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Writer's pictureTroy Ericson

Should you move to Puerto Rico or Dubai to avoid taxes?

I first heard about the 4% tax rate in Puerto Rico in 2020.


In case you haven't, US citizens can move to PR & reduce their income tax rate to 4%... and capital gains tax to 0%.


And in Dubai, it's 0%.


As soon as I heard that, my friend Jason Wojo & I instantly booked a call with an attorney to figure out if we wanted to do it together.


We quickly found out that we'd have to pay $30k just to import our cars there, along with about $20k in other fees.


So we shut it down, at least for a little while (we'd just moved to Florida & upgraded our cars lol)...


But we always wondered, "what if?"


I mean, the thought of moving somewhere new in your early 20's is ALWAYS exciting.


The nature, the culture, the people, the other entrepreneurs, the girls (I was single lol)...


Fast forward a couple years and I was in a serious relationship with my now-wife Julia, and the question popped up again...


"We're making a lot of money... Should we move to Puerto Rico?"


There was only 1 way to find out. So we booked our flight and hoped we would LOVE it.


But the truth is... We didn't. Not even close.


Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful... And an awesome experience (photos below to prove it)…


But strictly as a vacation.


So before you decide to move to Puerto Rico to save on taxes...


Let me share why I would never do it:


❌ When the restaurant finally serves your breakfast, it’s already lunch time.�


❌ To get gas, you have to go inside, wait in line behind a ton of people chit-chatting, give them your card, go back outside to pump the gas, come back in & wait in line again, pay, and leave.�


❌ The language barrier is tough if you’re not already good at Spanish.�


❌ The infrastructure isn’t anywhere near America. The drivers are really really bad. And the roads are full of pot holes (at least that saves you from wanting to bring your nice car lol)�


❌ You’re soooo far away from everyone, everything, and all the opportunities in the mainland US. It takes a lot of time & money anytime you want to travel.�


❌ The internet goes out a lot.�


❌ You’re pretty trapped given that you’re on an island, especially since the middle is more mountainous, & there are a fair amount of places you shouldn’t go.�


❌ It makes you wonder about your future & if you’d actually want to raise a family one day so far from everything you’ve known (in mileage & culture).�


That’s all I can think of at this exact moment. And I can't personally speak for Dubai, but I'd probably come to the same conclusion.


👉 But the theme is:


There’s almost always a trade-off between time & money.


If you save money, you spend time.


If you pay money, you save time.


Like I said, it’s different for everyone. And we had a great time in Puerto Rico (photos here)… But I refuse to make my life 100x less convenient to save money…


Anyway, hope you enjoyed.


Would you move to Puerto Rico or Dubai to avoid taxes?

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