Quote from ShoeshineBoy:
So you're saying that you could easily end up paying more taxes depending on the country? I take it these are countries that don't care to get help from workers outside their borders??
No I am saying that you will have to file taxes in both countries. If you are in a european country for longer than 183 ( on an employment basis ) than you will have to pay local taxes according to the rules of that country. It does not matter if you are a citizen of that country or not.
When you file in the USA than, you will be able to deduct the amount of taxes that you paid in that foreign country. Most cases that I know of, given the expat writeoff, you will end up with an accrual of a tax credit in the USA, meaning the IRS owes you money. However, you do not get that money in cash only as a credit to next year. That accrual keeps growing.
If you do a quick calculation of what your taxes would be in the USA versus what they would be in a european country ( all social security and mandatory PIT ) you may discover that you pay less in the USA. The expat writeoff is what makes it favorable.
You should do the same regarding capital gains, see what you are actually trying to save, what it would cost, in setting up a structure to get the more favorable cap gain tax in that foreign country and see if it is worth it.
Again, from my experience, and i have lived in europe and eastern europe for over 14 years, it is just not worth it.
hope this helps