• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Exploring Uruguay

Expat & Travel Resource Guide

  • Blog
  • Cool Stuff
    • Uruguay Facts
    • Days of the Week In Spanish
    • Chart of Spanish Numbers
    • English to Uruguayan Spanish Translations for Herbs and Spices
    • Speciality Food Stores in Montevideo
    • Montevideo Ferias: Open Air Markets in Uruguay
  • Travel Information
    • Uruguay Featured Hotels
    • Carrasco International Airport Taxi Service
    • Airports In Uruguay
  • Expat Information
    • Uruguay Internet Service Providers
  • About
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy

Financial

Uruguay Taxes… Don’t Be Alarmed

June 7, 2010 by Brian

Today’s blog post is a guest post by Juan Fischer, the managing partner of Fischer & Schickendantz. Juan wrote the following post to help alleviate concerns about the proposed tax legislation in Uruguay.

Unfortunately, much of what the press articles and blogs have been saying is much more alarming than the reality. It has been said that Uruguay will tax:

  • Its corporate vehicles’ offshore assets
  • Foreign residents’ assets
  • Foreign residents’ income

That is incorrect.

The problem was originated because a draft of a proposed change to a tax law was leaked several days ago.

That draft is still a work in progress. And the proposed change only aims to tax the money that Uruguayans have abroad, not foreigners who come to Uruguay.

Here’s the exact situation of where the issue stands on the three supposed taxes:

  1. Taxes on corporate vehicles’ offshore assets:
    • Friday, May 28th, the Ministry of Finance, where the bill proposal is being discussed, issued an official statement clarifying one issue of the proposed bill:
    • There will be no new taxes on Uruguayan companies, and that their offshore assets will not be taxed.
    • Explicitly: that nothing will change for Uruguayan corporate vehicles. So, Uruguay remains an offshore tax free jurisdiction.
  2. Taxes on foreign residents’ assets:
    • It has been made clear from the start that assets owned abroad by foreign residents in Uruguay will not be taxed at all. This was never in doubt.
    • This is only for citizens (at a very small scale; and remember that this asset tax is gradually being phased out since 2007, and will disappear by 2017).
  3. Taxes on foreign residents’ income:
    • Some types of income (not all) generated abroad could be taxed. But the aim of the law is to tax the money that Uruguayans have abroad, not foreigners who come to Uruguay.
    • The Ministry of Finance issued a second statement on June 1st, clarifying that the law will in no way jeopardize the country’s policy of attracting foreigners to relocate in Uruguay. And that their income will not be taxed.
    • The likelihood is that on income tax (on some types of income: interest on deposits and dividends) the tax will be circumscribed to Uruguayan citizens.

There you have it from an Uruguayan attorney… Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments below or to contact Juan directly here.

Filed Under: Financial

New Proposed Income Tax Law In Uruguay

May 31, 2010 by Brian

There has been a LOT of talk in Uruguay’s Expat Community about the new proposed income tax law in Uruguay.

I wrote a blog post when it was 1st announced last Wednesday, you can read the article here.

The Uruguay message boards and Uruguay forums have been buzzing with speculations of what is or isn’t and may or may not be happening.

There are people on both sides of the fence and everywhere in between, from supporting the measure to being strongly opposed.

There are a few well thought out speculations I’ve read and a few speculations which have obviously been charged with emotion.

Here are a couple of things that have been said and my opinions on them.

“Expat opinions don’t matter in Uruguay”

I would like to think this statement isn’t true… But it is.

I can’t speak for the rest of the world, but I think it’s a trend for people from the U.S. to feel a sense of entitlement to have a say in politics where they are living. It’s not a bad thing, it’s not a good thing… It is what it is.

Not having a voice in a decision that could potentially affect taxes is a very sensitive subject for people from the U.S. We have been brought up knowing our nation was founded because of unjust taxes being levied upon the people.

“Taxation without representation.”

The reality is, as an expat we have no representation in the U.S. Congress or U.S. Senate. We certainly don’t have any representation here in Uruguay or any other country.

As an expat who is not a citizen of Uruguay, regardless of what I bring to or contribute to the country, I shouldn’t have a say… Although I may not like or agree with decisions the country makes, it’s not my country.

“Expats infuse Uruguay with money it wouldn’t have otherwise. Imposing this tax will cause expats and foreign companies to leave Uruguay along with all of their money.”

I couldn’t agree with this statement more.

One really cool thing for us about Uruguay was the tax laws coupled with banking secrecy.

A big change (other than taxing) this potential law will bring is information sharing. Some people see no problem with governments sharing information with each other about their citizens, how much money they make and everything else under the sun. But that’s not cool in my book.

“The majority of expats who come to Uruguay are retirees.”

That may have been true… But with the age of the Internet and telecommuting, there is a trend of people leaving the U.S. and living abroad simply because we can.

Over the next several decades, I think it will be the norm for people to live wherever they want in the world… That is if the world doesn’t end in 2012, the NWO doesn’t exterminate 80% of the population or the aliens don’t take us to the mother ship.

We have the flexibility to live wherever we want as long as we have access to high-speed Internet. We know of several families here in Uruguay who are location independent too.

