Uruguay is known as the Switzerland of South America, says Nathaniel Litman in The Schmidt Report. But given Switzerland’s “loss of banking secrecy and increased rates of taxation”, one might say Uruguay was “somewhat better”. A passport costing “as little as $100,000” will buy you “virtually tax-free corporate structures” and “virtually tax-free residence”.
But what about quality of life? Currently rated 50th in the world, Uruguay is rather like America used to be: “civilised but in need of extra human resources to build the country up”. Transparency International rates Uruguay as the least corrupt country in South America; political and labour conditions are among “the freest on the continent” and the country is one of the most economically developed. So if the latest austerity budget puts you off Britain, give Uruguay a thought.