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The term perpetual traveler (PT, permanent tourist or prior taxpayer) refers to both a lifestyle and a philosophy.
Background In practical terms, perpetual travelers are people who live in such a way that they are not considered a legal resident of any of the countries in which they spend time. In this way, they seek to avoid the legal obligations which may accompany residency, such as taxes, jury duty, and military service. For example, while PT's may hold citizenship in one or more countries that impose taxes based solely on residency, their legal residence will most likely be in a tax haven. They may spend the majority of their time in other countries, never staying long enough to be considered a resident. Tax avoidance It is possible to live for several months, and in some cases even own property, in many countries without paying income tax. For example, one can spend up to 122 days each year in the United States without being considered a resident or being required to file a US tax return. Many PT's are wealthy individuals whose primary motivation is tax avoidance (see the Freedom Ship, for example). By exploiting the rules in place for tourists and travelers, individuals may be able to legally reduce or eliminate their tax burden. However other PT's, such as itinerants, adopt this lifestyle for purely self-ownership reasons, just to be free from government authority, interference and "The System". Philosophy On the surface, perpetual tourists have some things in common with world citizens, in that they see themselves as untethered to any one nation. However, PT's generally seem to eschew the humanistic and utopian overtones of world citizenship. Many PT's align themselves closely with the libertarian school of thought, which advocates individual sovereignty - sovereignty vested in the individual rather than in nation-states. Also differentiating them is a highly mercenary and un-rooted view of the world. See also | ||||||||
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