WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:09.840 The Netherlands just approved a 36% tax on unrealized financial gains. Yes, this is on top of 00:09.840 --> 00:17.380 the crazy income tax rates that they have up to 50%. And no, this isn't tax on 00:17.380 --> 00:24.200 realized gains. This is on unrealized gains. And it's not just for the wealthy. No, this will be 00:25.160 --> 00:31.880 everyone. And more countries could be set to follow. In simple terms, this crazy new plan 00:31.880 --> 00:38.260 means the Dutch government is going to tax people on their assets, even if they haven't sold or made 00:38.260 --> 00:44.140 a profit on them. And when I say a profit here, by that, I mean they haven't sold the asset 00:44.140 --> 00:52.220 in order to take or realize that profit or gain, meaning they haven't actually made a profit. 00:52.220 --> 00:58.020 Despite what the government is claiming, the Dutch government has obviously lost their way. 00:58.480 --> 01:05.980 They spend over 6 billion euros each year on foreign aid and almost 10 billion euros on asylum related 01:05.980 --> 01:13.960 costs. That's a combined total of over 16 billion euros per year. And yet they keep crying about 01:13.960 --> 01:21.400 being in huge debt, running out of funds or deficit in the budget. Well, it's pretty obvious 01:21.400 --> 01:27.780 where to cut. I mean, anybody can figure this one out. This isn't difficult. But no, rather than 01:27.780 --> 01:35.420 cutting the 16 billion euros a year, they instead want to tax the citizens more. Hmm, I think 01:35.420 --> 01:41.440 we've seen a bit of a pattern here starting to repeat throughout Europe. Yep, when I actually 01:41.440 --> 01:47.200 did these calculations, I don't expect the tax to bring in much more than 2 billion euros 01:47.200 --> 01:52.600 per year. And that is at today's rate based on all the citizens and the wealth that's in the 01:52.600 --> 01:57.540 country. But it's pretty obvious what's going to happen and we'll come to that later. But 01:57.540 --> 02:01.920 you've got two options, right? Think about it. You're the government. Do you do a 16 billion 02:01.920 --> 02:08.960 euro cut? Or do you do a 2 billion euro tax increase? Hmm, what a difficult decision. 02:09.760 --> 02:15.320 This, ladies and gentlemen, is nuts. And it will not only cause many more people to leave the country, 02:15.660 --> 02:21.880 but it will also cause even more people to lose faith in the government. But I know what you're 02:21.880 --> 02:27.140 thinking, well, what does this look like, Neil, in terms of finances and numbers? Normally, 02:27.220 --> 02:32.020 you'll give us figures. So let me do that now. I'll give you a very simple example here. 02:32.660 --> 02:37.140 So let's say that you invest 1000 euros in the stock market this year, 02:37.140 --> 02:42.840 because you want to create your own little pension pot for when you retire one day. Now, 02:42.900 --> 02:47.600 I know you're going to say, Neil, 1000 euros is not going to do anything. I know, but let's just 02:47.600 --> 02:54.860 use this as an example. Nice even numbers. Well, congratulations, because you picked the right 02:54.860 --> 03:01.800 stocks or stock. And after one year, those stocks doubled to now be worth 2000 euros. So 03:01.800 --> 03:08.800 well done. You are a master stock picker. But here's the kicker. The government steps in and says to 03:08.800 --> 03:17.640 you, congratulations on the 1000 euro gain. Now you owe us 360 euros. And it's to you now in cash. 03:18.380 --> 03:24.840 Yes. And you shout, but I didn't sell anything. I didn't cash out. I didn't even touch it. 03:24.840 --> 03:32.200 But the government says too bad. You owe us. So you're forced to sell some of these shares 03:32.200 --> 03:39.340 just to pay the tax bill. And guess what? Everyone else might have to do the same thing at the 03:39.340 --> 03:45.420 exact same time. That means that selling pressure could spike making the stock drop to say 03:46.020 --> 03:52.560 being worth 800 euros. Now, it's not a typical example, of course, but it's possible. So after 03:52.560 --> 04:03.280 tax, then you've only got 440 euros left. In year two, the stocks rebound to 1200 euros. And guess 04:03.280 --> 04:11.240 what? The government then makes another 144 euros. And you'll say, hold on, hold on. I'm losing money 04:11.240 --> 04:17.220 here. More forced selling because you've got to pay the tax bill. So the price drops again. 