Who has left or is planning to leave?

[Patrick2006]

With respect to the rise of the cost of living for people with foreign income, last month I made a quick and rough comparison between april 2023 and april 2024. Note: from the perspective of someone who has an income in Euros, not in USD.

For prices in pesos I used the official inflation rate (apr 2023 - apr 2024), which gives a good coverage of the price hikes in the recent months. As much as I can remember now, inflation resulted in a factor of 3,8 (i.e. inflation of 280%), maybe a little less but definitely higher than 3,5. E.g. something that used to cost ARS 1000 in apr 2023 has a price of ARS 3800 in apr 2024.

In the same way I looked at the Western Union rates that I had in apr 2023 and the one on the day in apr 2024 when I made the calculation. Ofcourse in apr 2024 Western Union gave quite a lot more pesos for the euro than in apr 2023.

What I remember well is that this quick calculation resulted in an inflation in euros of 60% (apr 2023 - apr 2024).

Now, when taking into account:
(1) in April 2023 Buenos Aires was in my experience much, much cheaper than my home country. So this 60% increase in one year is on top of a very low 'base'.
(2) that some prices in my country in Europe are also still rising quite fast (for instance a regular glass of wine now easily cost EUR 6 - 7 on a terrace, dinner for two quite quickly going towards EUR 120 - 150, without going anywhere super fancy),
then I still think that Buenos Aires is relatively cheap, when compared to NW Europe.

Note: I haven't been in BA since Dec 2023, but get regularly informed by my partner who's still over there.

yes in Europe, there is a inflation problem and the Euro is weaker than USD, so you still can accept it.

However, when I consider the Precios Justos last year and compare them to the current prices, I feel incredibly frustrated and find the situation unacceptable. 3 dollars for 600g bread, can't accept that. coca cola is ridiculous expensive.

In my home country, East Asia, inflation is generally lower than 4%. Therefore, the inflation in Argentina is causing prices to rise, while prices in my home country remain relatively stable. Since I receive my salary in USD, the money i can use is decreasing significantly. As a result, my wife and I have decided to move back to Asia because we are seeking higher salaries.
I truly love Argentina, but considering my child, we have to relocate to save more money.

I'm just curious why there are so few people choosing to move to East Asia. The high salaries offered to foreigners, such as teachers, low taxes, safety, good food, opportunities and technology.

 

[Ceviche]

I'm just curious why there are so few people choosing to move to East Asia.

I have unfinished matters to take care of in Arg.

Plan to move to Asia for 6 months a year in the future.

 

[Ceviche]

Croatia, Serbia, Albania, Georgia, Latvia ,,, etc ,,, even with some tax advantages ,,, are not cosmopolitan.

Agree -100%

 

[argeiCanuck]

Trifecta strategy.

How does this work?
ALL countries base their taxes on 181 days RESIDENCY. ( US is the ONLY country that base their taxes on CITIZENSHIP).
If you have 3 * 122 days residencies in 3 countries ,,, does this mean you are not resident no where? Zero taxes?
(Effectively never accumulate more than 180 days in one country)

Same question for your corporation? Zero taxes?

 

[gringoexpress]

yes in Europe, there is a inflation problem and the Euro is weaker than USD, so you still can accept it.

However, when I consider the Precios Justos last year and compare them to the current prices, I feel incredibly frustrated and find the situation unacceptable. 3 dollars for 600g bread, can't accept that. coca cola is ridiculous expensive.

In my home country, East Asia, inflation is generally lower than 4%. Therefore, the inflation in Argentina is causing prices to rise, while prices in my home country remain relatively stable. Since I receive my salary in USD, the money i can use is decreasing significantly. As a result, my wife and I have decided to move back to Asia because we are seeking higher salaries.
I truly love Argentina, but considering my child, we have to relocate to save more money.

I'm just curious why there are so few people choosing to move to East Asia. The high salaries offered to foreigners, such as teachers, low taxes, safety, good food, opportunities and technology.

