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原帖由 阿海 于 2009-7-21 14:08 发表 
Well you don't know how Tax Liens work so I understand.
$1040+interest+compounding is not a lot of money when I'm 65.
I think you may get this from Richmastery, but you know Richmastery has been put into liquidation and here is comments from Gilligan Rowe who used be to heavily involve Richmastery:
GRA’S VIEW OF TAX LIENS
Recently there has been some media coverage ofinvestment in US based tax liens. In short the investments involvebuying debts off US City Authorities that arise when property ownersfall into arrears in paying their property taxes. Although laws varyState by State in general these unpaid taxes end up as priority secureddebts against the property and often the City Authorities auction themin order to obtain funding. Some investors in the US are attracted bythe relatively high rates of interest paid by these tax liens. RecentlyI have been asked by a number of clients to comment on my view of thecommerciality of such investments for NZ investors.
In summary I do not see a US tax lien as anattractive investment proposition for a New Zealand resident investor.Although the returns can appear attractively high, exposure to foreignexchange risk and the disproportionately high compliance costs meanthat I think that our clients are better off looking closer to home.
To expand further, my primary concerns with tax liens investments are:
§ The investment,which requires you to buy a debt that is denominated in US dollars,means that you are exposed to foreign exchange risks. The kiwi dollarrecently hit a six year low against the US dollar so I don’t think thisis an opportune time to be buying US dollar assets. If the US dollarweakens relative to the kiwi dollar (i.e. the kiwi dollar is worthmore) after acquiring the tax lien investment, your asset (moneyinvested in the US) immediately devalues. Although you might considerhedging a solution, we find the cost of hedging significantly erodesthe return.
§ Once you are dealingwith two tax jurisdictions you are immediately exposed to highercompliance costs. This is amplified in the case of tax liens by thefact that American tax can be complex and that there are differentState and Federal Laws. Further, the nature of the investment itself,which would be classed as a financial arrangement for tax purposes inNew Zealand, mean that the work involved is not straight forward. Forexample, the cost of compliance in the US could be circa US$500-$800and in New Zealand circa NZ$500 meaning total costs of circa NZ$1,500.Once again for a large scale investor this would be a proportionatecost that would be acceptable. However, it ends up beingdisproportionately high for lower scale investors. In particular,compliance with the accrual rules in New Zealand is costly for thesmaller investor.
§ As buying a debt isa “financial arrangement” under New Zealand tax law you need to accountfor exchange movements in NZ tax returns. This means if the NZ dollarweakens and you end up with an exchange gain at balance date, you willhave tax to pay even though you haven’t crystallised the gain (ie youhave tax to pay with no cash profit to help you pay it). There are deminimis rules whereby foreign exchange gains do not need to be broughtto account until realisation but these only apply to individuals incertain circumstances.
§ The risk of usingthe wrong structure across two different tax jurisdictions is high andthe consequences are severe in that you end up with double taxation andlosses being locked up.
§ As the laws inrelation to tax liens vary State by State, the risk of ending up with aworthless investment is too high to stomach. For example, there can beconditions that need to be fulfilled to protect your rights under thelien and if they are not fulfilled the lien can be worthless. Similarlyaccording to commentary by the likes of Wikipedia, if the delinquenttaxpayer is declared bankrupt, a bankruptcy court may lower theinterest rate to be paid or discharge part or all of the lien againleaving the lien worthless.
§ Often theopportunity to acquire the property at a severely discounted price istouted as one of the opportunities available. However, to ensure thatyou do not end up with a worthless piece of swamp land covered on toxicwaste, research needs to be carried out which is going to be difficultfor any NZ investor. Furthermore, you need to be careful of the varioustypes of Deeds that apply to properties. For example, there are socalled quitclaim deeds which are not insurable titles. You can also endup inheriting a property’s shortfall, for example, environmental issueswhich then have to be remedied at the investor’s cost.
We accept that there are potentially good returns intax deed deals, but you need to take due diligence seriously andunderstand fully:
i. The area you are investing in (ie job security, population growth etc).
ii. The nature of the asset (with the complexities of American law across the top e.g. uninsurable ‘quitclaim’ titles).
iii. You may end up with expensive litigation and travel costs defending your investment, if problem arises.
In my view the risks involved for a NZ basedinvestor outweigh the returns for the smaller investor. For this reasonI am encouraging my clients to keep their money closer to home wherethey can keep a better eye on it. With so much cash flow positiveproperty back in the market and no exchange risks, – we ask is it worththe risk to look so far offshore?
Yours faithfully
For Gilligan Rowe & Associates Ltd
Matthew Gilligan
Director |
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发表于 2009-7-21 15:11:49
