FOLLOW THE MONEY: Grand Cayman/ George Town, British West Indies. From the deck of a cruise ship, George Town, the capitol of Cayman Islands, looks like a quaint little village on a Caribbean island. George Town’s harbor is jammed with all manner of cruise ships, from four-master’s to 5000 passenger behemoths from the US. The recession’s not over here; there never was one. Once ashore, your first impression is you’re in a typical Caribbean cruise-ship port. Jimmy Buffet’s bar is here, next to the Hard Rock, which is next to dozens of beach bars and souvenir shops. But on the other side of the island, the west side, the island takes on a different look. West Bay Road has a Marriot, a Ritz Carlton, and other high-end hotels are under construction. New condominium high-rises line the street and dozens of other projects dot the skyline. Condo prices here rival those of apartments along New York’s Central Park. Steel workers swarm over the superstructure of a condo complex under construction. The units in this project were advertised as “Under two-million.” The entire building sold out in three months. Further down the road the Lone Star Bar sells long-necked Buds and all the barbeque you can eat for ten bucks. West Bay Road is referred to by locals as Dart Road, after the dominant local development company owned by Ken Dart, an American-born billionaire. In the mid-90s Dart renounced his American citizenship and acquired the citizenship of, and a compound in, the Cayman Islands. He owns a number of Cayman-based enterprises that are estimated to own 20-25% of the real estate in the Cayman Islands. In 1994 Dart also became a citizen of Belize. At that time Dart offered his residence in Sarasota, Florida, to Belize as a consulate with himself as its consul. This would have allowed him to live in the United States full-time as a foreign diplomat avoiding any actions by the Internal Revenue Service; the US State Department rejected the arrangement. The population here is 52,000. Given the current number of banks and trust companies, nearly 600, there’s one financial institution for every 86 citizens. Your deposits can earn as much as two-percent, and of course, there are no capital gains tax, corporate tax, withholding tax, property tax, payroll tax, or income tax payable by employees here. Confidentiality related to banking is statutory. Grand Cayman has it all: great weather, beautiful beaches, friendly people, and terrific food. I could live here, but if I come back, I’ll need to buy a Honda. Gas here is $8.20 a gallon.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 21:01:54 +0000
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