Best Country for Trading (Tax efficiency)

[TraderZones]

Quote from usman88:

Another option is Pakistan. It is a pretty safe country except for some areas bordering Afghanistan.

Tax rate is 30% on income but tax system is one of the most inefficient in the world which means you dont need to report your income. You can freely openly bank accounts and all major international banks have large presence here (RBS/Citibank/HSBC/Standard Chartered Bank/Barclays) not to mention local banks which are quite big.

In $3000 per month, you can have a 2000 Sq. Yards house in main locality and live like a king with a driver, 2 guards and 2 servants for the house. Another $4000 per month and you can be driving cars like Mercedes S-class, BMW 7 series, Lexus etc

Internet connections are decent with 4MBPS costing $50/month which is more than enough for scalping.


The best stuff You can trade all markets

Asian markets open at 7:00am
European markets open at 2:00pm
US markets start at 7:00pm

Nothing can beat this!

Bank accounts offer interest upto 12% per annum (profit paid monthly!!!). KSE which is a local stock exchange has been one of the worlds best performing stock exchanges in the last decade

Pakistan. They don't take too kindly to non-Muslims (knowledge of some Lahore Christians who were desparate to get to other countnries, as they faced persecution in jobs and other areas. Maybe you could find a nice litle haven in Kashmir

 

[Ghost of Cutten]

Quote from benwm:

presumably if you're using the local internet connection that would be deemed as "carrying on a business within the country"

Incorrect. If you are trading in foreign markets, then often it is classed as foreign source income, and thus exempt from tax in quite a few countries. It's definitely worth speaking to a tax adviser about it.

 

[sheepsucker]

Quote from benwm:


But presumably if you're using the local internet connection that would be deemed as "carrying on a business within the country"so presumably that rules out Panama and Costa Rica which only tax you on "locally derived income"??

LOL. I've heard of fucked up tax-people but not THAT fucked up.

Beware also of using an airplane cos u might be traveling over many countries and can be taxed in all of them!

 

[mcdull]

Quote from rbartell:

This may be a dumb question but:
When it is said that a country has no capital gains taxes - like Hong Kong, how does that work with trading (short-term cap gains)? For example the U.S. has a 0-15% capital gains tax (depending on tax bracket), but short-term cap gains are taxed at regular income (which is the number that matters for most us).

I am a Hong Kong citizen. There is no need to pay tax on profit from trading any markets and any time frames. Also, there is no tax on stock dividends. But if you are American, I think you still need to pay US tax. My ex-colleague paid salary tax in Hong Kong and also US tax (double taxation treaty?)

 

[d08]

This is an interesting topic.
What are the best places to trade from in 2011?
People whoa are recommending places like Monaco clearly have no idea what the property costs are. Most here don't have trading capital in the millions so that actually is a big factor. Things that need consideration are - property costs, health care quality, infrastructure, language, visa/residency and obviously taxation.
I'm currently paying around 21% and I consider that a robbery. However, I wouldn't mind paying up to 10%, a number I consider a fair contribution.
Countries that seem to be very decent based on superficial analysis would be: New Zealand (no cap gains and the first 4 years for a new kiwi are tax free), Uruguay (12% cap gains), ???.
Places like Singapore and Hong Kong are amazing until you check the property prices and the smog levels in HK, Malta and Cyprus seem nice for now but the EU will enforce higher taxes everywhere, it's bound to happen in the next few years. Asia or Oceania would be my region of choice as that's where the economic future is.

 

[caementarius]

For all the small US Citizen traders dreaming of trading their $5k futures account into millions, isn't trading futures inside an IRA the perfect solution?

If you have positive expectancy and a 10-year plan, the difference paying no tax makes could be huge.

 

[d08]

Sure, for US citizens. I guess my questions are more directed at the non-US people or the Americans who would give up their citizenship.
The location question is more important than ever, with increased taxes for traders looming in the western world.
I'm paying 20% flat now and since the tax systems are rarely straightforward and easy to understand, I'm not even sure how it compares.

 

[kcgoogler]

Quote from Ghost of Cutten:

For someone making $500k per year, the main difference between a Canadian/EU citizenship and a US one is about $150k a year.

Just trying to understand. Say you are a Canadian citizen living in canada and trading US equities and you make this 500k. You will not pay US taxes but you will definitely have to pay canadian taxes; which if i am not mistaken are more than US taxes. No? what am i missing?

thanks!
-gariki

 

[oldtime]

Quote from caementarius:

For all the small US Citizen traders dreaming of trading their $5k futures account into millions, isn't trading futures inside an IRA the perfect solution?

If you have positive expectancy and a 10-year plan, the difference paying no tax makes could be huge.

no kidding, but you can"t teach young kids anything. Like when my grandfather told me I should slow down and enjoy life. Trade your sheltered money and keep personal money in index funds and pay pratically no cap gains. And you don't have to pay the IRS the first quarter when you know damn well you're going to lose most of it the next quarter.

 

[Ghost of Cutten]

Quote from benwm:

The cleanest solution seems to be to move to a low tax destination and become a resident.

But presumably if you're using the local internet connection that would be deemed as "carrying on a business within the country"so presumably that rules out Panama and Costa Rica which only tax you on "locally derived income"??

I haven't spoke to lawyers in those 2 countries, but in other places where I got professional advice, using the internet to log in to a broker outside the country is not classed as doing business within the country. For example I traded in Eastern Europe, mostly US exchange products using a broker outside the country, and it was classed entirely as 'foreign source income'.