| Author | Message | ||
     Riyad Anabtawi Member Username: Riyada Post Number: 72 Registered: 12-2005 |
Here is one topic I would like to add to the forum. I have been talking with many tax CPA's here and I am confused. I soon will be posting snippets of what I know, and in the meantime would love to get input from members that know a bit of info regarding such issues as tax on personal assets in Argentina and abroad, declaraciones juradas etc.. for foreigners that live in Argentina. Cheers all Riyad | ||
| Riyad Anabtawi Member Username: Riyada Post Number: 76 Registered: 12-2005 |
Oh man.. Doesn't exactly look like a favorite topic here! | ||
| Riyad Anabtawi Member Username: Riyada Post Number: 77 Registered: 12-2005 |
ok. So here is what I know. - If a foreigner has been living in Arg for more than 6 months even on a tourist visa, you are obliged to file taxes or do the "declaraciones juradas" - As a foreigner you are then obliged to pay assets taxes on properties you own in and outside of Argentina. Any thoughts? | ||
| Tom Woodson Intermediate Member Username: Diverdown48 Post Number: 155 Registered: 6-2006  |
Sounds rediculous, I would not do it. Six months is the limit a tourist can stay in Argentina. US citizens do not need a visa to enter Argentina. | ||
| Riyad Anabtawi Member Username: Riyada Post Number: 78 Registered: 12-2005 |
Would not do what? The limit is 3 months The visa is given at the airport. I think Arg tax system is rediculous too, to charge tax assets on stuff one owns out of the country!! | ||
| Tom Woodson Intermediate Member Username: Diverdown48 Post Number: 156 Registered: 6-2006 |
I wouldn't pay taxes on assets I owned in the US to Argentina. The limit is three months but you can get an extension by paying 100 pesos to Immigration. They give you a receipt and stamp your passport and you are good for another three months. Six months is the total time you can stay with a tourist visa. According to the US state department even though a US citizen does not need a visa to enter Argentina the stamping of the passport in effect is a visa. What you answer as to whether you are there on business or vacation determines the type of visa. I did a little research about the Argentina tax laws but gave up when the Memphis-Ol Miss football game came on followed by Louisville-Kentucky. I love American football. | ||
| Wizo New member Username: Wizo Post Number: 3 Registered: 6-2006 |
I think you'll find that most countries have similar rules regarding tax residence. It is normal to have to pay tax on worldwide income once you've been in a country for 6 months within a 365 day period, even if you've been in and out of the country within that time. The only difference with Argentina is that they're taxing assets aswell as worldwide income. If you have substantial assets then you might want to investigate transferring them into some sort of trust structure to remove direct ownership and force the taxation rules back to your home country (or a third country). But make sure you check with an international tax adviser since tax laws are complex and vary depending on your place of residence, nationality and domicile. | ||
| Tom Advanced Member Username: Diverdown48 Post Number: 253 Registered: 6-2006 |
Wizo, welcome to the group I take issue with the commonality of paying income taxes on worldwide income. In 2003 and 2004 I spent more time in Argentina than I in did the US. I was in the US just a month or two for that period. My income was being generated it the US. No one in Argentina even hinted I needed to pay tax. US tax law is the same. A guest worker or student is not required to pay IRS taxes on money they earn outside the US with the possible exception of income paid by a US employer. An example, An Argentine citizen is brought to the US by Lockheed Martin and works in Tampa for 8 months on a work viza, they send him to China for three months and then he returns to th US for 2 months, all the time being paid by LM, he would be subject to IRS taxation. But interest dividends or sales of property etc. outside the US would not be taxable in the US. | ||
| Wizo New member Username: Wizo Post Number: 5 Registered: 6-2006 |
Sure, there may be exemptions for certain situations but I suspect that many people may inadvertently become tax residents by thinking they can simply cross the border for a few days and come back again as tourists. Tax residency, permanent residency and physical residency shouldn't be confused. For many countries tax resideny is obtained after spending 3 months continuously in the country, or after being in the country for at least 180 days within any 365 day period. | ||
