Micronesia
| Pros |
|---|
| Absence of federal personal income tax and competitive corporate tax rates for business entities. |
| High levels of personal safety and low crime rates within a stable Pacific environment. |
| Minimal state interference in private affairs and strong protection of basic civil liberties. |
| Cons |
|---|
| Property rights limitations due to constitutional prohibitions on land ownership for non-citizens. |
| Severe infrastructure deficiencies regarding electrical stability and limited high-speed internet connectivity. |
| High economic reliance on foreign subsidies and restricted local market size for business scaling. |
Long story short: At the bar in Kolonia, they'll warn you fast: no foreigner ever owns land here, the Constitution bans it outright, only long-term leases exist.
The upside: taxes stay light, admin is basically a ghost, corruption shows up as clan-based favoritism rather than bribes, and crime is close to zero in the neighborhoods you'll actually live in.
Beyond that: the banking system is hanging by a thread since US banks cut correspondent ties, infrastructure is creaky, but local food is honest and Chuuk's underwater wrecks rank among the most stunning dive sites in the Pacific.
Will your income be taxed?
Long story short: NO.
Micronesia doesn't tax personal income, and nobody comes sniffing around when you settle in. No withholding, no tax return, no centre-of-vital-interests trap waiting to snap shut.
Earn what you want: the taxman here simply doesn't know your name.
Will your wealth be taxed?
Long story short: NO.
Micronesia keeps its hands off what you hold. No capital gains tax, no annual wealth grab, no inheritance regime.
Your portfolio compounds in peace and leaves the way it came in; nobody's standing at the door with their palm out.
Easy to run a company there?
Long story short: YES.
Micronesia is maximum operational chill: no corporate income tax on standard profits, no criminal liability for misuse of corporate assets, and non-public registries.
The state doesn't take a cut, doesn't park a prosecutor over your intra-company flows, and doesn't put your name in a search box.
VAT sits at n/a. Run your thing; nobody's looking over your shoulder.
A good fit for a holding?
Long story short: NO.
Micronesia has no treaty network at all, which buries the holding question, full stop.
Every dividend in or out eats the statutory withholding at full rate, and no domestic regime can patch a hole that sits on the source side. Don't park a holding here.
| Country | Status | Dividends | Interest | Royalties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| ∅ // no treaties match | ||||
Easy to come and go?
Long story short: LITTLE.
Coming and going from Micronesia costs you nothing worth mentioning. Territorial regime (foreign income stays foreign), no exit tax at the door.
You show up with your stuff, you leave with your stuff, plus whatever you earned abroad in between. Borders the way they should all work.
Is your money watched?
Long story short: NO.
Nobody's reading over your shoulder in Micronesia. It has joined almost none of the big automatic-exchange machines (CRS, FATCA, CARF, MLI, MAAC), and its corporate registries are non-public.
Your account movements stay out of foreign tax offices; your name stays out of search boxes. Here, discretion isn't a perk; it's the factory setting.
Is it blacklisted?
Long story short: NO.
Micronesia sits on no major blacklist, though it's outside the FATF club.
Some counterparties will run a bit of extra due diligence out of habit, but there's no formal stigma: you won't get hassled for dealing with it.
Do you feel free there?
Long story short:
Not enough data to tell how free you'd actually feel in Micronesia.
Connected to the world?
Long story short: POORLY CONNECTED.
The two rails that matter are both dead in Micronesia. Stripe won't onboard you, so card payments mean a foreign structure or a local processor with its own rules. Amazon doesn't deliver either.
Some secondary services run (3/11), but for an online business this is swimming against the current.
Other jurisdictions worth comparing
Picked by similarity of strategic profile to Micronesia. No editorial ranking — neighbours in the same scoring space.