6 replies to this topic

[NNNOOOOOO]

If I found an unclaimed island that I wanted, could I claim it as mine? Would there be a lot of paper work to be done? Do I HAVE to file it with the government? Would it cost me a lot of money to do so? If I claimed it, would I have to pay taxes on it (I am the one who "found" it and therefore didn't have to pay for it)? Would I be forced to pay for it and then have to pay taxes?

Would I be better off asking the government this? I could also ask my U.S. History teacher this question, if you say I might need to.

[20qs]

NNNOOOOOO, on 12 December 2010 - 12:19 AM, said:

If I found an unclaimed island that I wanted, could I claim it as mine? Would there be a lot of paper work to be done? Do I HAVE to file it with the government? Would it cost me a lot of money to do so? If I claimed it, would I have to pay taxes on it (I am the one who "found" it and therefore didn't have to pay for it)? Would I be forced to pay for it and then have to pay taxes?

Would I be better off asking the government this? I could also ask my U.S. History teacher this question, if you say I might need to.

First off the likely hood that you would find an unclaimed island is rather small but, if you did it would be yours to claim and to call what you wish ( ie. free to claim and name) now comes the tricky part, depending on what country is nearest its borders you may have come conflict of interest in whome actually owns the land that you may have come acrossed assuming that you found an undiscovered island. Most of the countries of the world have claimed the land from shore to shore and some countries even claim the land that is under the ocean, some even claim the oceanic waters themselves or at least the portion that is above the land that they have claimed. Also countries claim the land that is under their territories as well as the surrounding land that is under the waters and the sky from ground to the limits of the atmosphere. This is why countries have a problem with unauthorized persons flying into their territories and or floating in to their waters. So, given this you can see that most of the Earth is claimed by one countrie or another. But, if some how you were still able to find an unclaimed island you would have the right to claim it. Also, because it was unclaimed by any country you would also have the right to declaire it a country unto its self and there for no longer subject to taxation or any other outside influances. When stating no other outside influances though I will have to say that human rights and other conciderations would still be in effect for the most part. Also, if you are the sole occupant of this island you may have a bit of a problem in actually declaring it a country be cause of its lack of population and or resources.

Its actually a very good question you have there. I hope that you find your answer and that this reply has been helpful.

Edited by 20qs, 14 December 2010 - 09:31 AM.

[NNNOOOOOO]

20qs, on 14 December 2010 - 09:25 AM, said:

First off the likely hood that you would find an unclaimed island is rather small but, if you did it would be yours to claim and to call what you wish ( ie. free to claim and name) now comes the tricky part, depending on what country is nearest its borders you may have come conflict of interest in whome actually owns the land that you may have come acrossed assuming that you found an undiscovered island. Most of the countries of the world have claimed the land from shore to shore and some countries even claim the land that is under the ocean, some even claim the oceanic waters themselves or at least the portion that is above the land that they have claimed. Also countries claim the land that is under their territories as well as the surrounding land that is under the waters and the sky from ground to the limits of the atmosphere. This is why countries have a problem with unauthorized persons flying into their territories and or floating in to their waters. So, given this you can see that most of the Earth is claimed by one countrie or another. But, if some how you were still able to find an unclaimed island you would have the right to claim it. Also, because it was unclaimed by any country you would also have the right to declaire it a country unto its self and there for no longer subject to taxation or any other outside influances. When stating no other outside influances though I will have to say that human rights and other conciderations would still be in effect for the most part. Also, if you are the sole occupant of this island you may have a bit of a problem in actually declaring it a country be cause of its lack of population and or resources.

Its actually a very good question you have there. I hope that you find your answer and that this reply has been helpful.

If you are right (we'll assume you are for now), you have answered half of my questions (the parts that deal mainly with money). The only parts I am still confused about is the documenting it parts. I have sent this question to the government already, and I should receive an answer today via E-Mail. When I receive an answer, I'll post it here.

[NNNOOOOOO]

I sent them a link to this topic. It said:

Quote

Unfortunately, we cannot open non-government links that
are sent to us.

