4 ms·

Did you read the part about foreign non-resident aliens being subject to US inheritance tax law, simply because they own shares of US companies? It's nice to h

Did you read the part about foreign non-resident aliens being subject to US inheritance tax law, simply because they own shares of US companies? It's nice to have different countries with different laws and customs. I don't want to be subject to US law just because at one time I had an interaction with some US entity. This opens the door to all kinds of over-reaching.

Adam503 17y ago
Good. A person who personally profits from owning shares of a US corporation should pay taxes on those profits.
- run4yourlives 17y ago
  Um, that's not the best policy to pursue. Usually, you pay tax in the jurisdiction whose services provided by the tax you will use. I'm Canadian, and pay Canadian taxes, because I use Canadian services. If I own a small piece of say, Disney, I can usually apply for an exemption to some or all of the income tax because the US recognizes that I live and work in Canada, and pay taxes there. This encourages me to buy more Disney shares. Guess what happens when the IRS decides that I have to pay them, while at the same time getting taxed by the Canadian government? Exactly. I sell Disney.
  - jhancock 17y ago
    You right, it is screwed up. You should write to your Canadian representative to let them know you are being unfairly taxes by Canada for a service they do not provide. Why should Canada profit from your stock transaction for a U.S. entity? Canada doesn't pay for the costs of allowing Disney to keep Mickey under intellectual property protection indefinitely. Canada doesn't pay for the costs of running the SEC. The U.S. does. I think a stock appreciation tax (capital gains) should be paid to the country the stock is listed in, i.e., where you made your investment. Same with property, which this thread started with. Pay your taxes where the value was created.
    - run4yourlives 17y ago
      Canada taxes my income. The US waives the taxes on the stock because of this. Thankfully we've got pretty good tax treaties, and Canada is a little better versed in dealing with partial residents, as is Europe. Canada doesn't pay for the costs of running the SEC. That's an interesting point and I don't necessarily disagree. Of course if they followed that line, they wouldn't be killing American expatriates now would they?
      - jhancock 17y ago
        I agree that taxes, just about everywhere, are uneven, unfair, and horribly misspent. I have an interest in fixing this. I think step one is to get everyone to feel the pain. Then we can have honest debate about what is fair and continue to adjust. At the moment, there are too many ways that some people simply don't pay. As long as this happens, there is not enough force to fix the problems. When I say there is not enough force, imagine if only 10%, in a certain tax situation, can afford to dodge the tax. It is most likely this 10% has more strength/wealth than the other 90% that do pay. In aggregate, they will use some of the gains they have made to apply a force to not change the structure which allows them to dodge the taxes. This is a problem of uneven strength. And it will continue as long as we allow the loopholes to exist.
        run4yourlives 17y ago
        I would agree with your loophole assessment. The easiest way to close such a loophole is to simply shift from income taxes to consumption taxes. (i.e. VAT and the like) Then, you get two (perhaps three) desired effects: 1. Loopholes don't exist. (or exist for everybody) 2. Adding more value is not punished, consumption is. 3. The last effect is that it may slow growth, which may or may not be desirable.
    - bwd2 17y ago
      The U.S. would never allow this to happen because then U.S. citizens would be able to invest in equities in someplace like Hong Kong and pay much lower taxes. It would be very nice if this happened.
jhancock 17y ago
Can you provide references? Are you saying that the U.S. transactions (includes equities) may be subject to U.S. taxes? If so, that seems fine. I don't see any claims to non-U.S. property.

Adam503 17y ago

Good. A person who personally profits from owning shares of a US corporation should pay taxes on those profits.

run4yourlives 17y ago
Um, that's not the best policy to pursue. Usually, you pay tax in the jurisdiction whose services provided by the tax you will use. I'm Canadian, and pay Canadian taxes, because I use Canadian services. If I own a small piece of say, Disney, I can usually apply for an exemption to some or all of the income tax because the US recognizes that I live and work in Canada, and pay taxes there. This encourages me to buy more Disney shares. Guess what happens when the IRS decides that I have to pay them, while at the same time getting taxed by the Canadian government? Exactly. I sell Disney.
- jhancock 17y ago
  You right, it is screwed up. You should write to your Canadian representative to let them know you are being unfairly taxes by Canada for a service they do not provide. Why should Canada profit from your stock transaction for a U.S. entity? Canada doesn't pay for the costs of allowing Disney to keep Mickey under intellectual property protection indefinitely. Canada doesn't pay for the costs of running the SEC. The U.S. does. I think a stock appreciation tax (capital gains) should be paid to the country the stock is listed in, i.e., where you made your investment. Same with property, which this thread started with. Pay your taxes where the value was created.
  - run4yourlives 17y ago
    Canada taxes my income. The US waives the taxes on the stock because of this. Thankfully we've got pretty good tax treaties, and Canada is a little better versed in dealing with partial residents, as is Europe. Canada doesn't pay for the costs of running the SEC. That's an interesting point and I don't necessarily disagree. Of course if they followed that line, they wouldn't be killing American expatriates now would they?
    - jhancock 17y ago
      I agree that taxes, just about everywhere, are uneven, unfair, and horribly misspent. I have an interest in fixing this. I think step one is to get everyone to feel the pain. Then we can have honest debate about what is fair and continue to adjust. At the moment, there are too many ways that some people simply don't pay. As long as this happens, there is not enough force to fix the problems. When I say there is not enough force, imagine if only 10%, in a certain tax situation, can afford to dodge the tax. It is most likely this 10% has more strength/wealth than the other 90% that do pay. In aggregate, they will use some of the gains they have made to apply a force to not change the structure which allows them to dodge the taxes. This is a problem of uneven strength. And it will continue as long as we allow the loopholes to exist.
      - run4yourlives 17y ago
        I would agree with your loophole assessment. The easiest way to close such a loophole is to simply shift from income taxes to consumption taxes. (i.e. VAT and the like) Then, you get two (perhaps three) desired effects: 1. Loopholes don't exist. (or exist for everybody) 2. Adding more value is not punished, consumption is. 3. The last effect is that it may slow growth, which may or may not be desirable.
  - bwd2 17y ago
    The U.S. would never allow this to happen because then U.S. citizens would be able to invest in equities in someplace like Hong Kong and pay much lower taxes. It would be very nice if this happened.

jhancock 17y ago

Can you provide references? Are you saying that the U.S. transactions (includes equities) may be subject to U.S. taxes? If so, that seems fine. I don't see any claims to non-U.S. property.