Realistic to Move to Argentina and Live Off Investments?

[oddDistribution]

zperhaps
The trust can be written so that the trustee can "invade" the principle" as previously agreedon in the terms of the trust, but the beneficiary cannot do so at will. A trust for mgraciojes should not have to be irrevocable. My trust was already irrecovable, five years befoore I first set foot in Argentina.



I fired the attorney my first and only Argentine girlfriend insisted I use, broke up with her, and went to migraciones with a lovely woman I met on the sdewalk in front of my girlfriend's office building, so I know from personal experience that it is not only possible, it is highly desirable.


You are moost welcome.


I cannot touch the principle of my trust or make withdrals at will, but the trustee can (and has) made advances of future distributions upon my request.

I went to migraciones with the lovely woman who was holding a clipboard and conducting interviews on the sidewalk in front of my soon to be ex Argentine girlfriend. She also went with me for the first two renewals. After that I did everything on my own. It only cost me a few dinners and a "little black dress" for her to wear.

The very nice Argentine wife of a Canadian I knew did make a number of calls for me when I was applying for permanent residency on the third renewal, so I would know exactly when to return to migraciones for the final step of the process.

So, the drawback is that I would not be able to to manage the assets myself and I technically cannot withdraw the principal unless the trustee does so. Do you also have to pay the trustee?

If it's workable to do as a revokable trust as you mentioned before that would be perfect

 

[oddDistribution]

Absolutely not. Today, the rentista temporary residency is the most complicated category imaginable. Especially when you start getting into having to document complex financial arrangements that generate the income. Poke around on some recent threads on the subject, where you will see this discussed.

(Check the capital gains tax implications in your home jurisdiction of changing the ownership structure of your assets to a trust. If there are any (there are in some), the hit might be even more than the money you save on paying Argentina's wealth tax.)

I don't think you pay capital gains tax for setting up an irrevocable trust in the US. It could trigger gift taxes, but the the amount you would have to gift would be very high to bump into that. i.e. 12m+

 

[steveinbsas]

So, the drawback is that I would not be able to to manage the assets myself and I technically cannot withdraw the principal unless the trustee does so.

If I understand, the purpose of the trust as far as migraciones is concerned is that the income for the rediset visa eb stable and unterrtable.

As far as AFIP is concerned, the assests will not be in your name (and I assume not under your direct control).

You will personally no longer own them, but the trustee could, under certain conditions sell them and convert them to cash or other assets which would stay in the trust and could be reinvested....but I cannot say exactly how it would work Th asest in my trust were once invested in mutual funds are now in an anuity.

As long as the assets are not in your name or under your dirct control they should not be subject to the wealth tax in Argentina while you are livng here with tax residency.

Perhaps the conditions of the trust could be "preset" to change if and when you leave Argentina.

Do you also have to pay the trustee?

I do not pay anything to the trustee. She could charge me a fee, bu she is my brother's widow and she does not. He never did either, though he always icluded a note in his annual report that he waived the annual fee of $125.00. She just makes an annual deposit to my checking account after sending me a mesage she is going to make the deposit.


The bottom line (for me at least): Migraciones only cared about the income being stable and untouchable as well as enough to meet the monthly requirement for the temporary residency and my Argentine accountant told me as long as the assets are not in my name that I do not have to declare them to AFIP or pay the wealth tax on them

 

[oddDistribution]

If I understand, the purpose of the trust as far as migraciones is concerned is that the income for the rediset visa eb stable and unterrtable.

As far as AFIP is concerned, the assests will not be in your name (and I assume not under your direct control).

You will personally no longer own them, but the trustee could, under certain conditions sell them and convert them to cash or other assets which would stay in the trust and could be reinvested....but I cannot say exactly how it would work Th asest in my trust were once invested in mutual funds are now in an anuity.

As long as the assets are not in your name or under your dirct control they should not be subject to the wealth tax in Argentina while you are livng here with tax residency.

Perhaps the conditions of the trust could be "preset" to change if and when you leave Argentina.


I do not pay anything to the trustee. She could charge me a fee, bu she is my brother's widow and she does not. He never did either, though he always icluded a note in his annual report that he waived the annual fee of $125.00. She just makes an annual deposit to my checking account after sending me a mesage she is going to make the deposit.


The bottom line (for me at least): Migraciones only cared about the income being stable and untouchable as well as enough to meet the monthly requirement for the temporary residency and my Argentine accountant told me as long as the assets are not in my name that I do not have to declare them to AFIP or pay the wealth tax on them

Right, that's the purpose from the perspective of Argentina, what I mean is that from a US legal perspective I would lose the ability to change the allocation of my investments as only the trustee would have that authority. My investments are in ETFs, bonds and cash.

Honestly, the possibility of avoiding becoming a tax resident sounds like the most appealing option to me so far. If it's the case that I can keep renewing 1 year visas and just need to spend 90 days a year out of the country that sounds pretty good to me. It's certainly not perfect, but may be good enough. I wish there was something more permanent and straightforward though.

Maybe the option of setting up an irrevocable trust could be a backup plan. I really don't like the idea of losing control over my investments though.

Everything comes down to the wealth tax for me at this point because having to pay it would wipe out the cost savings of living in Argentina which is one of my primary motivations for moving there in the first place.

 

[Alby]

Everything comes down to the wealth tax for me at this point because having to pay it would wipe out the cost savings of living in Argentina which is one of my primary motivations for moving there in the first place.

The future of the wealth tax has been plunged into doubt tonight with the primary election result. It seems inevitable that one of the right-of-center parties will govern for at least the next four years from December. Either will move to reduce and quite possibly eventually abolish the tax.

Don't rush into any decision.

Note also that your application for the Rentista residency will take a long time to pull together, even with the help of a lawyer. And after you've pulled it together, it will probably delay considerably longer while Argentina's migration authority works out what to do with it. Then, you have to hold the temporary residency for a year before you become a tax resident. Then, you only have to declare and begin paying the tax from the first June or July following the first time the wealth snapshot is taken, which is the 31st of December of the year in which you completed your first 12 months of temporary residency.

Do the math. The earliest this will become a problem for you may well be June 2026, or even July 2027. Plenty of time to come and try Argentina out, and to see what happens to the tax during the term of the next government.

But talk to a tax lawyer. And do get a lawyer to help you do the Rentista application.