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A little clarification about CornerTrader. It is actually an introducing broker of Saxo Bank.
The latter being infamous for its inability to manage the taxation of foreign dividends, I therefore advise you to move on if you are a long-term investor. If you trade, it's a different story.In Switzerland yes, but not in any canton, and preferably in German-speaking Switzerland, because from SZ or ZG to NE or FR, taxes go from single to quintuple and the wealth tax in these socialist cantons is close to what you pay in France.
Pas mal de réponses au sujet des différentes garanties sous
http://www.einlagensicherung.ch/fr/faq.htm
mais rien sur la faillite du sous-dépositaire étranger.@Jerome
I didn't go to that level of detail but you can ask them. https://www.cornertrader.ch/fr/trading-insight-support/contact/ and see how they react.
I thought that MLPs were not interesting for non-US residents because of their special taxation.
@birdienumnum
Regarding your comments:
1) Hence the interest in having low transaction fees and the lowest possible deposit fees because they are often a percentage of the portfolio amount.2) Yes, but this is the case for every broker (and business for that matter). Just look at Swissquote, which doubles its deposit fees on a whim. Competition is very weak in Switzerland and no player is going to risk undercutting prices.
3) The risk of disappearance or merger exists but, apart from the obligation to find another broker, this will not jeopardize the portfolio.
In this case, it turns out that CornerTrader is not a broker but a service of Corner Bank. https://www.cornertrader.ch/fr/corner-way/about-corner-bank.Disclosure: No commercial or other link with CornerTrader
Here are the questions I asked Cornertrader and their answers.
Don't worry, it didn't take them all that long to respond, it was just me who was late.– Deposit fees: Do you charge this type of fee?
There is no deposit fee.– Multi-currency account: Is it possible to have a multi-currency account CHF, EUR, USD, CAD, AUD, … and manage transfers between currencies yourself? If so, what are the currency conversion fees?
Yes, you can have multiple sub-accounts in any desired currency.
Transfers between currencies are done by ourselves at a cost of: spot exchange rate + 0.5%– Registration in the shareholder register: Do you offer this service for Swiss shares?
No– Apart from Traderscard, how is it possible to transfer funds to another bank? What are the conditions and possible fees?
You ask us by letter to make a transfer from your CornèrTrader account to the desired account with all the banking information.
No transfer fees.– Year-end summary: Is it possible to see how much the portfolio has grown in the past year (in percentage, taking into account in and out movements, exchange rates, etc.)?
You have different reports according to different periods and criteria and by product processed. These are performance reports, commission reports, interest reports, etc.– Management of double taxation avoidance agreements: Are you able to implement these agreements and, consequently, do you apply the minimum withholding tax rates mentioned in these bilateral agreements?
No, we don't handle that.– What are the costs of transferring securities to another establishment in Switzerland or abroad?
No feesNo bad surprises then, except the impossibility of registering Swiss shares in the shareholders' register.
For all intents and purposes, I have made a written request to Cornertrader regarding the various points (deposit fees, liquidity transfer fees, etc.). To be continued if they are willing to respond.
I finally found what I was looking for.
In http://www.bcv.ch/en/content/download/15808/160242/Releve_fiscal
There is a very clear example:Mr. Dupont, domiciled in Switzerland, holds various positions
Austrian shares. When the coupons mature, he collects
dividends and the accumulation of accounts is presented
as follows:
Gross income EUR 1,500.00
Withholding tax 25 % EUR – 375.50
=========================
Net income credited EUR 1,125.00This tax withholding made by the authorities
Austrian tax breaks down as follows:
Recoverable part (10 %) EUR 150.00
Non-recoverable portion (15 %) EUR 225.00
=========================
EUR 375.00Mr. Dupont, when filing his tax return in Switzerland,
will therefore be taxed on an income of EUR 1,500 (converted
in Swiss francs), while Austria has already adopted a
tax on the same income. He therefore suffers a double
taxation.
According to the Convention established between Switzerland and
Austria, Mr. Dupont has the opportunity to avoid the double
taxation by recovering the share of 10 %, or EUR 150.
plus, he can deduct the non-recoverable portion of 15 %, i.e.
EUR 225, on the taxes he will pay in Switzerland (DA-1).
Paradoxically, the recoverable part is therefore the most difficult to recover because it must be done via the tax administrations of the different countries. This is why banks offer this service (very expensive as usual: flat rate + % on the amounts recovered) to their customers.