We have listed some sources below to give you a start in
conducting your research. However, finding the specific
information you seek will require further research on your
part.

For a variety of informational resources to aid you in
conducting research, please visit the USA.gov web page
at:

http://www.usa.gov/T...nce_Shelf.shtml

The following USA.gov FAQs web page provides information
and resources regarding finding federal laws at:

http://answers.usa.g...?p_faq_id=10212

A person can own an island, but if the island is in United
States territory, it is technically part of the United States.
No citizen can own the foreshore-- the part of a beach that
lies between average high tide and average low tide-- either
on an island or a mainland coastline.

Even though a single law that says it is illegal to form your
own country from an island does not exist, it is the law that
a state cannot secede from the United States. A citizen can
own property, but if that land is within the borders of the
United States, it is technically within the domain/jurisdiction
of the United States. Therefore, it is not a citizen's land
to claim as "independent and sovereign."

For additional information regarding declaring an island
independent from the United States, please visit the USA.gov
FAQs web page at:

http://answers.usa.g...?p_faq_id=10553

Finally, if you need further assistance with your research,
you may also wish to use an Internet search engine or visit
a library.

Depending on your e-mail settings, you may need to copy and
paste the suggested web addresses into your browser's
address bar. If any web address spans two lines or more of
text when you receive this message, please copy and paste
all parts of the web address.

We hope you find this information helpful.

Regards,
USA.gov Citizen Response Team

[sheepdog]

Quote

No citizen can own the foreshore-- the part of a beach that
lies between average high tide and average low tide-- either
on an island or a mainland coastline.

Now that's interesting! And something I didn't know. Guess a person has to be really careful now if anyone offers to sell them some ocean front property even if it isn't in Arizona!

Quote

Even though a single law that says it is illegal to form your
own country from an island does not exist, it is the law that
a state cannot secede from the United States.

Now some of this sounds like double talk.(typical government) Your island would not be a state, so why would you not have the right to not be part of the US if you didn't want to. You are not succedding from the union if you weren't a state to start with. I didn't think having ocean between land masses would count as being a part of or neighbor to.

I think 20qs's thoughts on the subject are pretty accurate, at least that's what I would think would be the case.

So, if you find one in some nice warm tropical place, can I come visit????

[NNNOOOOOO]

Quote

So, if you find one in some nice warm tropical place, can I come visit????

Sure. We can throw a party. One of my laws will state, "You have to be at least fifteen (15) years of age to drink".

[Iniyila]

i think first it depends where you find it, as you know we say that this water is under control of that country, so if you find an unclaimed island in waters of japan then it's a part of japan and you can not claim it but if you find an unclaimed island in international water then theoretically you can claim it for yourself. International law stipulates that new uninhabited countries become the possessions of those who find them by right of discovery, so you should be able to claim it but i think as soon as you find an unclaimed island many countries will try to buy it from you, because keeping it as a country needs manythings and you should be able to defend from it because in there no one will punish everyone who kills you because you are in your country and you should be able to defend from peoples if your country and of course yourself too. so it is better to sell this island to a country other wise you need to spend a lot of money to build an army for it and be able to defend it from other peoples who are interesting in using your island as a marijuana farm to get a lot of money.

I don't know anything about legal procedure of registering the name of your country, but for international relationship with other countries you need to have a government for your country and i don't know what limitations other countries have for accepting foreign countries as a friend, but i don't think one person or even a group of persons will be able to form a country which is successful enough. anyway i think there is no unclaimed island in the world right now because satellites will find it just in seconds and the country which goes there faster will claim it as its own property, so thinking about finding an unclaimed island is just a dream. i don't know exactly but i think you can rent an island which you have found to another country so in this situation you will get the most advantages because firs it is still your country and it is completely yours and second as you have rent it to another country so you don't have to be worry about other peoples trying to get it from you because the country which currently is in it can defend from it .

Anyway even these days we can see countries fighting about some islands and even they attack to each other for claiming it for themselves, so this shows that claiming an island for yourself is not an easy work because as soon as other peoples find out they will attack you to get it from you.