Am moving to Taiwan very shortly (next couple of months) from the UK.
There are 1 or 2 financial ‘things’ that I have to be honest, I have no idea what to do.
My most important issue is:
Am selling our London flat, and we should make around 30k net profit in pound sterling (which is around 1.5-1.7m NT$). BUT, will this be taxed if this is bought into Taiwan? If so, is there anyway I can avoid this - off-shore accounts, etc…(pls do not suggest shoving my cash up my rectum and carrying it thru customs). will only do this if there is no other advice or solutions…
Please help me…as I would hate this money to be gradually taxed and taken away from me…
…how about high-interest saving accounts? Are they worth saving with?
It should be the UK pounds account and when you are in Taipei ask for it to be converted and pay the fee for this currency exchange. Also ask the branch in the UK that you want to access it in Taipei and you want to have this account that will allow you to do this.
Please verify everything in the UK to be on the safe side.
Do you need the money in Taiwan? If you’re going to invest it then invest it wherever it seems safest and will give you the best return. Is Taiwan the right place to do that? Take a look at some of the earlier threads.
You would need to check with the customs department here how much currency you can bring, based on the local laws and regulations and if any taxes apply.
If you have money here the interest will be taxed (bank deducts the money from your account automatically).
In any case do not carry around that amount of cash, do a TT (telegraphic transfer) instead.
What’s high-interest saving? Interest rates are pretty poor nowadays.
The normal savings account at Citibank here in Taiwan gives you 1.2% / a for GBP.
Anyhow, stragbasher’s comment is very valid - do you need the money here and do you want it to be converted to the local currency?
If you want to save it in GBP you are probably better advised to keep it in an account in the UK. Depending on the account you may withdraw cash (in NTD) at an ATM here, subjected to the exchange rate and possibly some charges.
I have an HSBC account opened here in Oz that CANNOT be accessed from any HSBC account in Taiwan. There is no such thing as an international account with HSBC… is there? There wasnt 1 year ago.
As has been stated Taiwan is not a great place to expect high interest rates. Perhaps put a big chunk into a portfolio in the UK or in bonds perhaps… and then bring the rest to Taiwan.
HSBC has something called an “offshore banking” account that allows access to the money anywhere they have a branch. I’m pretty sure they’ve had it for a while, but they require some rather large minimums.
You’re required to declare if you’re bringing more than 10K USD into Taiwan. No idea how much they’ll tax you (or if they even will). Do you really need to bring all that money with you? If you have a legitimate reason, I’m sure you’ll have no problems.
I think the declaration is for cash only - drug money regulations.
Tell your bank you want to TT a large sum to Taiwan, and ask them what the rates/restrictions will be. They’ll know.
The only reason I can think of for bringing that amount of money into TW is to invest in a business - in which case it is registered and (I think) not taxed - or to buy a house. There’s a thread about that here somewhere. Sounded like a bad idea to me.
Barclay’s have offshore accounts in the Channel Islands, or did the last time I asked.
You’re planning on being resident here for tax purposes? What about your long-term ‘domicile’? It makes a difference to your investment strategy because of the tax implications.
[quote=“AWOL”]I have an HSBC account opened here in Oz that CANNOT be accessed from any HSBC account in Taiwan. There is no such thing as an international account with HSBC… is there? There wasn’t 1 year ago.
As has been stated Taiwan is not a great place to expect high interest rates. Perhaps put a big chunk into a portfolio in the UK or in bonds perhaps… and then bring the rest to Taiwan.[/quote]
That is correct…Visited the HSBC in Canada today and there is still no international account.
If you bring over 10K USD in cash, you have to declare it.
If you bring over 10K in gold, you have to declare that.
Thus, you can bring approx 20K in without declaration.
You also have to declare if the goods you’re bringing in are worth more than some fixed amount, at least if anyone at CKS can find a form for you to fill out. I couldn’t, they couldn’t, and they eventually told me to get lost since it was all for personal use anyway. (It’s a pretty low limit, something like US$600 in goods. Just one old digital camera was enough to require the form. For that matter, just four of my ties were enough.)
It depends if you want to use it or save it. I have all my money in my Worcester HSBC branch and I can use my debit card over here to withdraw money. I only pay exchange rate commission which is not much.
Works fine for me.
The money ‘could’ be used to buy property, or to use to buy stocks and shares (in which my in-laws are pretty good at and experienced at).
But not sure if either of these will happen within the 1st 12 months of me arriving here, so will defo not need to bring it in. But, as mentioned in other threads, I am not convinced about buying property here (not until something happens that lowers the prices…). After being spoilt in the UK, and esp in London in the last 5 years or so, I would not buy property that does not have a very decent chance of making a profit.
[quote]What’s high-interest saving? Interest rates are pretty poor nowadays.
The normal savings account at Citibank here in Taiwan gives you 1.2% / a for GBP. [/quote]
at 1.2% - I think this will not be an option. If I was to put in the amount I mentioned, I would hope for a higher %.
this sounds like the thing that I had heard of - this could be a v good option, depending upon the min amount, and any hidden charges…
Dangermouse - actually, just read your posts - so you can use your normal card anywhere in Taiwan? What is the commission for this?
Do not bring the money in any form (cash, bullion) when you travel here, have it TT’d over if and when you need it (which means you need to “park” it flexibly in the UK). Such transfer will not be taxed, normal fees apply (both sides deduct charges, check with your banks here and there), taxable are only salaries, capital gains such as interest, profits from stock-deals etc… Only do the latter if you have a chance to participate in an IPO here (depending on lock-up period in relation to your personal plans …) or if your trust in your in-laws’ local stock-market knowledge is rock-solid (and then PM me with some tips!!). I’m not sure whether there’s an asset tax on savings in the UK, but if here is, you might want to consider bringing it here for some tamer fixed interest deals … Xpet.
Ask your HSBC branch to ensure you will get a reference for use at HSBC Taiwan.
When the cash hits your HSBC account in the UK, leave it there. Come to Taiwan and open an account here. Make sure that your branch in England ensure you don’t get any nonsense from HSBC in Taiwan.
Change it into NT dollars, or simply open an NT dollar account here and have the loot transfered. Sterling is at the highest level it has been against the NT dollar ever, or since 1993 anyway.
Bring it in gradually in five thousand quid lumps if you’re afraid of tax. I have done this (one “lump”, once !) and never had to deal with tax issues. HSBC Taiwan aren’t going to run off to the tax people and rat on a customer. It’s not earned income anyway, and you wouldn’t have been liable for tax here when the capital gain was made on your property so I can’t imagine what tax issue there could possibly be.