04:17.220 --> 04:25.520 You're now down to 756 euros. Year three then, the stock crawls back to around 1000 euros, 04:25.600 --> 04:32.000 exactly where it started. And in three years, you've absolutely gained nothing. Yet the government 04:32.000 --> 04:40.400 still wants another 36 euros, meaning your total taxes paid were 540 euros. But your total actual 04:40.400 --> 04:51.880 gain was zero. This means that 460 euros left your pocket. So you actually lost 54% on an investment 04:52.340 --> 04:58.900 that you broke even at. And the only guaranteed winner here then is the government. Thank you 04:58.900 --> 05:04.940 for your contribution, they say. Really? They don't even say that. So now you can see why this 05:04.940 --> 05:11.600 is so crazy. And why I keep saying that many of these politicians do not understand finance and 05:11.600 --> 05:19.140 economics. And they need people that do understand it. Because this is just so obvious. So this is 05:19.140 --> 05:24.940 the direction that the Netherlands is going in. One of Europe's most powerful countries financially. 05:25.660 --> 05:29.860 It's disturbing, ladies and gentlemen. Now, if you're fed up with the mainstream media 05:29.860 --> 05:35.240 nonsense and lies that we hear all the time, you'll fit right in here on this channel, 05:35.560 --> 05:40.740 because we dig into the real state of the world. Together, me and you as geopolitics, 05:40.860 --> 05:46.780 economics and the major shifts shaping your life, including your money and your investments. 05:47.360 --> 05:52.740 So if that sounds good to you, hit the subscribe button. It's completely free. It won't cost 05:52.740 --> 05:57.820 you a penny. And then you won't miss what's coming next. Also, while you're doing that, 05:57.820 --> 06:03.580 please check out the links in the description. I have some free financial trainings for you to watch, 06:03.820 --> 06:09.040 as well as a number of free reports to download. These include gold and silver investing guides, 06:09.360 --> 06:16.140 stock market investing, building cash flow and businesses and much, much more. So just go to 06:16.140 --> 06:19.980 the description and check those out. They're completely free. None of this will cost you 06:19.980 --> 06:25.400 a penny. So, ladies and gentlemen, what we're watching here then is a real shift 06:25.400 --> 06:32.160 in how countries will tax your future. Because when a country that's positioned itself as stable 06:32.160 --> 06:38.920 and capital friendly suddenly starts to shift and then starts taxing paper gains, which is what they 06:38.920 --> 06:44.940 are, every single year, it means that everyday people and wealthy investors will have to make 06:44.940 --> 06:50.320 big decisions about where to hold their assets going forward. And I know that I wouldn't want 06:50.320 --> 06:57.080 to stay in a country that did that to me. No way. In fact, I didn't. Once the taxes got too high 06:57.080 --> 07:04.640 where I lived, I simply got up and moved because I'm not a tree. So I'm not rooted in the ground 07:04.640 --> 07:11.040 and neither are you. Now, I get it's not easy for everyone to up and move and change things 07:11.040 --> 07:17.220 around, but pretty much everyone can make some changes that will benefit them in some ways. 07:17.220 --> 07:23.560 But let me give you some of the maths or maths if you're in the UK on this. So let's put this into 07:23.560 --> 07:28.620 some other real numbers then so you can see how this plays out. Now, let's take a Dutch 07:28.620 --> 07:34.600 resident who's a bit older. So let's say they've got about 500,000 euros in their investment 07:34.600 --> 07:40.580 portfolio. So they're not ultra wealthy, just someone who saved diligently their entire 07:41.060 --> 07:45.660 career. So their entire life, they're sort of retirement age now. They've got about half 07:45.660 --> 07:51.120 a million euros. Now remember, they've already