I recall a scheme where you could buy an apartment on a big ship, which kept travelling around the world, stopping off at nice places as it went. Therefore you would be a perpetual traveller, resident and taxed nowhere.
Quite how you can make an income while travelling permanently is another problem entirely.
Rent! 
I forgot to post a link clarifying the Canadian stuff: Link I believe we have at least one Canadian poster 
The issue for them is that although its called residency based taxation on overseas income, the reality is that they are judged to be Canadian ‘residents’ if they have a house, spouse or dependents in Canada, even if they don’t actually live there. I believe similar so-called residency laws apply in other countries. The US situation is different, and based on whether the tax filer is physically located in the US, regardless of what they own and where. If the US Person owns property etc in the US, I don’t believe that affects the approximately $100K annual tax exemption on non-US income as long as they are outside of the US for 330 days per year.
The limit for non-taxed income is about $100k at this point.
That only works if you are in a tax-treaty country , like most of the EU is…
After that amount, you still have to pay the US tax, and can’t take an income deduction for it.
In reality, getting whacked by 50% tax in Austria means I’ll never really sweat the US tax burden, except that reporting and compliance is an absolute headache because the US wants ridiculous amounts of info on everything, all assets, revenue, companies, shares, you name it, and that costs a lot of money (I guesstimate it to be about 5-7% of total income at this point…) just to achieve.
Tricky being tricky, if a US citizen (ahem) lives in Europe and works in Africa… they’re triply screwed.
Africa wants its slice (no tax treaties with the US OR Europe), Europe wants its slice, because you reside there, and the US wants its slice because you’re a citizen…
Yes, there are loopholes and insane ways to escape such nonsense, but that just becomes a game of legal cat and mouse, which really, is no fun for honest people who just want to do an honest day’s work and then go poke holes in the sky.
It’s a tough call, considering to give up one’s US citizenship. Seemingly everyone hates Donald Trump (ha! he finally made it into Euroga… lol) but as an Expat, I was rooting for his proposed 15% flat tax on Expats. HRC was planning to up it to 43% from the current 35%.
Politics involved, a lot of people don’t like Trump, but he isn’t doing anything as radical as letting a bunch of people into the country that spoil the party… (here come the pitchforks!!! :)
At some point, it isn’t financially worth it to be a US citizen anymore…
Hated in the Middle East, Taxed Worldwide and now… it is getting really hard to even get a bank account overseas, b/c the Banks have to foot the bill of all the FATCA compliance paperwork and record-keeping and are starting to simply say, ‘No’.
Growing up in the US is a wonderful privilege. Learning business practices in the US is an incredible advantage!
Living in Europe has been an beautiful experience.
Sorry for reviving an old post there… just couldn’t resist at it is close to home.
Transferring from an AC from one Euro country to another, actually should be pretty straightforward, but being a non-citizen has complicated matters for me tremendously…
Here’s my brief summary for anyone who wants to do the same… (btw, if you are a US citizen thinking about buying a plane in Europe, my advice is to just get an N-Reg and be done with it… )
1. Find a good mechanic. Yes, this is hard, because you don’t know anyone and unless you live in Germany or France or the UK, it isn’t likely you will speaky the language and find the right person.
So, once you know what you want, just join the Association for that aircraft type. E.g World Beechcraft Society, European Mooney Pilots &fOwners Association, etc…
Ask them. People in Europe are far too conservative, so be open and tell them to be blunt with you. (It helps)
2. Make friends with that mechanic and chat them up. If you find they are open to you, then you’ll probably have a better time trusting them.
3. Find an Insurance Company and start getting some rate quotes. Agencies in Europe don’t like being shopped, so try to give them a plane you really are considering. It is ok if the sale goes through, that’s life.
4. Find the AC you want. Here are the general concepts:
Well-Maintained Aircraft are typically found North of the Alps. This isn’t a golden rule, but… it is a golden rule, ok.
South of the Alps is hit-or-miss. You may find a beaut, you may find a beast.
My personal concept is roughly: North of Alps = +20% value, South of Alps = -20% value
Again, this may not be true… just need to check each case very carefully…
—> The search is the adventure. It is Europe! Just enjoy flying around, traveling to different airfields and meeting different kinds of people while you look at their planes. Odds are that you’ll enjoy the process, make friends and broaden your horizons anyway!
5. When you’ve got a good candidate, make sure it has AT LEAST 3 months remaining before the next annual. Otherwise you might get caught with your pants down during the bureaucratic process (one never knows…) and have a plane that is no longer airworthy and then you have to apply for a Permit-To-Fly (ask me how I know).
6. When you’re on-site checking the plane out, just let your mechanic do the beating. Just watch and enjoy the show… (they’re earning their pay here, so don’t get in the way)
7. Let the mechanic give a summary of the damages, etc. to the seller and then take a walk with the mechanci and let them level with you on everything.
8. Negotiate and Decide. You may decide to use an Escrow service, or negotiate terms pending the next annual inspection (hidden issues), but that’s up to you, of course.
9. CRITICAL! Make friends with the seller in any case, if possible. You’ll absolutely need their help in the registration process!!! So don’t beat them up too much on price. Cut them like a 500-1k break knowing that you’ll have to deal with them in the future and will absolutely need their help…
10. Let the Insurance Company know that you bought the plane and seal the deal on that hangar space…
11. Fly the plane to your country. Don’t start the registration process from the plane’s original location… that could be a disaster.
12a. OK, if you can, just change the registration in the same country! (e.g. if you can finagle an address in France, don’t change your F-Reg, just keep the F-Reg and get the plane maintained wherever you want. This is where making friends with the seller might help…)
12b. If you can’t, then, no worries, just de-register the AC in the origin country. Again, the seller is key here, especially if it is a southern country with a language you don’t know.
13. Register in your home country once you’ve received the de-registration from the originating country.
That’s about it, but there can be some wrinkles if you are a foreigner and know absolutely nothing… (ahem)
Ok, Step 0 for a non-European is to start a company in your country of residence.
You, as a foreigner, are NOT entitled to be the “Operator” of the aircraft. You need a company for this. If you’re lucky, you might get a mechanic shop or local friend to do it, but most likely, you are NOT lucky, because you are a foreigner… so you will have to create a company (whole problem/process of its own).
But do this before everything else, or you won’t be able to transfer the AC… (don’t ask me how I know this…)
Not sure whether it makes a difference (possibly does), as an EU citizen you do not need an address in France to change a French registered plane to you as owner.
Been there done that. They send to your home address elsewhere and are actually very efficient in the registration process.
