"I think that if your business or home base or working office is off shore,then money from investments or income paid directly off shore is tax free. Also transferring money back to Aus or spending in Aus does not attract a tax penalty.It could a little more complicated than this but I think it is possible.. As u know an accountant paid enough will have many options for u."
This thread has proven to me (not that after 9 months on Hotcopper I needed more proof) that the majority of sharemarket newbies / cum traders are too smart by half and simply not equipped to handle their financial affairs. They should simply get a job and let professionals manage their money.
As for the matters at hand.
* Saving tax is not the same as making money. Making profits is paramount, minimising tax only makes sense if you first take every possible step to maximise your income (bearing in mind that the ATO's anti-tax avoidance powers are wide ranging)
* It is not true that foreign residents do not pay tax. They may not pay tax in the country where profits were made (subject to withholing tax provisions) but they do pay tax on overseas earnings in their own country of residence upon repatriation of the profits.
* Unless profits are repatriated to some off-shore tax haven, it is not always obvious as to which tax juristiction will result in the least possible tax. Some countries operate dividend imputation systems (such as Australia) which favour resident shareholders, and all sorts of withholding tax and CGT regimes. The situation is even more complicated when bilateral tax treaties (such as Most Favoured Nation) exist between two countries
* Even off-shore tax havens are not all they have been cracked up to be. The best you can really do is defer current income tax by accumulating profits off-shore and pay CGT (presumably at a lower rate) some years later. You will always get nabbed when you repatriate your your money
GDN Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Not Held
