Guest AnnieE Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 We recently moved over to Aus and remortgaged our home before we left the UK to fund a house here. Because the exchange rate is poor we left the money in a savings account in the UK with one of the icelandic banks who are giving great rates. However there have been a few articles suggesting theicelandic banks are not so robust and you should only invest what you are guaranteed to get back if the bank runs into difficulty. So we now have to move a large sum of money into another account but because we are no longer resident in the UK we can't open new savings accounts. We can open an off-shore account but is there a downside to this regarding tax implications? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pinhead Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 Whether your bank account is offshore or not makes no difference to the tax you are assessed on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Liam Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Pinhead is right. Australian residents are taxed on their worldide income and if you do not report the income then chances are that you will get a nasty letter from the ATO at sometime in the future when you have already spent the money on a new house. I had one client who got a letter about $4.50 earned in an offshore account..no problem..paid the tax on it. Another client had not mentioned his offshore stash to me or ATO and got a $26,000 bill for tax and penalties on interest over 4 years..ouch! The ATO has agreements with many countries on cross matching so be careful. this year their latest cross matching project is matching tax returns against the registry of boat owners!..amazing how many people earning less than $11K in their tax returns are boat owners! regards Liam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AnnieE Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 Wasn't planning on hiding it from the taxman but your stories certainly mean I won't be! Just did a tax return for this year and the accountant tells me that because we weren't resident for 6 months or more in the tax year we will be taxed at a non-resdients rate? However they are not interested in what we have earnt overseas for this year. Is this right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pinhead Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 Are you talking about the UK or Australian tax authorities? Generally yes if you've not lived in the country for 6 months then you are a non resident for tax purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dazla Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 Hi I'm moving to Sydeny on a 457 visa for 4 years. Will I be a resident for tax purposes under this visa? i have a fair amount of money I want to invest as well Cheers Darrell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pinhead Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 If you are on a 457 visa then you are not a permanent resident. There is a tool on the ATO website that you can go through to determine whether you are a taxable resident. Your best bet is to contact an aussie tax expert or the ATO directly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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