Because of inflation and the devaluation of the dollar, there are several families who have already left Uruguay. I believe imposing an income tax, upon overseas income, changing the banking secrecy laws and sharing information just may be the final straw to send a lot more people out of Uruguay and deter people from moving here.

At this point in time, with the information I’ve seen, I think the new Uruguayan income tax law will pass.

What are your thoughts?

Filed Under: Financial

The Value of the US Dollar vs the Uruguayan Peso

April 5, 2010 by Brian

We’ve mentioned in passing that the value of the US dollar has fallen significantly against the Uruguayan Peso since we moved here last May. It has fallen from about a 24:1 exchange rate to about a 19:1 exchange rate.

That’s pretty significant – it’s about a 25% drop in the last year, and that’s before you have even taken inflation into account…

So, the cost of living in Uruguay for US citizens has risen dramatically over the last year. When we arrived, our cost of living was around $1900 per month. Now we’re up to around $2400 per month (just our basic expenses).

I found this website where you can graph the change in value of 190 currencies, and it put it into even more perspective.

Here’s the change in value of the US dollar against the Uruguayan Peso in the last year:
Currency-value-1-year

And in the last five years:
Currency-value-5-years

When you’re making a decision to move abroad, it’s always a good idea to understand the trends in the currency’s value against the currency of your home country (where your income is coming from).

Right now, the value of the US Dollar against the Uruguayan Peso is the lowest it has been in about 2 years. But, if you look at the trend from the last 5 years, there is only one other dip this low. So, hopefully it will rise again before too long.

For US Citizens currently living in Uruguay, how has the fall of the value of the US Dollar affected you?

Filed Under: Financial Tagged With: cost of living, uruguay, us dollar vs uruguayn peso

Looking for an Expat Tax Service?

December 23, 2009 by Brian




Tax time is upon us, so we’ve been looking into expat tax services we can recommend to US citizens living abroad. Filing your taxes as an expat can be tricky, so a lot of people prefer to work with a tax professional.

Brian worked in the tax industry for several years and is very familiar with how tax companies operate. After finding an expat tax service that looked like they offered a solid service, he called and spoke with the owner of the company.

The conversation went very well, and he said that they offer a good service that he can recommend. The company is ExPat CFO.

To learn more about the expat tax service offered by ExPat CFO,
click here
.


Watch our video at ExPatCFO.com




Filed Under: Financial Tagged With: expat cfo, expat tax

How Young Expats Make Money Living Abroad

November 25, 2009 by Brian



Aces
We get a lot of questions about how young people can afford to live the expat life, especially in a country like Uruguay where wages are very low. Even without a retirement income, there are many options that allow young people to live abroad as expats.

There are people with online businesses and people that telecommute for companies in their home countries. Then there are people like our friend Lyle, who make their living playing online poker professionally.

Originally from Canada, Lyle currently lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but is planning to move to Punta Del Este, Uruguay next May. He spends his days playing poker and enjoying life as an expat.

He just launched his website and blog, which tell the story of how he makes his living playing online poker. If you enjoy playing online poker, or just want to explore another option for making an income online, check out his website and blog.


Filed Under: Financial, Uruguay Blogs Tagged With: blog, living abroad, online poker, young expats

Uruguay Rated #1 for Prosperity in South America

October 29, 2009 by Brian



MainTitle
The third edition of the Legatum Prosperity Index was released this week. This index ranks 104 countries (accounting for 90% of the world’s population) based on a definition of prosperity that combines economic growth with measures of happiness and quality of life.

The 9 areas the Legatum Prosperity Index looks at are:
1.    Economic Fundamentals
2.    Entrepreneurship and Innovation
3.    Education
4.    Democratic Institutions
5.    Governance
6.    Health
7.    Personal Freedom
8.    Security
9.    Social Capital

The highest-ranking South American countries are Uruguay (33rd), Chile (36th) and Argentina (38th). The lowest performing country in South America is Venezuela (74th), just ahead of Bolivia (73rd) and Ecuador (71st).

Uruguay scored especially well in 3 areas:
•    Personal freedom at 14th
•    Safety and security at 26th
•    Health at 28th

Full details about Uruguay’s rankings in the 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index can be found here. If you want to see how Uruguay’s ranking stacks up against the US, click here.

Since Ecuador was our second choice if Uruguay didn’t work out for us, we were surprised how low it scored on the Index given its preference as a hot spot for expats. In fact, International Living named Ecuador the World's Best Retirement Haven for 2009. It just shows how it important it is to get your information from multiple sources when deciding where to live as an expat.

Read the Index’s key findings related to South America here.

More information on the Prosperity Index, including full country rankings, background on data and methodology, and profiles of each country can be found at www.prosperity.com.



Filed Under: Culture, Financial, Health Care, News, Politics Tagged With: 2009, Ecuador, Legatum Prosperity Index, uruguay

The Exploring Uruguay Forum is Now Live!

October 2, 2009 by Brian

Thank you to all of our blog readers for asking so many great questions about Uruguay. The number of questions we’ve been getting has increased significantly, so we decided it was time to create the Exploring Uruguay Forum.