paid the taxes on that. First of all, the government 07:51.120 --> 07:55.800 hasn't done anything for them to have built that up. You know, maybe they've even inherited 07:55.800 --> 08:01.920 some money. They've built up a decent nest egg in a public company or funds or something like 08:01.920 --> 08:06.540 that. And that's how they have a strong year. Okay, so this year they make a 12% return, 08:07.060 --> 08:13.960 which means that the portfolio increases by 60,000 euros on paper. Well, under the new system, 08:13.960 --> 08:22.220 that 60,000 euros is going to be taxed at 36%. That's 21,600 euros out of their pension pot. 08:22.480 --> 08:29.660 But then next year, let's say the market doesn't increase by 12%. Let's say it drops by 15%. So the 08:29.660 --> 08:37.400 portfolio falls to 476,000 euros. So they say, well, the losses offset your future gains. 08:37.400 --> 08:44.820 But the 21,600 you paid last year doesn't come back. Over a decade with average 8% annual returns, 08:45.300 --> 08:52.920 that half a million generates roughly 40,000 euros in gains per year. At 36%, that's about 08:52.920 --> 09:03.820 14,400 that flows out to the government. So over 10 years, that's 144,000 transferred out of your 09:03.820 --> 09:08.900 account to the government. So if you're a typical person now, and you're trying to save 09:08.900 --> 09:14.920 for your retirement, I mean, it's obvious people are going to get up and they're going to leave. 09:15.160 --> 09:22.840 And remember, you've already paid either 37% tax, okay, that's in the Netherlands, or it's 50% or 09:22.840 --> 09:29.620 think it's 49.5% tax on your income. So for some people, that can be as much as half of 09:29.620 --> 09:34.780 the income gone. And then what they'll do is they'll have that 50% remaining, which is in their bank 09:34.780 --> 09:40.740 account because 50% has gone on tax. And then they'll invest that, and then they'll get taxed at 36% 09:40.740 --> 09:46.880 percent on any gain. This is a wicked, wicked system designed to drain every last penny 09:46.880 --> 09:53.800 from the people and pass that wealth to the government. It's morally wrong, ladies and 09:53.800 --> 09:58.160 gentlemen, my friends, it's morally wrong. But here's what the Dutch government doesn't seem 09:58.160 --> 10:03.700 to understand. Wealthy individuals won't pay the tax. They will look at other country's tax rates, 10:04.120 --> 10:09.020 they'll look at the quality of life and where else they might get treated better. Then they will 10:09.020 --> 10:13.720 simply move accordingly. And you just look at what's happened in recent years in the UK. 10:14.280 --> 10:19.620 It's got the biggest outflow of wealthy individuals in the world. And this is just a 10:19.620 --> 10:25.400 tiny little country. So the Netherlands obviously hasn't learned this lesson. The UK tax base 10:25.400 --> 10:31.580 has shrunk as a result in line with those forecasts I made for you two or three years ago. 10:31.980 --> 10:37.940 Isn't it interesting as well, the forecasts I make for you years and years back, as far back as 2020 10:38.540 --> 10:44.620 and how they come to fruition, it's kind of scary in a way that even some of the more extreme 10:44.620 --> 10:54.100 forecasts have come to pass. And you may say, well, Neil, where are they going? Where do you 10:54.100 --> 11:00.960 some people instantly think it will be the UAE for the low tax jurisdiction, no personal income tax? 11:01.320 --> 11:07.880 But I actually think they'd be more likely to go to somewhere like Italy, because it's more 11:07.880 --> 11:14.560 familiar to EU residents. It's not quite a big culture shift as the UAE would be. And Italy's 11:14.560 --> 11:20.460 really trying to attract a lot of high net worth individuals at the moment that are relocating 11:20.460 --> 11:26.340 because they've got a number of flat rate tax programs. But there's also a number of jurisdictions 11:26.340 --> 11:32.380 now competing directly for people with money. And I predict that we're going to see a lot more 11:32.380 --> 11:37.820 over the next few years. You're even seeing this in some countries you would never expect 11:37.820 --> 11:42.520 before. Now I've