gunt86 said:Are you a US citizen? if so, then having a non-tourist visa for living in ARG will allow you to be a tax resident of Argentina, which means that you will be able to exclude about US$100k from your US taxes. in addition, all taxes you pay in ARG, can be deducted from your US taxes.
About your apartment, the issue is that as you are not a resident, the gvmt assumes you are renting out your apartment, and they assess a tax based on what they assume your rental income is...you must pay that every year or face interest on the tax (like 25% or something harsh). I have a friend who sold an apt after 6 years and made nothing on the sale as all his profits went to pay the ARG gvmt taxes because he was not a resident.
I am going to put this as clearly as I can: if you reside in ARG on a tourist visa, but are actually living here permanently, then you are taking a risk. Laws do change, and they change rapidly, and they change usually not in your favor. It is entirely possible that the gvmt decides to seize all the property owned by tourists. The only way to protect yourself from future law changes is to get yourself legal rights per your legal status in the country. For example, being an illegal immigrant in the US used to be not a big deal, but things have gotten harder and harder recently..
Thank you . I appeciate the sincerity with which you write, however I am a little confused.
I am a US cit. Do I understand you to say that with a resident visa I would be obliged to pay income tax to the AR government on all income wherever earned? Including any 401k or IRA withdrawls (treated as ordinary income for US fed tax purposes and taxed at the source in the US)?
How does my resident visa allow me to escape about US $100,000 taxes from my US taxes ?...especially if I am paying tax on that same 100K to Argentina (and probably at a higher rate) than I would be in the US? Obviously, if my tax obligation to Argentina would be greater than my tax obligation to the US , then there is nothing I would be saving by submitting to the AR system...or have I misunderstood something?
About the failure to pay tax on the supposed income of my apt here, I was led to believe I can demonstrate it was not a rental unit by showing past utility bills and my passport which would demonstrate non-occupancy during the time I was out of Argentina. Again, I am not overly concerned with any tax penalties or consequences that would come due on my death. At least that is one benefit of dying.