Brett Evans

So if they're getting an unfranked dividend, then the share breacher knows to withhold 15% because there's a US address on that account.

If that address says Manly, they think you're in Australia.

And now you've got the problem where if you don't have to do a lot of tax returns because you don't have property, just a share portfolio,

because it's tax at source.

People go, oh, it's tax at source.

I don't have to do a tax return for the next three years.

Now suddenly it's never big numbers, but it's the complicating factor.

You might owe the ATO $250 in non-resident withholding tax, but you spend $3,000 refiling your tax returns to go back and redeclare it.

So it does get complicated.

You think you're saving money by not getting a plan?

Yeah.

And very rarely are we not cost neutral, I can guarantee.

You can.

It's not tax efficient as an expat though because investment bonds, as you know, are taxed at 30% every year to give you that tax-free bit.

Whereas if I had an investment account with five ETFs back in Australia on a compliant platform, I'm paying zero tax.

So you can do it, but, yeah, it's funny, all these structures and systems we build when we're tax residents of Australia.

So trusts, even before the budget, trusts weren't effectual for expats at all.

SMSFs weren't.

So we actually stripped structures away when clients went overseas for a reasonable amount of time, you know, if it's three to five years, maybe 10.

We don't want trusts.