US Tax Treatment of Russian Dividends

[benhacker]

I'm familiar with the dividend withholding and tax treatment for US investors for shares in a few countries... but I can't find out the treatment of dividends from Russia.  Any US investors have a link or experience to share?

 

Thanks,

 

Ben

[twacowfca]

I'm familiar with the dividend withholding and tax treatment for US investors for shares in a few countries... but I can't find out the treatment of dividends from Russia.  Any US investors have a link or experience to share?

 

Thanks,

 

Ben

 

 

Dividends from foreign companies that don't have their shares listed on US exchanges or the nasdaq main market (ADR's will do) are non qualifying for the reduced tax on qualifying dividends and are taxed as ordinary income. 

[benhacker]

Dividends from foreign companies that don't have their shares listed on US exchanges or the nasdaq main market (ADR's will do) are non qualifying for the reduced tax on qualifying dividends and are taxed as ordinary income.

 

Thanks TWA,

 

So there is no withholding and reclamation as there is with Canada and Finland, etc?

 

Thanks again,

 

Ben

 

 

[roundball100]

So there is no withholding and reclamation as there is with Canada and Finland, etc?

 

Ben - reclamation between Canada and Finland?  As a Cdn, I have NOK shares (ADR) and get double-taxed (with-holdings both by Finland, and then the U.S. by way of the ADR) that I haven't been able to figure out how to avoid.  The U.S. with-holding is not so critical, since I get tax credit for that.  But is there some way of getting back, or preventing, the Finnish with-holding?  RBC Direct Investing (through which the shares are held) claim it is out of there hands ... but I'm skeptical.

[benhacker]

Roundball, I have no idea, I'm in the US.  In the US, 15% gets withheld, but you get it back via a special tax form. No idea about the situation for Canadian residents.

 

Ben

[nodnub]

So there is no withholding and reclamation as there is with Canada and Finland, etc?

 

Ben - reclamation between Canada and Finland?  As a Cdn, I have NOK shares (ADR) and get double-taxed (with-holdings both by Finland, and then the U.S. by way of the ADR) that I haven't been able to figure out how to avoid.  The U.S. with-holding is not so critical, since I get tax credit for that.  But is there some way of getting back, or preventing, the Finnish with-holding?  RBC Direct Investing (through which the shares are held) claim it is out of there hands ... but I'm skeptical.

 

Roundball,

 

you asked this same question several months ago.  I tried to answer it here:

http://cornerofberkshireandfairfax.ca/forum/index.php?topic=2985" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic" 25971#msg25971

Did you try to do as I suggested and buy the shares directly on Helsinki exchange?

 

[roundball100]

Roundball,

 

you asked this same question several months ago.  I tried to answer it here:

http://cornerofberkshireandfairfax.ca/forum/index.php?topic=2985" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic" 25971#msg25971

Did you try to do as I suggested and buy the shares directly on Helsinki exchange?

 

nobnub - yes (thanks for the earlier response), but no (I did not try buying shares directly on Helsinki).  I prefer to avoid yet another set of statements just to own shares in one company, and might guess that the commissions are not so cheap (not even sure how I would go about it - through which broker?)  I was hoping for a better answer, such as: fill out such and such papers for an exemption, and send the paperwork in to my existing broker so that there is no with-holding from the Fin side.  Still hoping ... sorry for not acknowledging your earlier response.

[nodnub]

nobnub - yes (thanks for the earlier response), but no (I did not try buying shares directly on Helsinki).  I prefer to avoid yet another set of statements just to own shares in one company, and might guess that the commissions are not so cheap (not even sure how I would go about it - through which broker?)  I was hoping for a better answer, such as: fill out such and such papers for an exemption, and send the paperwork in to my existing broker so that there is no with-holding from the Fin side.  Still hoping ... sorry for not acknowledging your earlier response.

 

In Canada, you can buy on other stock exchanges through a discount bank broker like BMO Investorline by phoning it in (it's quite expensive last time I checked).  Or you could open an account with Interactive Brokers (foreign purchase is cheap, but the account must generate $120 in minimum commissions per year or pay that amount as a fee)