just given you a couple of simple examples there of just an average 11:42.520 --> 11:48.880 everyday person. But what if I were to give you an example of say 10 wealthy individuals, 11:48.880 --> 11:56.060 high net worth individuals who have about 50 million euros each in assets? Well, in strong years, 11:56.160 --> 12:04.900 each will pay one to two million easily in taxes easily. So that's 10 to 20 million in yearly revenue 12:04.900 --> 12:10.840 flowing to the government. Now if those 10 individuals change residency, guess what goes 12:10.840 --> 12:16.820 with them? All of those taxes. But the tax loss is actually secondary to what follows 12:16.820 --> 12:22.620 because high net worth individuals are crucial for the economy. They build businesses, 12:22.820 --> 12:28.040 they make investments, they create jobs. And when they relocate, everything relocates with them. 12:28.580 --> 12:34.060 They sell their house, they sell their assets. This pushes prices lower, of course. Asset 12:34.060 --> 12:39.260 managers lose capital that they were managing for them. Digital businesses change country. 12:39.640 --> 12:45.420 Even staff can get fired or the company will hire new staff in the new country. It's the same 12:45.420 --> 12:52.060 net result. And remember, all those staff earned a wage. They paid taxes. They spent money into the 12:52.060 --> 12:57.600 local economy. That money went to more staff in other businesses in the local economy, 12:57.600 --> 13:03.380 which means more employment scarring. It's a vicious cycle downwards. It's a disaster 13:03.380 --> 13:10.500 for the country. Domestic startups lose capital. Universities lose capital. Private 13:10.500 --> 13:16.780 contributions decline. Charities lose big backers. So what I'm saying here is a heavy government 13:16.780 --> 13:22.980 and smaller entrepreneurial economy isn't good for society. Now I'm not saying the economy 13:22.980 --> 13:27.800 is going to collapse overnight, of course, but it does experience a gradual erosion 13:27.800 --> 13:35.420 that compounds over years. Take Argentina, for example. In the early 20th century, 13:35.420 --> 13:43.340 Argentina was one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Its GDP per capita was top 10 globally. 13:44.100 --> 13:50.800 Yes, top 10. And this one often surprises people, but actually they had huge immigration 13:50.800 --> 13:57.980 from Europe. Yes, people from Europe actually emigrated from Europe and immigrated into 13:57.980 --> 14:04.380 Argentina for the high living standards. But over decades, similar policies came in 14:04.380 --> 14:11.920 and as a result, they got chronic high inflation, including hyperinflation in sort of 89 to 90, 14:12.380 --> 14:19.380 currency controls, capital flight, declining real wages, IMF bailouts, gradual loss of economic 14:19.380 --> 14:26.480 standing. What am I saying? They became poor as a country. So they went from very, very rich. 14:26.960 --> 14:32.620 That's where the saying came from as rich as an Argentinian and they became very, very poor. 14:32.620 --> 14:38.460 So what a surprise that all these people said why it can't be turned around. And then the new 14:38.460 --> 14:44.940 president Javier Millay came in and started doing these small policies like, sorry, I said small 14:44.940 --> 14:52.780 policies. I meant to say new policies such as small government, tight fiscal discipline, deregulation, 14:53.140 --> 15:00.120 tax reforms to cut down on 20 different taxes, and bingo, Argentina is turning itself around. 15:00.120 --> 15:08.480 What a mystery. No, ladies and gentlemen, this isn't rocket science and neither are any of my free 15:08.480 --> 15:14.480 financial reports and free training webinars below in the description. If you'd like to upgrade your 15:14.480 --> 15:19.040 financial knowledge, please check them out. You'll find them below. And as always, 15:19.180 --> 15:24.680 let me know your thoughts in the comments. If this kind of calm, grounding macro analysis 15:24.680 --> 15:29.960 is useful to you, please make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss what comes next. 15:30.260 --> 15:31.940 Thanks for watching. Take care. God bless.