Hi ,

Like Charles de Gaulle before them, China and Russia have been openly critical of the dollar’s world reserve currency status. Along with countries like Brazil and South Africa, Russia and China have actively sought to sidestep the U.S. Dollar whenever possible.

Meanwhile, the IMF have stopped short of presenting to the world with a replacement to the petrodollar––in other words, an alternative system. A move that bold should be planned for, calculated, organized. That day will come, are you ready?

Russia and China have been stockpiling gold, on a level unprecedented since WWII.

In 2016 the Yuan was finally awarded a place among the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Right Basket––a form of international money––alongside the US dollar, the Japanese Yen, the Euro, and Pound Sterling.

If central banks had a boss, it would be the IMF, likely the only institution with the power and reach to bail out central banks. In the event of a New Bretton Woods, China now has a seat at the table.

Fast forward to present day. America is no longer the world’s largest importer of oil, China is. And Saudi Arabia is no longer the world’s largest producer of oil, Russia is. And it appears the time has come to make a play.

On March 26, China launched the Shanghai Crude Futures Contract. What is it? It’s a way for the world to buy and sell oil, without using the dollar. The contract will be settled in Yuan. Short on Yuan? No problem, you can buy as much as you want…with gold.

The implications of Shanghai Crude Futures?

Disgruntled countries can now buy oil without first buying dollars, and do so with a widely traded mainstream instrument, settled in the currency of the world’s 2nd largest economy.

All the money diverted to this new system equates to an equal amount of money not buying dollars. A decrease in demand = downward pressure on the price of the dollar.

Increased demand for Yuan and/or Gold will put upward price pressure on the currency, and is incredibly bullish for the metal.

If enough countries follow China’s lead, the petrodollar monetary system America has enjoyed for 40+ years could dissolve overnight, and the dollar could lose its world reserve currency status.

The economic and political chaos that would accompany such an event….

Three days after launching the contract, the Chinese announced that they will begin buying all their oil with Yuan, instead of the dollar, as early as this year. And recently the headlines at Zerohedge read,

“China’s State-Owned Media Proclaims Petroyuan Will ‘Shake People’s Confidence In The US Dollar.’

It should come as little surprise that the same week the Petroyuan was introduced, Trump released a flood of tariffs on Chinese exports – the first in a series of retaliatory efforts we could expect, setting the stage for an all-out tradewar between the world’s two largest economies.

There may be no easy way out of this one, but as an investor you can protect yourself. If your portfolio is entirely composed of instruments denominated in US dollars, now might be a good time to rethink the mix.

And what’s bad for the US dollar could bode well for precious metals, which is why keeping at least 10% of your portfolio in physical bullion is a precaution worth taking.

An overseas retirement plan can provide a legal and tax compliant NQDC personal investment structure, that enables an individual who takes the time and pays the expense to create, a way to defer income tax and capital gains tax, until after the completion of the plan, or liquidation and repatriation of those assets.

Bitcoin and crypto asset values have dropped substantially in the past three months indicates a good time to change ownership of digital assets now, prior to the climb back up. We suggest that holders of digital assets invest offshore by transferring ownership to your own customized retirement plan. Legally tax deferred, asset protection.

Hong Kong's Government has published a draft law preserving the profits tax exemption for offshore venture capital funds who participate in the island's new Innovation and Technology Venture Fund (ITVF).

The ITVF was set up by Hong Kong's Government in 2017 with the aim of encouraging more private investment in Hong Kong's innovation and technology start-ups. Under the ITVF, the Government will co-invest with selected venture capital funds in local innovation and technology start-ups at an overall ratio of about 1:2.

The draft law has been prompted by concerns from offshore venture capital funds that co-investing with the Government under the ITVF scheme could result in the loss of profits tax exemption status. Loss of this status could potentially mean a fund becoming liable to tax in Hong Kong on investment profits, whether arising within or outside Hong Kong, thereby acting as a disincentive to participating in the ITVF.

The draft law, Inland Revenue Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 16) Notice 2018, is scheduled to be debated in Hong Kong's Parliament on May 2, 2018, and the intended start date is June 22, 2018.

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

The real opportunity for the 402b is to be a start-up company plan in which the management and staff are all participating. The structure would hold the stock of the employees/management, would be pre-tax, and would be funded initially out of monthly employee contributions, and eventually out of performance-related options, grants or company matching payments (like a 401k often is).

The structure may invest in its own company stock, or even other investments because it is company plan, the costs of establishment should be low on a per member basis.

Members like one example who has significant assets and interest in more complex plans, could set up his own plan for those investments. But he is in a position to introduce these plans to the start-ups he helps set up. Furthermore, many of these existing investments he has are in options or zero-value grant shares. In other words, theses new assets really have no market value because the company is just starting up. Therefore, the tax consequences of moving these existing corporate assets into a 402b - a taxable event - might not cost a nickel in some cases, even if the "theoretical" value of the investment once the company meets its targets could be in excess of $1M.

This style of 402b is tax deferred on gains and accumulation. It is a foreign regulated, registered and recognized retirement plan that is also acknowledged in the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) as exempt from withholding. It is recognized in the O.E.C.D. Common Reporting Standard Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) globally as tax rules compliant and exempt non-reporting Foreign Financial Institution and excluded for reporting account.

The money flow must go from the funder to the Anti Money Laundering (AML) Licensed and recognized 402(b) plan registered Occupational Retirement Scheme Overseas (ORSO) and US Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN)- regulated Trustee Account that is Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) tax rules compliant and exempt; non-reporting Foreign Financial Institution (FFI) and excluded.

So In a start-up environment, top managers are not really concerned about upfront tax liability at all. They would kill for something to protect them from the tax on the capital gains of future investments. Middle managers would be interested in pre-tax contributions out of their monthly pay-checks.

The 402b Opportunity is Now! This structure (type) can serve both classes of members, without challenging fundamental principles.