Hi there - questions inside

[Martin19]

Hello, I'm new here, trying to learn new stuff, and hopefully getting some help from some of the forum experts. Thanks in advance for taking the time to reading this post.

I'm an online consultant with tax residence in EU, and income coming from EU and the US. The income coming from EU is sent to my EU bank and always declared to the local taxman, but some income from the US is simply kept in my personal Transferwise account, as TW doesn't share details with CRS, or at least that's what they say...

I normally use my TW debit card to cover my day to day expenses, but I'm not sure about some details:

-Would you trust Transferwise or other EMIs for this purpose?
-As the TW debit card is in my name, can this be a problem? I mean, is it safe to use this debit card in my name in shops, supermarkets etc, or can the taxman know about this when these shops declare their activity?
-Would it be better to use an anonymous debit card in this case? Is this possible / risky / anyone could point me in the right direction?
-Is there any safer and more anonymous way to keep my US income under my country's taxman radar? Like working with a multi currency bank account from the Rep. of Georgia instead of using TW?

Many thanks!

 

[Martin Everson]

If you use a debitcard issued from VISA or MasterCard Europe. You have zero privacy. The information is simply handed over to your local taxman . For example in UK:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tax/return/taxman-unleashes-snooper-computer-information-does-have/
--quote

"HMRC gains anonymised information on all Visa and Mastercard transactions, enabling it to identify areas of likely underpayments which it can then target further, seeking details of individuals’ transactions where necessary. "

---end quote

The above is the case for all EU countries. You can google stories of people who have been caught this way.

Yes for now Transferwise may not report under CRS but rest assured that information is being shared indirectly.

https://transferwise.com/help/13/understanding-fees-and-rates/2932394/borderless-accounts-and-tax
EU tax authorities, EU banks and EMI's across the EU cooperate on many levels to combat tax evasion and money laundering. If you want to be safe you don't want to use cards at all and want the money to be beyond the oversight of the EU.

 

[Martin19]

Hi Martin, thanks so much for your answer, much appreciated!

If the Mastercard was issued in Rep. of Georgia, or HK, would it be safe to use it in Europe?

 

[Martin Everson]

If the Mastercard was issued in Rep. of Georgia, or HK, would it be safe to use it in Europe?

No, the information can still be gleaned. You want to totally avoid cards period especially if they are in your name .

 

[Martin19]

Thanks again @Martin Everson

Do you know if there's any solution to improve my current situation, or any consultant I could hire to guide me? Maybe using a multi currency bank account based in Rep. of Georgia or HK and then requesting an anonymous debit card somewhere else, that I could top-up from the offshore bank account?