小心外國徵增值稅 業主移民前或要賣樓賣股

巴士的報

疫情持續膠著，本港人員流動趨勢未有減退。入境事務處數據顯示，今年首三個月共有約14萬港人淨流出，「移民」成為不可忽視的話題。「移民」二字說來簡單，但並非動動雙腳就可完成，它包含移居、轉移資產等多個方面，亦需面對不同國家或地區迥異的法例法規。在此背景下，意欲移民者如何處理個人資產才可實現利益最大化，其中稅務是值得注意的問題。 

今年26歲的Kay決定獨自移民加拿大，帶上千元現金，約等於幾日生活開支。剩下約6位數資產則選擇留在香港，待需要時再經由銀行匯款提取。「因為港幣和美元掛鈎比較穩定，所以決定（將大部分資產）先留在香港」，Kay說道。

賣樓套現後可買保險

「移民離開香港之前，考慮如何保留、處置或轉移個人資產十分重要」，RPC律師事務所合夥人Andrea Randall接受訪問時表示，不同國家對資產有不同的稅務處理辦法，個人應當考慮移居到一個新的國家時所承擔的稅務責任。其中，資產增值稅（Capital Gains Tax，CGT）是需要關注的重點之一。Andrea Randall指，香港並沒有資產增值稅，即對出售資產（如股票、房產、債券等）的利潤徵稅；而其他部分國家（如英國）則會徵收。因此她建議，若要移民到此類國家，最好在移民前就考慮應課稅資產的處置或轉讓。

認可財務策劃師（CFP）李澄幸補充，以英國為例，該國稅制為「全球徵稅」，即在全球賺取的收入和收益，包括海外部分，都予以徵稅。其中資產增值稅的計算方式也較特殊，資產成本價是從購入日期算起，而非移民日期。比如港人若在10年前花200萬元購置一物業，2020年移民時該物業價格上漲至600萬元，而今以650萬元出售該物業，其資產增值幅度為450萬元，而非50萬元。不過，英國亦有針對自住物業的稅務寬免，稱「私人居所寬免」，但須滿足相應條件，包括所售物業為唯一主要居所等。

不能忽略遺產稅

如離港前出售物業等所得的資金又應如何放置，才可合理省稅？李澄幸指，沒有標準答案，視乎個人情況而定，但通常有保險、信託等方式。若將資金投入保險產品，一方面可為資產增值，另一方面亦可達到省稅或延稅的效果，因保單內滾存的紅利，一般不會馬上進行報稅納稅。比如英國稅例所指定的保單每年可容許提取5%本金而暫時不用報稅，直至提取總額達本金的100%。至於信託，李則建議資產或收入較多者可考慮，因海外信託的海外收入和收益一般毋須繳納英國所得和收益稅。

需要注意的是，多位專家顧問均表示不能忽略遺產稅。Andrea Randall指，在成為當地（如英國）的稅務居民後，從死者（配偶除外）那里繼承的資產，可能需繳納遺產稅。而在移民之前，進行有效的遺產規劃便可以減少受益人的稅務風險，具體方式則包括購買人壽保險、設立信託等。

李澄幸補充，還可考慮以家庭作為財富規劃的單位，並非所有資產都要個人持有，也可考慮將部分投資組合給予子女等。此外，李澄幸還建議意欲移民者須根據個人情況，提前備好一些流動資金做生活費用。

Kay提到，自己為此準備了約10萬元，足夠個人半年的開支。而李澄幸觀察到的情況則更加保守，「大部分家庭需要1至2年才適應當地生活，亦可能有部分待業時間」，因此建議準備足夠2年至3年的生活費用。

打擊跨境逃稅有乜招？對你有甚麼影響？

on.cc東網專訊

【on.cc東網專訊】 不法分子跨境逃稅、洗黑錢等層出不窮，令國際金融機構心驚驚，恐置身不法之徒的「犯法渠道」。事實上，為堵塞相關漏洞，多國政府已積極收緊稅務條例，而作為國際金融中心的香港，在今年6月修訂了《稅務條例》，更將實施「自動交換財務帳戶資料」，響應打擊跨境逃稅。究竟這些新招是甚麼？對投資者又有甚麼影響？

●「自動交換財務帳戶資料」(AEOI)
在AEOI之下，若果你在所屬居留的司法管轄區以外，擁有資產或賺取入息，相關財務資料會被交到你所屬的居留司法管轄區；當稅局得到資料後，就可用作識辨逃稅者。那麼甚麼資料會「被交換」？包括利息、股息、帳戶結餘或價值、某類保險產品的收入、出售財務資產所得收益等。

●「共同匯報標準」(CRS)
CRS的準則已被納入《稅務條例》，在此框架下，銀行、保險公司、財富及資產管理等財務機構，將收集客戶的財務資料，而香港及中國均承諾於2018年起進行自動交換資料。

以上兩個準則對香港影響較大。

●美國《海外帳戶稅務合規法案》(FATCA)
FATCA早於2014年7月生效，以防止美國納稅人利用海外金融帳戶逃稅。

舉例：內地人買香港保險
若內地人到港購買分紅類的投資性壽險，要向保險公司遞交稅務編號等詳細資料，否則不能完成投保程序。而由於分紅壽險涉及利息收入，在CRS框架下中國稅局將可獲悉投保人呈交的相關資料，意味內地投保人難以隱藏境外資產。

值得注意的是，中國稅局只是「獲得」資料，投保人會否被徵稅則是後話。

FATCA Going Worldwide

armstrongeconomics.com

At G20 last year, all governments agreed to report everyone everywhere to their host countries for tax purposes. The hunt for taxes is destroying the world economy at a staggering rapid pace and this is far worse than even I had anticipated when we first forecast BIG BANG would hit 2015.75 back in 1985.

