An Indian, Soon To Be An Expat In Ba

[newtothegroup]

Hello friends,

I am from India and will soon be moving to BA as an expat for a year or so. I am a single male and age 32. I have been to BA already in January for a month and thus, have a basic idea on cost of living, neighborhoods etc.

However, I still have some trivial questions, the answers to which I have tried to search a lot on the forum, but have still not been able to form an informed decision/call. I apologize in advance if this offends you as you might already be a little overwhelmed with repeated queries of such nature but this might help me a lot and I have really searched a lot here and on other forums, tax sources etc.

I am planning to rent a fully furnished apartment in Palermo area or Recoleta.
Where I intend to pick your brains are-
1. I understand the tax structure and social security contributions. I also understand that there may be a possibility of getting an exemption on the contributions given that my assignment is for a year only. Is there any clear cut guideline on this or does this vary case to case basis? Any personal experiences on this will help more.
2. Given the fluctuations in the currency, and the fluctuations being depreciation against USD more often than naught, I am thinking on the lines of splitting my salary with one portion being received directly in India. In such case, am I liable to pay tax on my total salary or only on Argentina received amount? If I am to pay on total amount, do I get relief to that extent from India tax?
3. I am given to understand that getting paid in USD in Argentina is not an option. Any way around this?
4. Any savings in Argentina, that I would want to repatriate to India, I will have to buy USD at a frequent interval, saving for exigencies in AR. Does the banking system permit these days to send USD out of the country? I read that it was almost next to impossible till recent times.

Last one for now, you may choose to ignore it if you find it naive.

5. Is getting a car on one year lease, a financially viable and feasible option? I agree that the public transport is very good in BA (I come from India) but it might help over weekends, not that I plan to spend every weekend on road But is is a good to know information.

The knowledge on the above will hep me align myself better.
I thank you in advance for your kind help and will now be glued to this page in anticipation of your responses and suggestions.

Regards,
Ashish

 

[garryl]

These are viable questions when you transfer from India to California.

 

[newtothegroup]

These are viable questions when you transfer from India to California.

Was 'California' a typo or I have to read between the lines?

 

[garryl]

Was 'California' a typo or I have to read between the lines?

Typo

 

[sleslie23]

These are all valid questions and you are smart to look for ways to minimize your risk. However, it's not very easy, especially if your company insists on playing by the rules.

If your company is hiring an attorney to handle your visa, etc. I would ask them these questions. I could tell you how things were when I transferred to Argentina in 2007, but things have changed multiple times. And some things have even changed back.

 

[steveinbsas]

Is getting a car on one year lease, a financially viable and feasible option? I agree that the public transport is very good in BA (I come from India) but it might help over weekends, not that I plan to spend every weekend on road But is is a good to know information.

Hello Ashish, I have never heard of or seen any advertising for a one year (or even multiples of years) car lease in Argentina. Renting a car for a weekend is possible, but considerably more expensive than renting one in the USA, Europe, or even Mexico.

 

[Ceviche]

Ashish,

I can answer only one of yr questions..CAR

Just forget about car. use public transport, taxis, planes, ships and trains. Take a break from driving. I heard to survive in India..one must drive a car on a dailyl basis..take the opportunity to take a break from it, while here.

Car - will be expensive and the insurance does not work so much in favor of customer as it may in USA or India..

 

[wongjoh]

2. Given the fluctuations in the currency, and the fluctuations being depreciation against USD more often than naught, I am thinking on the lines of splitting my salary with one portion being received directly in India. In such case, am I liable to pay tax on my total salary or only on Argentina received amount? If I am to pay on total amount, do I get relief to that extent from India tax?
3. I am given to understand that getting paid in USD in Argentina is not an option. Any way around this?
4. Any savings in Argentina, that I would want to repatriate to India, I will have to buy USD at a frequent interval, saving for exigencies in AR. Does the banking system permit these days to send USD out of the country? I read that it was almost next to impossible till recent times.

2 => to be above board, you are liable to pay tax on all your Argentina-derived income, whether received here or elsewhere; I don't see how you would get relief from Indian tax if this is from Argentine sources, perhaps you are thinking the other way, that Argentina taxes can reduce your Indian tax burden (which may be the case, but of course, check with Indian tax authority)
3 => not an option to be paid in USD, but of course your compensation can be in USD and you just get paid in pesos at the official rate. Now that you can buy USDs at the official rate, it's basically the same
4 => Yes, you can send USDs outside Argentina. Do a search for this in this forum and you will find a thread regarding this

 

[newtothegroup]

An SOS to the members on the forum..Please help!!

I welcome suggestions from Indian Expats on the forum.

 

[syngirl]

An SOS to the members on the forum..Please help!!

I welcome suggestions from Indian Expats on the forum.

I think post this SOS on the main page, or look for the BA expats group on facebook, you may find some more Indian expats on there.

My attempt to help:

1-- re social security contributions -- this is dependent on whether there are bilateral agreements between countries -- ie between Spain and Argentina there definitely is a scheme, with other Mercosur countries as well, with the rest of the world.... it is a hit and miss. You will need to find out if one exists with India. Also investigate double taxation agreements. And I can say, just give up on getting any money back from the AFIP (the tax authority) from any of your taxes here -- you say your assignment is only for one year, well it would take an additional two or three just to battle through the bureaucracy to get your money back.

2 -- splitting the salary. IF you can negotiate this, the best thing would to try to get 1/2 paid into your Indian account, and just take the other half en negro, ie cold hard cash. Your company may not be too into this idea, but it is the best way to avoid taxes.

3 -- nope. Not unless this is a transfer within your company and you can maybe negotiate for the Indian subsidiary to pay you there (and in USD, not sure if that`s common payment there though?). Now that the cepo has been lifted however, you are free to buy dollars. If you get a high level account at a bank you may be able to get a better rate, or at a cueva.

4 -- yes you can send out