Are you tired of paying taxes? Don’t you wish you could just move somewhere where the government can’t get their hands on your money? Well, now it’s possible, if you’re prepared to put most of your savings into Bitcoin.

Roger Ver, ex-U.S. citizen, ex-convict, millionaire investor, early Bitcoin investor, self-described libertarian, and someone who’s now dubbed as ‘Bitcoin Jesus,’ is offering a haven for people who want to live almost tax-free in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, two islands which lie about three hours away from Miami. Ver is the founder of Passports for Bitcoin.com, a service that aims to help people move to these islands with the use of Bitcoin.

A little background

Since 1984, St. Kitts and Nevis have ran a government sponsored investment program called Citizenship-by-Investment wherein anyone can become a citizen if they a) purchase a government-approved real estate with a value of $400,000; or b) make a non-refundable $250,000 donation to the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation.

The acquired citizenship allows the investor and his or her family to:

“enjoy full citizenship for life, which can be passed on to future generations by descent. As citizens of St. Kitts & Nevis, you and your family are issued with passports which allow visa-free travel to more than 120 countries and territories worldwide, including all of the EU. Of course you have the right to take up residence in St. Kitts & Nevis as well as in most of the CARICOM member countries at any time and for any length of time.”

So why would anyone want to move there if it means investing hundreds of thousands of dollars? The twin islands offers freedom from government intrusion, which means if you want to hide and not be found, this might be your piece of heaven.

Ver just wants to help… the Chinese

In an interview with Bloomberg, Ver stated that he wants to help wealthy Chinese citizens get a prime piece of land on St. Kitts and Nevis as its government limits overseas money transfers to $50,000 a year.

“The processing agent in St. Kitts told me he feels bad for all of his Chinese clients,” Ver said. “They have to reach out to all different friends and relatives and get them to all send the money in drips and drabs. Bitcoin solves all of that.”

With the use of Bitcoin, and Ver’s service, Chinese people can invest in St. Kitts and Nevis without their government’s knowledge.

Though this might be something that only helps wealthy Chinese citizens, Ver also wants wealthy Americans to get a piece of the action especially now that the US government wants citizens to declare foreign bank accounts. This measure led to a record-breaking 2,999 Americans renouncing their US citizenship in 2013.

But is Passports for Bitcoin really needed by wealthy Americans?

Wealthy Americans don’t need Passports for Bitcoin

Timothy Lavin, editorial member at Bloomberg View, believes that what Ver is offering doesn’t really offer any value for wealthy Americans. Lavin gave two reasons why Ver’s Bitcoin paradise may not be a wise investment.

For one, spending $400K or $250K worth of Bitcoin is risky, especially with its exchange rate continuously changing, plus if you employ Ver’s services, he’ll be taking a cut. Which means you’ll be spending more Bitcoins than just going directly to the St. Kitts and Nevis’ government and transferring the needed money. You don’t actually need Bitcoin to become a citizen.

Second, even if you successfully converted all your money to Bitcoin, be it legally or illegally acquired, and eventually move to St. Kitts and Nevis and severed all your ties with the US, you would still need to convert your Bitcoins into fiat currency to fund your lifestyle, or hope that more establishments in the twin islands start accepting it.

So who in their right minds would want to use Bitcoin to gain access to St. Kitts and Nevis’ piece of heaven despite the obvious inconvenience?

Lavin believes that these are people who are “unhappy and delusional, those convinced that somewhere there’s an enchanted land where no rules apply, no one will ever bother them and the taxman never comes to the door. In this case, very rich people convinced of those things.”

photo credits: iko via photopin cc; whl.travel via photopin cc