Jerome said
So: everything is played out during the annual taxation. There are one or two forms to fill out to request a refund of the flat-rate imputation (other countries) or the additional USA withholding.After consultation with
http://www.estv.admin.ch/intsteuerrecht/themen/01314/01315/index.html?lang=fr
I'm not sure I understood correctly.Can the withholding tax and, for the USA, the additional levy, be fully recovered when filing the tax return in Switzerland or is there a non-recoverable portion of foreign tax remaining?
Taking the USA, Germany and France as examples, the figures cited in the various documents could give:
USA: Withholding tax = 30 %, Swiss tax relief = 15 %, Non-recoverable foreign tax = 15 %
Germany: Withholding tax: 25 % + solidarity supplement = 26.375 %, Swiss tax reduction = 10 %, Non-recoverable foreign tax = 15 % (16.375 %)
France: Withholding tax = 30 %, Swiss tax relief = 15 %, Non-recoverable foreign tax = 15 %
Please correct if this is wrong!
Yes, you are absolutely right not to focus on brokerage fees.
In my case, I am in the portfolio construction phase (migrating from a fund portfolio to individual securities and a few ETFs).
Considering the currently high valuations of good stocks, I would like to gain exposure to the market through successive purchases spread over a long period.
So that's a lot of small orders that end up costing a lot with the tranche system adopted by Swiss brokers. Or, to optimize, you would have to systematically buy for 9999USD, which costs 35USD at Swissquote and 40USD at Postfinance, but that takes away a lot of flexibility.During my research on Swiss and foreign brokers, I came across the following article
http://www.moneyland.ch/resources/public/vendors/kcfinder/upload/files/LeTemps-sites-de-courtage-tarifs-2014.pdf
For Switzerland there is a newcomer, Corner Trader, which I did not know and whose rates are the cheapest, even if the example of 2092CHF of trading fees for a portfolio of 75300CHF can make you think.
Even at this price, the only winner from all these trades is likely to be the broker.Since my question only concerns the taxation of dividends, I will continue the discussion here regarding IB (or another foreign broker).
Let's be clear, my goal is not to evade tax in Switzerland but only to ensure that there is no double taxation of dividends and that the withholding tax made in the country of origin will be recoverable.
Guyem only has US shares at IB, so I still don't have the answer.
I had taken Germany as an example but it could be France. So what about the taxation in Switzerland of a French dividend from a security purchased via a foreign broker. If anyone has the answer, that would allow us to close this point.Yes, if you're using IB for anything other than trading, you must own dividend-paying stocks, so hopefully you can fill me in.
As IB is a US company (even if the funds are in the UK), it will apply US tax treaties.
Here's what I understood:
- For US securities: US withholding tax of 15% (provided that form W-8BEN has been completed, otherwise 30%) then taxed at source in the country of residence.
- My question concerns non-US securities. For example, if you buy a German share via IB, IB will apply the Germany-US tax treaty (and not Germany-Switzerland in my case or Germany-France in your case).
My question is what happens next, i.e. whether it is possible to reclaim this withholding tax either via a tax credit at the time of declaration in the country of residence or from the German tax authorities.
I hope I've made myself clear. Of course, the best thing would be to have an example with figures.
Thanks in advance.Thank you for your reply.
I'm well aware that it's not just the transaction price that counts, but have you ever been interested in a broker like Interactive Brokers?
Specifically for US stocks, their offer seems unbeatable, with orders starting at 1USD, compared with a cost of 50USD at Postfinance for a 15,000USD order.
Now Armand had mentioned, but without going into further detail, the "tax risk represented by the use of foreign stock exchange platforms for Swiss residents".
I'd be interested to know more because I don't know what it's all about.
As shares are not considered deposits, they cannot be "Cypriotized" by a foreign government. Furthermore, I understand that funds deposited with IB are transferred to Citibank in London, not to the US.
So if anyone uses IB (or another international broker) or knows of good reasons not to use IB, their opinion might be of interest.Jean@Louis said
Withholding taxes on foreign dividends for Swiss investors can be found here: http://www.estv.admin.ch/verre.....ml?lang=enIs there a summary table for withholding taxes on foreign dividends and the recoverable portion for a Swiss resident? Something along the lines of http://seekingalpha.com/article/248039-withholding-tax-rates-by-country-for-foreign-stock-dividends for US residents.
Thanks in advance.I'm digging up this topic, which also interests me, and have a question about buying this type of ETF.
Jerôme, the ETFs in your short/long list are not listed in Switzerland.
Which broker do you use to place your orders on the NYSE, I presume? Thank you for your feedback.
I find the ETFs listed on the SIX too standard and redundant. There are hardly any strategic ETFs (Dividend, Momentum, etc.) and US players such as Vanguard are not represented.
