Jumping the Line or Out of the Net? Tax and the Immigrant Investor

Abstract

Many countries seek to attract wealthy individuals — their capital, if not actually themselves — with programs that confer residence or citizenship in exchange for specified investments in local property or business ventures. Some programs simply facilitate jumping the immigration line, while other facilitate jumping out of the tax net in one country to land in another potentially more favorable. This column considers some of the tax implications of common immigration by investment program features, and queries whether such programs should be a worry for the international tax system.

Keywords: Taxation, Tax Policy, Migration, Investment, Citizenship, Nationality, Residence, Immigrant Investment, Golden Visa, Economic Citizenship

JEL Classification: D78, F02, F22, F42, H20, H26, H87, K33, K34