| Arial New member Username: Arial Post Number: 14 Registered: 10-2006 |
Again, it is my understanding from an accountant in Bs As, in whom I have confidence, that Argentina does not tax income from outside of Argentina. If he had said otherwise, I would not be applying for legal residency in Argentina! There is, however, the worldwide asset tax on anything you own anywhere in the world, whether real estate, bank accounts or other assets. This is a completely separate tax from taxes on real estate owned in Argentina (Argentina does tax real estate situate within Argentina)or on income from inside Argentina (also taxed by Argentina, whether you live there or not). The asset tax applies if you are there six months of any year. For the first two years of my residency I will not be there more than that every year because of family obligations elsewhere that probably will not last longer than that. I will recheck these tax facts with the accountant before I make a permanent commitment in Argentina. Currently I would like to live there and spend all of my income there. But an asset tax in Argentina on worldwide assets could cause me to just own some real estate there for brief visits and spend my income in a more tax-friendly place. That's one thing about being "international." You have choices. Argentina is my choice right now. I don't mind the other taxes but I cast a suspicious eye at the worldwide asset tax. While we may consider it low today, history carries a warning. When the income tax was introduced in the US the people were talked into it with the promise that "it will never go over 1%." Yeah, sure! Arial PS. I tried to use two words in the last paragraph that I am informed are "not allowed" on this board. I am snickering. If they are obscene, it's news to me. BUT, I appreciate the work the moderator is doing here. I have seen no personal attacks since I started reading the board and nothing offensive to my delicate female ears! GOOD JOB! | ||
| Roberto Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 847 Registered: 12-2004 |
Probably not obscene... The script would read partial words as opposed to whole ones, so a banned list can be made as such. It will be difficult to post city names/words such as 'Kumbrecita' -starting with C- as the first three letters are banned. In the last 2 years, we only had a few incidents... | ||
| Wizo New member Username: Wizo Post Number: 8 Registered: 6-2006 |
Arial, Please post back here once you've spoken to your accountant again. I'd love to hear differently but almost all the information I can find suggests that Argentina does indeed tax income from outside of Argentina for residents of Argentina. Less clear is the definition of residence in this context, though I expect that Argentines and permanent residents would definetly be classified as tax residents if they are in the country for more than a few months of the year. | ||
| Arial New member Username: Arial Post Number: 17 Registered: 10-2006 |
I will do it Wizo. Arial | ||
| Arial New member Username: Arial Post Number: 18 Registered: 10-2006 |
As my daugher says, "Mom, you sure do hate to admit it when you're wrong!" And she is so right. But it appears that I must. I contacted someone in Argentina and here is his reply. Argentina taxes on world wide income based on a residency test. For the test it includes anyone including tourists who reside in Argentina longer than 6 months in a calendar year. I do not beleive that there is any tax on a foreign structure that holds stock, gold or bonds ect. You can put your assets in a us company and that only pays tax in the usa. "They would not even know about it" for the asset tax as my accountant in Barioloche told me. If you stay longer than 6 months you will not be legal. No one is. | ||
| Wizo New member Username: Wizo Post Number: 9 Registered: 6-2006 |
Thanks Arial. That's basically what I thought. So it really comes down to the specifics of the residency test and whether or not Argentina have any controlled foreign company laws that would require taxation of offshore structures. I hope to find these things out too but it will be another month or so before I speak to an Argentine tax adviser. | ||
| Arial New member Username: Arial Post Number: 19 Registered: 10-2006 |
My Argentina friend thinks my problem is that since I am always there slightly less than six months, the accountant told me that Argentina does not tax any of my income from foreign sources but does tax Argentina sources. If I am ever there longer then six months, then he says the story for me from the tax professional will change. I'm still not competely sure but it makes sense. Arial |
