Our Rotting Nations.

It’s a tactic at least five centuries old, that’s been successfully used to destroy nations through economics. And now, in the West, our leaders are using it on us.

All the details in today’s newsletter →

📖 ESTIMATED READ TIME: 6 minutes 5 seconds

Flight of the Huguenots.

In the tapestry of history, few threads are as vivid or tragic as that of the Huguenots, a minority whose industrious spirit fuelled France’s commerce, agriculture, and craftsmanship.

Known for their unrivalled skills as artisans, traders, and entrepreneurs, the Huguenots were valued in French society, yet their Protestant beliefs put them at odds with the Catholic monarchy in the 15th and 16th centuries.

The Huguenots—followers of the Calvinist doctrine—had already faced waves of persecution, notably during the Wars of Religion. The Edict of Nantes, issued by Henry IV, granted them religious tolerance and certain protections in French society. But after the crowning of Louis XIV, their plight returned, as the new king revoked the edict in 1685. What followed wasn't merely a religious crackdown but an economic exodus sparked by draconian tax policies.

Driven by a blend of religious zeal and political ambition, Louis XIV headed a social and economic war against the Huguenots. Seeing them as religious heretics, France’s ruling elites launched a campaign of oppression against them, in order to suppress and weaken their community.

The primary weapon used against the Huguenots was taxes. Initially, they were able to practice their unwelcome Protestant faith. However, it came at a price. They were disproportionately faced with the taille (land tax) when compared to other citizens, and despite not being Catholic, they were still required to pay a dîme (religious tax) to the Catholic Church. As the French Crown's financial needs grew, so did the taxes the Huguenots were required to pay.

In an attempt to unify France under Catholicism, Louis XIV enacted the Edict of Fontainebleau. This act not only outlawed the Protestant faith, but also placed an even greater tax burden on Huguenots, stripping them of their economic rights and opportunities. Businesses were forcibly shuttered, properties were seized, and the prospect of freedom vanished.

The Huguenots, once contributing significantly to the French economy through their roles as artisans, merchants, and intellectuals, found themselves facing an untenable choice: convert, flee, or face ruin. As a result, thousands of Huguenots fled, carrying their skills, innovations, and wealth to more welcoming shores across Europe and even as far as the Americas.

This incredibly short-sighted policy would be devastating for France.

The economic impact was profound. The French economy faltered by driving out such a productive segment of the population. Whole sectors, particularly in trade and manufacturing, struggled to recover as the workforce and knowledge base they relied upon had fled. In many ways, France's heavy-handed taxation and intolerance backfired, leaving the country economically weakened.

Moreover, the flight of Huguenots also meant a loss of potential taxes from a prosperous community that had often paid higher taxes due to its wealth. France's tax revenue, which might have increased temporarily from confiscated Huguenot properties, soon dwindled.

The French monarchy sowed the seeds of economic decline by imposing taxes that targeted a specific group and punishing their success. France's loss became the gain of its neighbouring countries, who reaped the benefits of a skilled and entrepreneurial population willing to contribute to their newfound homes.

It’s rotten.

In a mirror of what was levied on the Huguenots some five hundred years ago, France of today seems adamant about driving out its society’s most productive members.

France’s new prime minister, Michel Barnier, announced that the country will levy new taxes on companies with revenues above €1B per year, as well as individuals who make more than €500K.

Some have praised the move, calling it “fiscal justice” that will finally tax France’s elite fairly. However, these people are incredibly short-sighted.

French citizens already have the legal right to live and work in any of the 29 European Schengen member nations, not to mention they hold one of the most powerful passports on the planet. And companies can already offshore with ease, and set up shop wherever they like in order to pay the minimum tax possible.

The end result? They’ll simply leave and go somewhere where taxation is more favourable.

Oh yes… I forgot to mention that France’s new taxes are claimed to be ‘temporary’. To quote Milton Friedman, “nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.”

This ridiculousness isn’t just happening in France, either.

A decade ago, the Baltic nation of Estonia created one of the greatest tax systems in the world. With the launch of its e-Residency program in 2014, it allowed foreign entrepreneurs from all over the world to set up a company there—even if they weren’t from Europe or held Estonian residency—and benefit from Estonia’s effective zero percent tax rate.

Since then, the program has brought untold billions of Euros into Estonia’s economy, marking it as one of the easiest countries on the planet to do business in.

But Estonia’s system could possibly change. Estonia may implement a “temporary” 2% wartime tax in 2026 to fund defence build-up to prepare for a possible conflict with Russia, which would be levied on citizen-owned and non-resident companies alike.

People who disagree with this new tax? They’ll simply take their business elsewhere.

Or what about the USA’s proposed new unrealised capital gains tax? Or Australia’s similar scheduled unrealised gains tax on large pension funds? What do you think the end result of those measures will be?

It will be the same; the most successful and productive members of those societies will leave their home countries behind, take their productivity and assets abroad, and leave their nations in a worse state than before.

We live in a world where moving abroad is easy. Where changing one’s tax residency can be done in a matter of weeks. And where setting up an offshore company with a 0% tax rate can be a reality in mere days.

Yet Western leaders seem to set this fact on the sidelines.

Only a few days ago, I was talking to a client who we’re in the process of setting up his global tax plan. I asked him a simple question: if he did have to continue paying taxes, is there anywhere he’d like them to go?

His answer was simple, but telling.

“Anywhere but the West.”

This is a growing sentiment among us who grew up in places like Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia.

❌ On that note: If you’re a business owner who wants to work with us to legally reduce your own taxable income, you can book a call with our team. We guarantee to get you a global tax rate of 5% or less, though with most of our clients, that number is much closer to zero. We can even help you get a second passport.

We can see the writing on the wall, which consistently shows how our governments are wilfully destroying our futures.

I don’t know why our nations seem to hate us. But it’s clear they do.

Our leaders constantly enact policies designed to appease the uninformed masses. Yet, to anyone with a modicum of brain activity, it’s obvious what these tax hikes will lead to in the long term: the destruction of our future economic success, leading to an eventual national decline.

It’s for this reason I set aside any notion of patriotism towards Australia long ago.

Do I feel thankful I was born there? Sure I do.

Do I count myself lucky that I grew up in one of the planet's safest, most prosperous, opportunity-rich countries? Absolutely.

But Australia is no longer that place.

Housing is unaffordable. Opportunity is in decline. Taxation is increasing. And over the past decade, my former government has enacted some of the most draconian surveillance laws that have ever existed.

Australia pushed me to find a fairer system elsewhere. Untold numbers like me in France, the United States, the UK, and beyond have done exactly the same. Many more will follow.

We’re modern-day Huguenots, fleeing taxation and moving our economic activity to a place that welcomes it, instead of oppressing us for our success.

Our nations are rotting, like the flesh of a washed-up fish decaying in the humid air.

Don’t let your future decay along with them.

Written by Leon Hill.
Founder, Anticitizen.

This newsletter is for educational purposes, and is not financial advice. Please do your own research, and consider risks involved with investing or purchasing any asset.