Here is a email a non-US citizen received from his trust company in Malta.

“The reporting charges have arisen due to the implementation of new U.S legislation known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) which has been introduced as part of a global initiative to create an International tax reporting regime. Together with the majority of the World’s major trading nations, the Maltese Government has entered into an agreement with the US Authorities to implement FATCA legislation in Malta. The legislation has required all Trust Companies in Malta to evaluate all structures operated on behalf of clients and categorise them according to detailed rules set out in the FATCA legislation. This categorisation process is not just limited to structures operated on behalf of US clients, or clients holding US assets but has to include all clients and structures irrespective of where clients and their structures are domiciled. We can advise you that has taken extensive legal and tax advice regarding the categorisation of clients and which information should be reported according to various trigger reporting events since our accounting and client management systems have to be tailored to supply relevant information on a per client and  entity basis to the Malta Authorities who then report directly to the IRS.

Consistent with many other Trust Companies a decision has been taken to pass on some of the costs of this work to client structures for whom we act. Accordingly a December invoice will be issued for a one off fee of £250 that will be described in the invoice as a FATCA classification fee.“

赴美加過境 中國旅客未申報現金逾億元

蘋果日報

隨着中國經濟發展迅速，越來越多中國人把未申報巨額現金，用行李箱、銀包帶到美國和加拿大等地。美國和加拿大的海關部門，近年從中國旅客行李和身上撿獲的未申報現金，總數高達1,800萬美元（1.4億港元）。

有機會被全數充公 

美國海關公佈的數字顯示，於2009年至2011年期間，從中國旅客行李中共撿獲500萬美元（3,900萬港元）未申報現金，佔所有被撿獲未申報現金 8.4%，是各國籍人士中最高的。加拿大海關部門也於2011年4月至2012年6月間，從中國旅客撿獲1,300萬美元（1.01億港元）未申報現金，佔全部的59%。 美國和加拿大政府都規定，攜帶10,000美元（7.8萬港元）或以上現金入境都須申報，違者會被罰款，如果旅客未能合理解釋現金用途和來源，甚至有機會被充公全數現金。中國政府也禁止旅客攜帶超過5萬美元（39萬港元）現金出境，違者罰款，當局在2007年至2011年期間收到罰款，高達12.7億人民幣（15.6億港元）。

美國《華爾街日報》

加拿大稅收

Kitco Forum

As a Canadian, I've wondered about the issue of capital gains taxes on bullion for a long time, but after reviewing the Canadian Tax Code recently, I have discovered that my primary precious metals investment vehicle (1-oz silver bullion coins) are exempted from capital gains taxes.

Capital Gains 2011 - Canada Revenue Agency

Essentially, any coin that was purchased for under $1000 and sold for under $1000 is considered Listed Personal Property (LPP) under the Canadian Tax Code (see page 7), which is a specific type of Personal-Use Property (which would include such things as a boat, car, or furniture).

The only attribute that distinguishes LPP from Personal-Use Property is that LPP would generally be expected to increase in value over time, such as in the case of jewelry, rare art, a stamp collection, or coins, whereas Personal-Use Property tends to depreciate (as with a boat, car, or furniture).

The details from the Canada Revenue Agency document (Page 20) are as follows:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"Because LPP is a type of personal-use property, the capital
gain or loss on the sale of the LPP item is calculated the
same way as for personal-use property. For more
information about these rules, see “Personal-use property”

Personal-use property
When you dispose of personal-use property, you may have
a capital gain or loss. To calculate this gain or loss, follow
these rules:
■ If the adjusted cost base (ACB) of the property is less
than $1,000, its ACB is considered to be $1,000.
■ If the proceeds of disposition are less than $1,000, the
proceeds of disposition are considered to be $1,000.
■ If both the ACB and the proceeds of disposition
are $1,000 or less, you do not have a capital gain or a
capital loss. Do not report the sale on Schedule 3 when
you file your income tax and benefit return."

When you dispose of personal-use property that has an
ACB or proceeds of disposition of more than $1,000, you
may have a capital gain or loss.

Adjusted cost base (ACB) – usually the cost of a property
plus any expenses to acquire it, such as commissions and
legal fees.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Based on this wonderful discovery, I would advise Canadians to purchase only bullion that you expect to be saleable for less than 1000$/unit in order to avoid any capital gains on your bullion.

Given my long-term price targets of $6000/oz for gold and $300/oz for silver, that would mean 5 gram bars of gold (or smaller), and 3-oz bars of silver (or smaller).

Since the capital gains tax in Canada is based on 50% of the gain, taxed at your personal marginal tax rate (for the average person, around 30-35%), a typical capital gains tax on bullion would be about 15-18%. The tax loss of 15-18% upon sale of a 100oz bar of silver (which would be bought and sold for considerably more than more than $1000) outweighs any savings in terms of the lower premium over a 1oz round.

Therefore, this analysis suggest that Canadians should only be buying 1 oz silver, 1/10 oz fractional gold coins, or 5gr gold coins to maximize their eventual gains.