The sphere of offshoring has been under attack since the 80s and has reached a crescendo in the last 1-2 years. Various bodies, including governments, under coordination of international bodies have been placing pressure on offshore banks in particular. This pressure is not to stop terrorists or criminals, but to reap higher tax revenues from the cash cows of failing welfare states, mainly The Anglosphere and primary EU countries.
This action has pushed up the risk appetite of said banks, who in the past routinely opened accounts with 500-10,000 balances to require larger and larger sums, with more limits and fees. The activities you are allowed have also been reduced. For example certain types of transfers in may be blocked and you will probably be blocked from brokerage. This owing to they don't want any exposure to the wrath of foreign authorities. Offshore banks are turning into roach motels that you will find it harder to get money in and out. Many may be cut off from the primary fiat systems of EUR, GBP, USD etc. If you have offshore accounts, be prepared to find your money is one day inaccessible.
There is also growing pressure on major actors in international transfers e.g. electronic money accounts, affiliate brokers, freelance brokers etc. In particular they want a tax ID, which they are moving towards total, automatic global awareness of. This is an issue if you are a digital nomad, as despite not being tax resident anywhere, you will increasingly be required to enter a tax ID and residential address (which you may not have).
I would no longer recommend any offshore setup that is not both expertly planned and where you keep your primary residence in a tax-free jurisdiction or one where you are transparent.
Instead I would recommend making it your goal/priority to settle in a jurisdiction you are comfortable with the arrangements for tax. If you have more than one source of income this will generally require you setup a onshore business presence somewhere. Although the extent of that could be low, it cannot be a shell without a serviceable address etc. The exception is if you are a freelancer, i.e. you have a stream of different clients or you work remotely. If you are paid regularly by more than one company you will run into issues with compliance.
If you are a business (as described above) you will want to move somewhere where you will intend to stay for the foreseeable future. For no-tax jurisdictions you have several Caribbean countries: Cayman, BVI, The Bahamas, Anguilla, St Kitts; in Europe: Monaco and Sark and a few gulf countries, notably The UAE; and Vanuatu. There are a number of low tax countries, such as The Isle of Man, The Channel Islands, Puerto Rico, North Mariana Islands, Hong Kong, Singapore, Georgia, Mauritius, Lichtenstein, Cyprus, Gibraltar and Barbados. Depending on your arrangements you may be able to add others. For any of these options you should have considerable capital at hand unless you are a UK citizen in the case of their offshore dependencies or a US citizen in the case of its commonwealths. If you are a UK citizen Alderney is a good fit, with low taxes and an open property market. The Isle of Man is also good. Once settled there you can pay negligible to low rates, depending on your arrangements, for sensible government, protection of private property and no globo-madness.
If you are a freelancer, you still have quite good options. The issue will be (particularly if you are paid by large companies like CJ, Amazon etc.) is you will increasingly have to provide a tax ID to vendors and money services providers. Your options for banks are also slim and you will likely have to rely on EMIs (like Payoneer, TransferWise). I recommend you open as many personal accounts as you can (in any circumstance) and not hold much money in one place. It's always possible one will get shut down or frozen. You can continue living anywhere as a global nomad, but the gold standard appears to be Georgia, which provides solid and likely durable footing for a digital nomad (see). Barbados also offer a 1 year tax-free visa for $2,000; and you can get freelance visas in the UAE, but the cost can be quite a lot more. I think the entry point for freelancers in The UAE should those making $50,000+ / year. The benefit of Georgia is you can setup a bank account easily there and I would also recommend setting up an account in Armenia, which is also easy.
The benefit of Georgia and Armenia is that they are not part of the common reporting system, which shares account details with the countries of their holders. I think Georgia is actually scheduled to join this and Armenia might be also in a few years. Having an account in a non-CRS country is useful, but they will likely become rarer, harder to get and eventually subject to CRS. They also tend to be in less stable countries.
So if you are starting off with online/remote work a good start is either Georgia or Barbados. Live frugally and stack as much as you can. Hopefully make some on investments. Once you have good capital and need a real, onshore business presence, then move to your preferred location and setup a business. The UAE offers a lot of advantages and will remain one of the freest countries in term of economics. However, it's about the same price to incorporate an onshore company in the UAE as a more durable offshore one. You will be paying a minimum of $4,000 per year for renewal, but could be more like $10,000. The best place to incorporate is Dubai's DMCC, which is one of the highest reputation places to setup a business. They also offer occasional 3-year 50% discounts. Corporate bank accounts are becoming harder to open in The UAE (due to external pressure from the usual suspects). Having a company in Dubai helps, rather than one of the cheaper zones, some of which are out in the desert. In other jurisdictions you should be able to get renewal at much more modest rates of about $200, but will likely come with taxes.
Another option is to live as an expat in a country with a primitive tax system where you will likely go unreported. That cannot be any OECD country. But, again, be very careful with where you keep your money, as the powers that be will be cutting away at your ability to hold any accounts outside of your country and outside of excessive regulation. There are all sorts of games you can play to try and keep ahead, but they cost money and have risks, which is why I recommend getting an onshore setup, with the prospect of freelancing on solid ground prior to this.
