚡🌎 Start Your Subscription: US$24.00 / monthly