"I heard that after you move to another country and move back later, local tax authorities might claim you only moved there to avoid taxes and you have to convince them that this was not the case. If you fail to convince them, you'd have to pay taxes for all the time you were abroad as if you lived there the whole time."
It depends the country you are from. If your country has double tax treaty with the other country and that country isn't considered a tax heaven, they can't tax you for something that you were taxed already in the other country.
In
Spain for example we have the following countries considered tax heaven:
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List of countries and territories that are considered tax havens with the modifications derived from the provisions of Royal Decree 116/2003:
- Principality of Andorra (9)
- Netherlands Antilles (3) (10)
- Aruba (4)
- Emirate of the State of Bahrain
- Sultanate of Brunei
- Republic of Cyprus (17)
- United Arab Emirates (1)
- Gibraltar
- Hong Kong (16)
- Anguilla
- Old and bearded
- The Bahamas (14)
- Barbados (15)
- Bermuda
- Cayman Islands
- Cook islands
- Republic of Dominica
- grenade
- Fiji
- Guernsey and Jersey Islands (Channel Islands)
- Jamaica (5) (6)
- Republic of Malta (2)
- Falkland Islands
- Isle of Man
- Mariana islands
- Mauritius
- Montserrat
- Republic of Nauru
- Solomon Islands
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- St. Lucia
- Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (8)
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Republic of Vanuatu
- British Virgin Islands
- Virgin Islands of the United States of America
- Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
- Lebanese Republic
- Republic of Liberia
- Principality of Liechtenstein
- Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, with regard to the income received by the Companies referred to in paragraph 1 of the Protocol annexed to the Convention, to avoid double taxation, of June 3, 1986 (7)
- Macau
- Principality of Monaco
- Sultanate of Oman (18)
- Republic of Panama (12)
- Republic of San Marino (11)
- Republic of Seychelles
- Republic of Singapore (13)
Notes:
(1) The Agreement between Spain and the United Arab Emirates to avoid double taxation enters into force on 04/02/2007 (see
Annex I ).
(Return)
(2) The Agreement between Spain and Malta to avoid double taxation enters into force on 09/12/2006 (see
Annex I ).
(Return)
(3) As of 01-27-2010 (date of entry into force of the Agreement on the exchange of information on tax matters - BOE 11-24-2009 -) it is no longer considered a
tax haven.
(Return)
(4) As of 01-27-2010 (date of entry into force of the Agreement on exchange of information on tax matters - BOE 11-23-2009 -) it is no longer considered a
tax haven.
-ERR: REF-NOT-FOUND- (Go back) </g>
(5) The Agreement between Spain and Jamaica to avoid double taxation enters into force on 05-16-2009 (see
Annex I ).
(Return)
(6) The companies mentioned in paragraph A of section V of the Protocol of the Agreement are excluded from it and from the effects of the application of the first additional provision of Law 36/2006 on measures for the prevention of tax fraud.
-ERR: REF-NOT-FOUND- (Go back) </g>
(7) As of 07-16-2010 (date of entry into force of the Protocol modifying the Agreement -BOE 05-31-2010-) it is no longer considered a tax haven.
-ERR: REF-NOT-FOUND- (Go back) </g>
(8) The Agreement between Spain and Trinidad and Tobago to avoid double taxation enters into force on 12-28-2009 (see
Annex I ).
(Return)
(9) As of 02-10-2011 (date of entry into force of the Agreement on the exchange of information on tax matters-BOE 11-23-2010-) it is no longer considered a tax haven.
-ERR: REF-NOT-FOUND- (Go back) </g>
(10) As of October 10, 2010 (the date of dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles) Curaçao and Saint Martin became autonomous states of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The remaining islands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba) have become part of the Netherlands. The Information Exchange Agreement signed with the Netherlands Antilles is applicable to Saint Martin and Curaçao, while the CDI with the Netherlandsapplies to the other three islands.
(Return)
(11) As of 02-08-2011 (date of entry into force of the Agreement on exchange of information on tax matters-BOE 06-06-2011-) it is no longer considered a tax haven.
-ERR: REF-NOT-FOUND- (Go back) </g>
(12) The Agreement between Spain and Panama to avoid double taxation enters into force on 07-25-2011 (see
Annex I ).
(Return)
(13) As of 01-01-2013 (date of application of the Agreement-BOE 11-01-2012-) it is no longer considered a tax haven.
-ERR: REF-NOT-FOUND- (Go back) </g>
(14) As of 08-17-2011 (date of entry into force of the Agreement on exchange of information on tax matters -BOE 07-15-2011-) it is no longer considered a tax haven.
-ERR: REF-NOT-FOUND- (Go back) </g>
(15) From 10-14-2011 (date of entry into force of the Agreement to avoid double taxation between Spain and Barbados-BOE 09-14-2011-) it is no longer considered a tax haven.
-ERR: REF-NOT-FOUND- (Go back) </g>
(16) As of 04-01-2013 (date of application of the Agreement-BOE 04-14-2012-) it is no longer considered a tax haven.
-ERR: REF-NOT-FOUND- (Go back) </g>
(17) As of 05-28-2014 (date of application of the Agreement-BOE 05-26-2014-) it is no longer considered a tax haven.
-ERR: REF-NOT-FOUND- (Go back) </g>
(18) As of 09-19-2015 (date of application of the Agreement-BOE 09-08-2015-) it is no longer considered a tax haven.
-ERR: REF-NOT-FOUND- (Go back) </g>
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In Spain they have already
a law to prevent people to go to a tax heaven and withdraw money and then come back. That law forces you to pay taxes in Spain for 5 consecutives years if you are living in a country considered tax heaven.
And there's also an exit tax:
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This exit tax is applicable to taxpayers who have been Spanish tax resident for at least 10 out of the 15 years prior to their departure from the country. However it only applies to those who own substantial shareholdings as follows –
- The market value of the shares held exceeds €4,000,000 or
- The total shareholdings exceed 25% and the market value of the shares exceeds €1,000,000
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Summing it up: If you comply with the requirements to not be considered tax resident, you don't go to a tax heaven and the country has double tax treaty. You can't be taxed when you come for something you've already paid in another country. But it's so important to be able to prove that you stayed in the other country more than 183 days.
And If you go to a tax heaven you'll have to pay taxes during 5 years in Spain.
What matters is the information below:
When is an individual considered a Spanish resident, and when is he or she a non-resident?
An individual is resident in Spanish territory when any one of the following circumstances apply:
- They have stayed longer than 183 days in Spanish territory over the calendar year. In order to determine the permanence in Spanish territory, occasional absences are included, except if the taxpayer accredits their residency in another country. In the case of countries or territories of those classified as tax havens (as of July 11, 2021, it must be understood that the regulations refer to non-cooperative jurisdictions) , the Tax Administration may require that permanence in the same be proven during 183 days in the calendar year.
- They situate the main base or centre of their activities or economic activities, directly or indirectly, in Spain.
- They have dependent not legally separated spouse and/or underage children who are usually resident in Spain.This latter situation accepts evidence to the contrary.
Natural persons of Spanish nationality who prove their new tax residence in a country or territory classified as a tax haven will not lose the status of taxpayers for the Personal
Income Tax (as of July 11, 2021 it is necessary to understand that the legislation refers to non - cooperative jurisdictions) .This rule is of application During the tax period in which the change of residence OCCURS and for the next four tax periods.
Otherwise, where none of the previous situations applies, an individual is considered as non-resident in Spain.
Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, expert in law and nothing similar. I'm not responsible if something that I've written is not true.
