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The True Purpose of Beneficial Owner Registers · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Let's be clear, the true purpose behind registers of beneficial owners, referred to as RBOs, has nothing to do with stopping money laundering, the financing of terrorism, or the flow of illicit funds.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Wealthy Western countries have forced them upon the world for one purpose, to tax and confiscate wealth.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's no coincidence that governments worldwide began floating wealth taxes shortly after RBOs emerged.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Companies widely implemented RBOs in 2017, by the end of 2020, most of the world had them in place.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: In case you are unfamiliar with RBOs, they require companies and other incorporated entities to report any natural person with a 25% or greater ownership interest.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: If no such person exists, then the persons or persons with substantial control of the entity, think officers and directors, for example, must report.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: Some RBOs allow public access, while others restrict access to governments and those with a legitimate interest.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Governments sold RBOs to the public as a necessary measure to stop criminals and the flow of illicit funds.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Unfortunately, most of the public doesn't own a company, so RBOs don't affect them and they don't care.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: They may think that RBOs are a good idea because they are ignorant about their impact.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Either way, RBOs are here and here to stay.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: RBOs have zero chance of stopping the flow of illicit funds.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: Do you think El Chapo or some other criminal overlord will report themselves in an RBO?
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: Of course not.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: They will use a straw man or employ other tactics to avoid detection as they always have.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: This leaves legitimate people and straw men reporting in RBOs.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: What value does this give governments other than tracking wealth?
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: I recall in 2018, I sat on a panel at a tax conference with the CEO of the Tax Justice Network, also known as TJN.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: He felt so proud that when the UK's RBO came online, the TJN identified 1,200 possible cases of criminal activity.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Out of 2.5 million companies, they identified 1,200 possible cases of criminal activity.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's 0.00048% of companies, to be clear.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: As I said before, stopping criminal activity was never the point of RBOs.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: They exist to tax and confiscate wealth, and you can't tax what you don't know exists.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: This is the main reason most countries abandoned wealth taxes long ago.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Administrators found it too hard to manage, but not with RBOs.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Through RBOs, the government knows who owns what and where.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: No wonder that in 2020, many countries started floating the idea, including those that had previously scrapped it.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Now even the OEC and UN support some type of wealth or billionaire tax.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Wealth taxes didn't work before because governments didn't know what their people owned.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Now they do.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: They now know what to tax and confiscate.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Just imagine if the Nazis, communists, or ill-intentioned dictators had access to this information.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Such risks continue today.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine you live somewhere under an oppressive regime, and now your assets fall within such regime's purview.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Not only could your regime endanger your wealth, but your life.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Most governments long ago stopped looking out for their people's best interests and started looking out for the best interests of the government, which means more taxes.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: You now have far more financial freedom in non-democratic countries like the UAE and Singapore than you do in so-called democracies.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Most democracies today essentially try to back into a form of Marxism through taxation.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: They want to tax everyone into equality, but the lion's share of wealth winds up with the government.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: They're pushing for higher taxes on the rich, wealth taxes, and I have even seen proposals capping wealth at 10 million US dollars.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: This is not what the world needs.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: Economies thrive under capitalism and die under communism.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: This should be clear by now, but unfortunately, the masses feel attracted to more government handouts.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Make no mistake, wealth taxes and confiscation are coming.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Governments will not stop at direct taxation.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: They will confiscate wealth through indirect taxation or confiscation, such as penalties.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: In the US, for example, if you fail to update your beneficial owner information in the Beneficial Owner Information Register on Time, the penalty is$500 per day.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Other countries have similar ridiculously high penalties and they will get worse.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: The Americans, for the time being, have dodged a bullet by electing Donald Trump.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: There will be no tax on the rich and wealth taxes under his leadership.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: The outlook appears grimmer in other parts of the world.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: So, how do you protect yourself and your wealth?
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: The answer is that you must move somewhere where wealth is welcome and offers tax-advantage living.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: You must also put your wealth in a properly structured trust or foundation, which can legally keep your identity out of RBOs.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: This episode first appeared as an article by Jimmy Sexton on IMIDaily.com.
• 5:01
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• 5:07
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