In East Asia, you will always be a foreigner. It's fun for a while but you're never really going to fit in, which long term isn't good for your sanity.

 

[elhombresinnombre]

In East Asia, you will always be a foreigner. It's fun for a while but you're never really going to fit in, which long term isn't good for your sanity.

In East Anglia, in the UK, it's the same. I lived there for fourteen years.

 

[Patrick2006]

In East Asia, you will always be a foreigner. It's fun for a while but you're never really going to fit in, which long term isn't good for your sanity.

aybe it's not easy to become a citizen in East Asia, but obtaining residency is not difficult. When comparing factors like salary, safety, taxes, and the economic environment, we choose to return there...........

As a foreigner, you may not fit in initially, but we respect diversity, making it a good place to live and earn money now. Earn enough and retire in your home country.

 

[on the brink]

If at all possible, nothing is better than one's home country. No matter how many years we spend elsewhere, we'll always be square pegs in round-hole country.

 

[antipodean]

How does this work?
ALL countries base their taxes on 181 days RESIDENCY. ( US is the ONLY country that base their taxes on CITIZENSHIP).
If you have 3 * 122 days residencies in 3 countries ,,, does this mean you are not resident no where? Zero taxes?
(Effectively never accumulate more than 180 days in one country)

Same question for your corporation? Zero taxes?

Personal taxes, yes and no.
Each country has their own tax residency definitions, and by no means all are based on 181 days physical presence. Many caveats exist such as ownership of real-estate, citizenship, visa category, businesses and "center of personal interests" (e.g. family, gym memberships, health insurance etc) - for example it is possible to fall into tax residency in the UK or Spain with as little as about 60 days a year physical presence if you have substantial links to the country. Google the Price Waterhouse or KPMG personal tax fact sheet for each country you are interested in to find out about tax residency rules.

Generally however as a "perma-tourist" who doesn't really own anything or have a high income, you could avoid tax residency anywhere. The issue is once you want to own things, move sums of money or participate in local economic acitivities then local tax authorities could make the case they consider you a tax resident, send you a bill and/ or a summons, and put the onus on you to prove that you are not. Regardless of tax authorities, banks may also give you a hard time if you can't show actual tax residency anywhere or if they think you are a resident somewhere you are not actually paying taxes.

Corporation, no way. It all depends on where it is incorporated, where it generates it revenue from and where it is effectively managed from. (For example even if you have a single-member US or BVI company for something like consulting or professional services performed by you while physically present in Argentina to clients located abroad, then without a more elaborate structure of company ownership and management and if discovered, AFIP will still consider the company to be an Argentine company for tax purposes, you will be guilty of tax evasion and argentine capital control crimes and may also end up facing double tax). Get professional advice - it is a mine field - legit structures obviously do exist so business owners will pay tax only on dividends/ distributions where they are tax residency as and when they receive them but with the costs and complexity involved, probably not something viable to consider unless your business is earning a lot of money.

 

[gringoexpress]

aybe it's not easy to become a citizen in East Asia, but obtaining residency is not difficult. When comparing factors like salary, safety, taxes, and the economic environment, we choose to return there...........

As a foreigner, you may not fit in initially, but we respect diversity, making it a good place to live and earn money now. Earn enough and retire in your home country.

Go make money, I lived in China for years, made a bunch of money, and had a blast. They don't want foreigners settling down there, you spend more time with your residency status in doubt than not (unlike Argentina, the police show up at your door to investigate reports from the neighbors that they saw a foreigner in the building, and overstaying or working without a visa IS a crime), and you will NEVER fit in meaningfully to the culture. That being said, I got treated like a celebrity every where I went and really had lots of fun, it just...doesn't contribute to your future in any way. Maybe I'm just too old for that sort of thing now. Hong Kong is very civilized and livable and does issue long term residency, but you need lots of money.

Oh, and Asians think westerners who worship the cult of diversity are nuts. They do NOT respect diversity. You will always be just a foreigner to them.