There is an old saying: The only two things you can count on in life are death and taxes. That may have been true in the past, but there are opportunities that can substantially reduce your tax burden, and, in some cases, relieve you of it entirely. Several countries and jurisdictions throughout the world offer impressive incentives and plans through which you can greatly minimize your tax burden. Some have passed legislation that supports a business friendly environment providing a host of tax advantages, a minimization of red tape, and a variety of grants and special plans that are designed to increase a company?s edge in an increasingly competitive economic climate. Other places offer various tax incentives to individuals. Indeed, there are places where you can live virtually tax-free. In the following pages, the most advantageous of these countries and jurisdictions will be examined. These are by no means backwater enclaves or small municipalities; they are highly desirable places to live, work, and invest. Some prefer to remain reticent about the financial benefits they offer, while others openly promote their tax and investment plans and incentives. If you genuinely desire to reduce your tax burden, all deserve careful consideration. You might be wondering why a place would offer tax benefits to both its citizens and foreigners. By offering major tax incentives to investors, tax haven countries and jurisdictions increase the amount of money that flows into the tax haven. This money can then be used to stimulate the tax haven?s economy. The underlying principal here is that low taxes result in economic growth. To take full advantage of some of these opportunities, you may need to satisfy residency requirements. Some countries require that you remain in the country for a particular length of time to benefit from tax incentives; others have few or negligible conditions that you must meet. In some, to fully take advantage of their tax laws, you must become a citizen. This is often not as daunting as it sounds, because in most cases, you will be able to carry dual citizenship. Thus, if you are a citizen of the United States, you may also become a citizen of another nation. Of course, this can become tricky under some circumstances, and you should always research your situation carefully, assessing your plans and goals in the light of each country?s laws. For some people, it is quite beneficial to change their citizenship if it results in major tax savings.

A unified nation with a single people, the Philippines is also a highly fragmented, plural society. Divided between uplander and lowlander, rich and poor, Christian and Muslim, between those of one ethnic, linguistic, and geographic region and those of another, the nation is a complex mosaic formed by conflicting forces of consensus and national identity and of division and instability.It is not possible to comprehend the many changes in the Philippines?such as the rise and fall of Ferdinand Marcos or the revolution that toppled him?without an awareness of the religious, cultural, and economic forces that have shaped the history of these islands. These forces formed the focus of the first edition of The Philippines. Of that 1982 edition, the late Benigno Aquino Jr., noted that ?anyone wanting to understand the Philippines and the Filipinos today must include this book in his '`'must' reading list.?The fourth edition has been updated through the final years of the Ramos presidency, and contains a new section on the impact of President Estrada.