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As an EU citizen, the manager is exempt from crown restrictions in the US He is not the only one who has used a controversial program for the rich.
Eric Schmidt was known for his tax tricks while working at Google.
Photo: Getty Images
Just in time, before Cyprus closed a loophole for wealthy foreigners, Eric Schmidt obtained an EU passport. His wife and daughter also became EU citizens and can circumvent the travel ban for Americans.
The former Google CEO and billionaire may have obtained the EU passport for two reasons, immigration lawyers say. 90 per cent of applicants wanted the EU passport as reinsurance against unpleasant events in their home country. The crown pandemic and associated travel restrictions likely inspired Schmidt to a “Plan B,” says Nuri Katz of Apex Capital Partners, a company that advises the Cypriot government on immigration issues. “He behaves like other rich people; wants options. ”
With the EU passport, he and his family can travel and do business more freely than non-rich Americans. Another reason could be the tax cut in Cyprus, but to get the most out of it, Schmidt would have to renounce American citizenship. In Cyprus, passport applicants must invest at least Earn two to three million dollars, preferably buying land.
Pass sales fill a tight budget
According to anti-corruption organizations, the “Citizenship by Investment” program was used and abused mainly by oligarchs from Russia and the Middle East. Undercover investigations by al-Jazeera and other outlets revealed how Cypriot officials handed over passports for foreigners despite knowing about their criminal activities: money laundering, illegal arms and drug trafficking and tax fraud. The officers were fired after the scandal was discovered.
In addition to Cyprus, about two dozen mostly small island states in the Caribbean and South Pacific offer a “passport for sale.” For Cyprus, the program paid off. Since 2013, around 4,000 special passports of this type have contributed eight billion dollars and have helped prevent national bankruptcy.
Since the outbreak of the corona pandemic, according to the online magazine “Recode”, a growing number of US citizens have applied for a Cypriot passport. Schmidt likely applied for the passport in the spring and received it in October, shortly before the program ended under the impression of scandals and abuse.
Other billionaires do the same
Schmidt is not the first Silicon Valley billionaire to use his fortune to gain a political advantage that is denied to the rest of the population. In 2011, Facebook investor and libertarian Trump fan Peter Thiel acquired New Zealand citizenship after just twelve days. He bought a 193 hectare piece of land, but so far nothing has resulted from building a property. New Zealand is a dream destination for US “preparers” – people who are preparing for a US political and social collapse by fleeing to the supposedly safe island.
As head of Google, Schmidt had launched a comprehensive program to minimize income taxes. The maneuvers became known as “Double Irish” and “Dutch Sandwich” as profits shifted between Ireland, the Netherlands and the Bahamas. In 2017, 23 billion dollars were parked in this way in the tax haven of the Caribbean. But the deception should end in 2020. Then the loophole that Ireland decided in 2014 will be closed with a six-year transition period.
