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Chris DeMuth Jr.
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"It's not given to human beings to have such talent that they can just know everything about everything all the time. But it is given to human beings who work hard at it - who look and sift the world for a misplaced bet - that they can occasionally find one." - Charlie Munger I look... More
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  • Amish Arbitrage 2 comments
    Jan 22, 2013 3:43 PM

    As part of Obamacare, taxes on investment income were hiked by 3.8% starting this month on AGI of over $200 k for individuals and couples of over $250 k for couples. Except… Pound for pound, going joint and several on health liabilities with 300 million perfect strangers may not sound like an optimal use of one's resources. You may consider investigating some alternatives. In a subsequent post, I will go into the more elaborate alternative of citizenship in Dominica, but for now I will focus on the altogether more incremental and obvious solution: become a Mennonite. There is lots of small print in the Obamacare legislation, so lots of scope for regulatory arbitrage. In particular, about a quarter of a million Old Order Mennonites and Old Older Amish are exempt from Obamacare's mandates and taxes. There are no penalties for filing for a religious exemption, but using modern medicine anyway. A key requirement is that one needs to link up with a qualifying sect that has existed since 1950.

    To learn more about the life that you have to look forward to, consider watching Witness.

    Themes: Amish, Mennonite, Obamacare, taxes
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    Ha - I like it! There are some execution costs to think about: I believe tithing would be appreciated (though not mandatory depending on the order). The 3.8% savings could fund a healthy offering, but it doesn't get you to the traditional 10% tithe. Although tithing to a non-government organization is intrinsically more appealing than having money confiscated by the government.
    23 Jan, 11:59 AM Reply Like
  •  
    A very good point. I think that the utility/positive externalities from the tithe beats the 3.8% such that the benefit is greater, even for a generous congregant. Also, to take the edge off I tithe net.
    23 Jan, 12:04 PM Reply Like
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