ideal country for a forex trader

[maries]

Hi Black Knight,
I am new to forex and have chosen to trade full-time professionally. I have recenly lived in the UK. I am moving out of UK now choosing a new country to settle in. I am a German, but hesitate to come back to Germany due to recent introducing of Capital Gain Tax. How does it taxwise look like there? My preferred country from tax point of view is Switzerland, but home is home.
Thanks for a reply,
m

[1greyfox]

Hi maries:

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the world of forex.  I hope this journey will be all you expected it to be.  I am sure either BK or one of the other Pro members will be able to address your questions about taxes and which country may be better than where you are now.

Since you are "new" to forex you probably have many questions, let me start by pointing you to several links which should help you become acclimated with trading.

The first link will take you to a topic thread which has 10 lessons to get you started:
http://fx-knight.com/smForum/index.php?topic=77.0

This second link will take you to a topic thread which has several webinars which BK did.:
http://fx-knight.com/smForum/index.php?topic=146.0

If you decide to use MT4 as your trading platform, this link will take you a topic which will help you get your Fibs set up.:
http://fx-knight.com/smForum/index.php?topic=11.0

Don't forget you can always join the Pro group which has helped many beginners and experienced traders to improve upon their results.
http://www.fx-knight.com/join.html

I wish you much success and happy pipping!

1greyfox

[Black Knight]

 
Hi maries...

For tax questions in Germany, I would speak with German tax professional.

For tax questions in Switzerland, seek out the advice of a Swiss professional.

I know in the UK spread-betting is currently not taxed as a capital gain.  But there's talk now of modifying the law so it only applies to people who have another (taxable) income from elsewhere, not for whom the spread betting is the sole income.

Other options may include incorporating a company to own the trading accounts, preferably in an offshore jurisdiction separate from where you live... that way there is at least a distinction between trading profits and personal income (what you withdraw from the company to live from).  Many of these jurisdictions do not tax corporate earnings, especially if the company conducts no business on their soil.

But, you really ought to discuss this with a professional.  We're traders here, not really tax or legal experts.  Vanuatu has some of the lowest taxes around - but also some of the poorest infrastructure.  There's no one best solution for everyone, and many factors must be weighed on a personal level.  Keep in mind too that laws change all the time.

[Imtiaz]

So from a tax perspective, there are many factors to consider...

From a time zone point of view CET Central European Times appears to offer an extra hours sleep in the morning trading session compared with UK time.

Other factors are quality of life, including personal safety, education, healthcare, cost of living, fast broadband internet, weather. I understand that Switzerland and Germany come tops for quality of life in World Top Cities analysis survey.

http://www.citymayors.com/features/quality_survey.html

London doesn't even make the top 30!!


I also would be interested in opinions from traders on the best trading location...

[YR]

I live in Canada and can offer my opinions on trading from here.  We have a good affordable quality of life and excellent broadband internet infrastructure.  The big problem for me are the timezones.  Trading forex often requires me to wake up around 3 AM to trade the European session, or sometimes stay up al night and sleep during the day.  I live on the east coast in the Atlantic Timezone and it might be better on the West coast as the euro session would get underway in the evening.  This alone makes it tough but not impossible to enjoy a normal life.  The same would apply to the US as we share most timezones.

The tax treatment in Canada is another disadvantage.  We pay high taxes, period.

[Black Knight]

 
Well, I'm flying down to the island of Mallorca to look at properties tomorrow, so I guess my choice is fairly obvious.  My decision is based primarily upon lifestyle, weather, timezone, and flight time to the world's financial centres - not taxes.  Spain has one of the most socialistic - at $51K per year you already qualify for the highest bracket and get taxed at 43%.  By contrast, in the USA you need to make over $533K per year to get in the top bracket, taxed at 35%.  But we're talking personal income taxes here... my trading companies and funds aren't going to be incorporated where I live.  Conditions in Panama, Belize, and the British Virgin Islands are far more favourable.

[AndesOwl]

http://www.taxcafe.co.uk/tax-havens.html

I posted the above link under the topic on taxation. Instead of repeating myself here, I suggest you read my original post.

The above site sells a book that will answer a lot of your questions.

[Davide]

Ok, so I'm a year late.. but Slovakia can also be a good choice for traders. Even tax free if you structure your investments correctly - check my other posts.