| Exclusive Report |
| Escapeartist Living in Belize
Fights US Tax Indictment |
| Escape
from America Magazine received notice from several of our readers that
The Wall Street Journal had published an article about a US expat who had
had a run-in with the IRS and had relocated. In subsequent telephone conversations
with Gilberto Jay Picon (aka Joseph Ross) and his wife Pamella, Escape
from America Magazine was able to gain exclusive insight as to why the
couple left the US to eventually relocate to the beautiful nation of Belize.
Today, Ross and Pamella are the owner-hosts of the $1.4 million Mopan River
Resort, and Pamella publishes the Belize Report, a web based newsletter
providing the world with information about lodging, restaurants, sights,
adventure, and travel tips; plus immigration, investment, and retirement
information. Ross and Pamela are citizens of Belize, and they have second
passports.
For many years,
now, the nation of Belize on the Caribbean Coast of Central America has
offered what's known as an economic citizenship and a second passport.
For many, it's meant a more comfortable lifestyle at a much more reasonable
cost. For others, it's also meant opportunities for business and investment. |
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| Gilberto "Jay"
Picon (aka Joseph Ross) resides in Belize among hundreds of other
expats who have settled there over the years. But Ross is unique. In 1986,
he was served a U.S. indictment on tax evasion charges alleging he failed
to disclose and pay taxes on $500,000 held in a Mexican bank account. He
faces up to 20 years in prison and $2 million in fines. Gazing across
the slow-moving water of the Mopan River toward his Mopan Resort -- a 10
acre, $1.4 million luxury getaway -- he'll tell you the last sixteen years
have been the happiest of his life.
The $500,000
allegedly owed to Uncle Sam wasn't acquired through high stakes investment
or anything that could be construed as criminal activity. Ross started
out as an airplane mechanic in the 1940s and saved like any other red-blooded
American. After a time he established an aviation company through small
business loans.
Later he
secured a US government contract to instruct thousands of pilots, transport
radioactive material for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and consult
on aviation matters for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. His company
trained upwards of 110,000 pilots for the Vietnam War. |
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| Through
hard work and wise spending, Ross was getting to be a wealthy man by
the mid 60s. That's when he branched out into cotton and cattle raising
in Mexico, only to suffer huge losses because of hurricane damage. The
IRS wouldn't recognize the losses, back then, before NAFTA and globalization.
None-the-less, that's when his trouble with stateside taxes began.
But Ross has
always been a man with a vision and a sense for achievement. Rather than
lose everything to the IRS, he went took to the road, living in Acapulco
and the French Alps for a time.
He also toured
Asia, the Greek Isles, and sailed the Pacific.
After getting
their Belizean citizenship in 1988, Ross and his wife Pamella settled
into a Vancouver condo purchased for $705,000. Belize is a British Commonwealth
country just like Canada. |
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Offshore Resources Gallery
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| When Pamella
became Belize's consul general in Vancouver, the two joined the diplomatic
set. In 1996, the good times almost came to an end. Through pressure from
the IRS, the Canadian Mounties arrested Ross on his U.S. warrant. Released
on $50,000 bail that same day, he left again for friendlier climates. Pamella
was also chastised and lost her diplomatic title. She joined him in Belize
soon thereafter, and that's where they've been ever since, save for periodic
business trips overseas.
While U.S.
officials know where Mr. Ross is, it's difficult for them to get access
to him. Only a few countries have extradition treaties with the U.S. that
extend to so-called fiscal crimes, and those are rarely invoked. Several
years ago, U.S. courts had become so discouraged with IRS efforts to locate
fugitives that they began dismissing indictments.
Ross and his
wife acquired Belizean citizenship under an economic citizenship program
sponsored by the Belizean Government. Belize, along with many governments,
make citizenship available and easy to acquire by virtually anyone who
wants to become a citizen. The number of passports and economic citizenships
granted by the Belizean Government adds $3 million dollars, annually, to
the nation's federal budget. |
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| The objective
of these countries in granting citizenship is to increase revenue for investments
in such things as transportation and communications infrastructures. Another
objective is to attract professionals to their foreign shores, professionals
who often create jobs for locals and help sustain economic development.
Given that Joseph Ross took advantage of a good thing, he and his wife
have helped add hundreds to the number of tourists choosing Belize as a
destination. They employ locals year around, they purchase Belizean goods
and services, they are an asset to the nation of Belize.
Not everyone
who seeks economic citizenship in another country is fleeing indictments.
In fact, Ross is rather unique in that sense. Of the many who choose to
reside on foreign shores are retired couples, and others on a fixed income
from their own countries, along with entrepreneurs and investment strategists. |
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| All enjoy
many basic advantages which include lower real estate prices, lower labor
costs, lower living expenses, and oftentimes lower taxes on earned income.
Pamella
publishes the Belize Report, a web based newsletter providing the world
with information about lodging, restaurants, sights, adventure, and travel
tips; plus immigration, investment, and retirement information for the
wonderful nation of Belize.
In late
1999, the couple built their Mopan River Resort. Ross and his wife
Pamella provide honeymooners and naturalists from the US and Europe with
the best accommodations for fun, relaxation, and seclusion. They are owner-hosts
of the $1.4 million resort. The local competition in luxury accommodations
includes the Blancaneaux Lodge owned by director Francis Ford Coppola,
who serves as Belize's consul general in California.
Honeymooners
discovered the resort through ads in Bride & Groom magazine. Reachable
only by private ferry, luxury thatched-roof cabanas equipped with cable
TV and all "modcons" go for about $900 per person for seven nights.
The price includes tours of nearby Mayan ruins, all meals, drinks, and
transfers. Thai night is touted as a special treat; Pamella had taken cooking
classes while the two vacationed in Bangkok.
The couple
hosts cocktails at their 5,000-square-foot house, and they regale guests
with tales of their US tax troubles. He says that he's got a great life
down here.
Look for an
article on living in Belize in the upcoming issue of EscapeArtist Offshore
Real Esate Quarterly Retire In Belize - The first edition of the
Offshore Real Estate Quarterly will be online in mid-July with articles
on real estate in Rio de Janeiro, Belize, Boquete, France, Italy and other
exotic locations. Escape From America subscribers will get the Offshore
Real Estate Quarterly update via email. Escape from America Magazine reaches
50,000 subscribers, monthly. To subscribe - Click
Here - |
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Article
Index ~ Belize
Index ~ |
