The tax treatment of ETFs seems to be complicated, but the Revenue has a guidance document that I'm not allowed to link to.
If I understand it correctly, then ETFs that are domiciled in the OECD but not in the EU are taxed as if they were shares for tax purposes. In contrast, ETFs that are domiciled within the EU are treated like an Irish domiciled investment fund, and are subject to the "exit tax", deemed disposals, and so forth.
The great thing about ETFs that are taxed as shares is that you can postpone any capital gains tax liability indefinitely by just not selling the ETF. If you are saving for the long term (20+ years) this is a big win.
It's easy to find ETFs that are domiciled within the OECD but outside the EU. For example, there are lots of them in the US and Canada. However, ETFs in the US and Canada seem to all pay dividends. Dividends are not good for long-term saving because you have to pay income tax on them before the money can be reinvested.
There are lots of ETFs that are domiciled within the EU that pay no dividends. Indeed it seems to be norm for EU-based ETFs to accumulate dividends rather than paying them out. But ETFs that are domiciled within the EU are subject to deemed disposal tax every eight years, which is also bad for long-term saving.
So my question is this: has anyone found ETFs that:
(1) Are domiciled within the OECD
(2) Are domiciled outside the EU
(3) Accumulate dividends within the fund so that income tax is not payable
Thanks!
Speccy
If I understand it correctly, then ETFs that are domiciled in the OECD but not in the EU are taxed as if they were shares for tax purposes. In contrast, ETFs that are domiciled within the EU are treated like an Irish domiciled investment fund, and are subject to the "exit tax", deemed disposals, and so forth.
The great thing about ETFs that are taxed as shares is that you can postpone any capital gains tax liability indefinitely by just not selling the ETF. If you are saving for the long term (20+ years) this is a big win.
It's easy to find ETFs that are domiciled within the OECD but outside the EU. For example, there are lots of them in the US and Canada. However, ETFs in the US and Canada seem to all pay dividends. Dividends are not good for long-term saving because you have to pay income tax on them before the money can be reinvested.
There are lots of ETFs that are domiciled within the EU that pay no dividends. Indeed it seems to be norm for EU-based ETFs to accumulate dividends rather than paying them out. But ETFs that are domiciled within the EU are subject to deemed disposal tax every eight years, which is also bad for long-term saving.
So my question is this: has anyone found ETFs that:
(1) Are domiciled within the OECD
(2) Are domiciled outside the EU
(3) Accumulate dividends within the fund so that income tax is not payable
Thanks!
Speccy