beofotch

Hello,

I have a friend who is an American expat who just moved to NZ and is opening a savings account for me (in his name).

I have Swiss Francs in Switzerland that I would like to wire to the new NZ savings account. From there I would like to invest the money (~$10,000 NZD) in a NZ investment vehicle (stock market, savings account deposit, etc.).

I am having a hard time figuring out the tax implications. Since NZ has no capital gains tax couldn't I invest in some stocks and in the future sell them and not pay tax on any gains I earn? I'd then like to wire all the money back to Switzerland (or to United States or UK). If I take a savings account deposit over a fixed term, do I have to pay tax on my gains or when I withdraw the money or wire it back overseas?

Will there be any tax implications in any of this for me or my friend who is hosting the account on my behalf?

Thanks!

Beofotch

cypherpunk

Well that would be nice, but no, no matter where you invest you are subject to the tax laws of the country you are resident in for tax purposes. And any other laws for non-residents in the country where you're investing too of course. NZ has a "non-resident withholding tax" for interest paid to non-residents, for example.

Genesis

I imagine as your chum has your money in his name he will be liable for any tax on the interest whilst the money is in his name. As soon as you take it and invest it (presumably in your name) in NZ you will have to declare what profit you make to the tax dept of the country you live in.

manchaka

You will be liable to pay tax at the applicable rate in the country which is your permanent domicile - if that's CH then it'll be at that rate, if it was the UK then that means 40%! If it was NZ that would be, er, zero, zilch, nada

Best,
AMx

manchaka

By the way the person who may or may not be liable for tax is the person whose name any accounts are in.

AMx