Smart move, and good luck!
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mark Zuckerberg, eat your heart out
Max Borders, American Institute for Economic Research
Indian tribe hopes to colonize the world with digital freedom
Drive about 30 minutes south of Charlotte and you’ll find the bedroom community of Rock Hill. Just over the border in South Carolina, the Catawba tribe of Native Americans lives and works on a reservation there, just a short commute away from America’s third-largest banking center.
Recently, these original Americans established something incredibly promising: a digital SEZ (special economic zone) similar to that offered by Estonia.
The Baltic region’s freest country pioneered the e-residence program. That program allows one to be a legal resident of Estonia but live anywhere in the world. In other words, one can live in Egypt but incorporate her business in Estonia. She benefits from lower taxes, lighter regulation, and a stable business climate even if she incorporates far away.
The Catawba Indians have taken note.
Green Earth Zone
The Catawba have the right to establish an independent commercial code as a sovereign nation. Indeed, the tribe defied stereotypes to establish a jurisdiction friendly to innovation and entrepreneurship – particularly digital entrepreneurship.
They call it the Green Earth Zone (GEZ):
“Special Economic Zones have been powerful instruments for economic development,” says Ronnie Beck, CEO of Catawba Corporations, “enabling rapid economic growth.” He continues:
SEZs often rely on tax incentives. But with our status as a sovereign jurisdiction, we are also able to create a best-in-class regulatory climate for the digital, fintech and blockchain sectors. Our plan is to allow these businesses to operate with certainty, and under regulations that protect consumers that help mature the industry. The GEZ (Green Earth Zone) will not only serve companies domestically and internationally but will create tremendous economic opportunities for our people of the Catawba Nation.
The play here is referred to as jurisdictional arbitrage. That means the Catawba are creating greener pastures for innovators and entrepreneurs – right in the middle of an empire in decline.