This action has pushed up the risk appetite of said banks, who in the past routinely opened accounts with 500-10,000 balances to require larger and larger sums, with more limits and fees. The activities you are allowed have also been reduced. For example certain types of transfers in may be blocked and you will probably be blocked from brokerage. This owing to they don't want any exposure to the wrath of foreign authorities. Offshore banks are turning into roach motels that you will find it harder to get money in and out. Many may be cut off from the primary fiat systems of EUR, GBP, USD etc. If you have offshore accounts, be prepared to find your money is one day inaccessible.
There is also growing pressure on major actors in international transfers e.g. electronic money accounts, affiliate brokers, freelance brokers etc. In particular they want a tax ID, which they are moving towards total, automatic global awareness of. This is an issue if you are a digital nomad, as despite not being tax resident anywhere, you will increasingly be required to enter a tax ID and residential address (which you may not have).
I would no longer recommend any offshore setup that is not both expertly planned and where you keep your primary residence in a tax-free jurisdiction or one where you are transparent.
Instead I would recommend making it your goal/priority to settle in a jurisdiction you are comfortable with the arrangements for tax. If you have more than one source of income this will generally require you setup a onshore business presence somewhere. Although the extent of that could be low, it cannot be a shell without a serviceable address etc. The exception is if you are a freelancer, i.e. you have a stream of different clients or you work remotely. If you are paid regularly by more than one company you will run into issues with compliance.
If you are a business (as described above) you will want to move somewhere where you will intend to stay for the foreseeable future. For no-tax jurisdictions you have several Caribbean countries: Cayman, BVI, The Bahamas, Anguilla, St Kitts; in Europe: Monaco and Sark and a few gulf countries, notably The UAE; and Vanuatu. There are a number of low tax countries, such as The Isle of Man, The Channel Islands, Puerto Rico, North Mariana Islands, Hong Kong, Singapore, Georgia, Mauritius, Lichtenstein, Cyprus, Gibraltar and Barbados. Depending on your arrangements you may be able to add others. For any of these options you should have considerable capital at hand unless you are a UK citizen in the case of their offshore dependencies or a US citizen in the case of its commonwealths. If you are a UK citizen Alderney is a good fit, with low taxes and an open property market. The Isle of Man is also good. Once settled there you can pay negligible to low rates, depending on your arrangements, for sensible government, protection of private property and no globo-madness.
If you are a freelancer, you still have quite good options. The issue will be (particularly if you are paid by large companies like CJ, Amazon etc.) is you will increasingly have to provide a tax ID to vendors and money services providers. Your options for banks are also slim and you will likely have to rely on EMIs (like Payoneer, TransferWise). I recommend you open as many personal accounts as you can (in any circumstance) and not hold much money in one place. It's always possible one will get shut down or frozen. You can continue living anywhere as a global nomad, but the gold standard appears to be Georgia, which provides solid and likely durable footing for a digital nomad (see). Barbados also offer a 1 year tax-free visa for $2,000; and you can get freelance visas in the UAE, but the cost can be quite a lot more. I think the entry point for freelancers in The UAE should those making $50,000+ / year. The benefit of Georgia is you can setup a bank account easily there and I would also recommend setting up an account in Armenia, which is also easy.
The benefit of Georgia and Armenia is that they are not part of the common reporting system, which shares account details with the countries of their holders. I think Georgia is actually scheduled to join this and Armenia might be also in a few years. Having an account in a non-CRS country is useful, but they will likely become rarer, harder to get and eventually subject to CRS. They also tend to be in less stable countries.
So if you are starting off with online/remote work a good start is either Georgia or Barbados. Live frugally and stack as much as you can. Hopefully make some on investments. Once you have good capital and need a real, onshore business presence, then move to your preferred location and setup a business. The UAE offers a lot of advantages and will remain one of the freest countries in term of economics. However, it's about the same price to incorporate an onshore company in the UAE as a more durable offshore one. You will be paying a minimum of $4,000 per year for renewal, but could be more like $10,000. The best place to incorporate is Dubai's DMCC, which is one of the highest reputation places to setup a business. They also offer occasional 3-year 50% discounts. Corporate bank accounts are becoming harder to open in The UAE (due to external pressure from the usual suspects). Having a company in Dubai helps, rather than one of the cheaper zones, some of which are out in the desert. In other jurisdictions you should be able to get renewal at much more modest rates of about $200, but will likely come with taxes.
Another option is to live as an expat in a country with a primitive tax system where you will likely go unreported. That cannot be any OECD country. But, again, be very careful with where you keep your money, as the powers that be will be cutting away at your ability to hold any accounts outside of your country and outside of excessive regulation. There are all sorts of games you can play to try and keep ahead, but they cost money and have risks, which is why I recommend getting an onshore setup, with the prospect of freelancing on solid ground prior to this.