We’ve been working hard on getting the forum ready over the past several days and we’re excited to announce that it’s finally live.

So, come by the Exploring Uruguay Forum today and post a question about Uruguay. Or, share your experiences with living in Uruguay, or visiting Uruguay.

Thanks in advance for contributing to the community!

Filed Under: Baby, Culture, Education, Entertainment, Family, Financial, Food and Drink, Health Care, Household, Language, News, Packing, Politics, Real Estate, Services, Travel, Uruguay Blogs, Web/Tech Tagged With: exploring uruguay forum, forum, uruguay, uruguay forum

Where to Buy Gold In Montevideo Uruguay

August 7, 2009 by Brian


Our blog post, “Gold is My Answer,” was very popular.  Since that post, I have had multiple inquiries asking,  “Where do you buy gold in Montevideo Uruguay?”  So, due to popular request, here you go.

I only know of two companies that you can buy gold from in Montevideo Uruguay; Indumex and Gales both are Cambios.
Indumex and Gales both have locations throughout Uruguay where you can buy gold.

Here is a list of Indumex locations in Uruguay:

Montevideo
Casa Central
Rincon 473
# 9151615
Monday thru Friday 10am to 6pm

Tres Cruces Nivel Shopping Center
Acevedo Diaz 1785
Loc T11 and 53
# 4084060
Everyday 6am to 12am and 9am to 10pm respectively

Portones Shopping Center
Avenida Italia 5775 loc 101
# 6017832
Everyday 10am to 10pm

Punta del Este
Punta Shopping Anexo
Avenida Roosevelt y Parada 6
Loc 228A and 213
# 042-492077 and 042-496406
Winter – Apr. through Nov.
Sun. through Thu. 9:30am to 10pm
Fri. and Sat. 9:30am to 11pm
Summer – Dec. thru Mar.
Everyday from 9am to 1am

Gorlero
Gorlero and Calle 28
# 042-444172
Closed in Winter
Oct. and Nov. 10am to 6pm
Dec. thru Mar. 10am to 12am

Salto
Salto Shopping
Avenida Batlle and Ordonez 2265
# 073-37400
Everyday from 10am to 9pm

Rivera
Rivera
Avenida Sarandi 496
# 062-24585
Monday thru Saturday 8am to 6pm

Colonia
Colonia Shopping
Avenida Roosevelt, esq Casanello
Loc 03
# 052-29560
Everyday from 9am to 9pm

Here is a list of Gales locations in Uruguay:

Montevideo
World Trade Center
Luis A. de Herrera 1248
Local 20
# 628-3231

Pocitos
21 de Setiembre y Ellauri
# 711-6680

Centro
18 de Julio y Río Negro
# 902-0229

Ciudad Vieja
Rincón 483
# 915-3310

Punta del Este
Gorlero y calle 29
(042) 44-3475

ChuyBrasil 553
# (0474) 2100

I hope this helps everyone who wants or needs to buy gold in Montevideo or anywhere in Uruguay.

Filed Under: Financial Tagged With: Buy Gold, colonia, Indumex a Cambio, montevideo, Punta Del Este, Rivera, Salto, uruguay

How Do You Pay for Things in Uruguay?

July 28, 2009 by Brian

UY Pesos, Dollars or Plastic? We use all three.

I don’t know why, but our US banks won’t allow us to pull out more than $2,000 UYU at a time. So it’s easier for us to pull ou U$S300 and saves us two $58 UYU transaction fee at the ATM.

We typically take our US dollars to a Cambio (see pic below) to exchange them for UY pesos so that we get the best rate of exchange.

Unfortunately the Cambios aren’t open on Sundays, so occasionally we’ll be stuck with US dollars and no simple way to exchange them for UY pesos.

Then I buy a coke at the market across the street with a U$S 100 bill and get the change in UY Pesos (but don’t expect many of the stores to do that for you until you’ve established yourself as a regular customer).

Most places will accept US dollars, but if you hand them a hundred dollar bill, they’ll usually look at you like you are crazy… Very few places could break it (U$S 100 is about $2312 UY pesos).

However, if you walk into some stores, like electronics stores, you’ll see everything is priced in US dollars rather than UY pesos. I guess paying U$S 1500 sounds better than $34,680 UY pesos…

Also, because the sales tax here is 22%, we try to pay for everything we can on our debit card. Why? Because we get 8% back on most purchases when you pay with debit/ credit cards (with a few exceptions like grocery stores) and we don’t get stuck with a currency transfer fee.

Unfortunately, even though Visa and MasterCard are accepted at a lot of places, we’re finding more places don’t accept plastic than do (especially restaurants). I guess the fees are pretty high for businesses.

Of course there are places, like the ferias, that only accept UY Pesos. So, there really isn’t a simple answer to, “How do you pay for things in Uruguay.” It’s really a mix is UY pesos, US dollars and plastic.

We learned through trial and error how to balance the mix and hope this blog provides a little clarification for you.

Filed Under: Financial, Services, Shopping Tagged With: blog, cambio, credit cards, dollars, how do you pay for things in uruguay, uruguay, UY pesos

Gold is my answer…

July 25, 2009 by Brian


The question: “Brian, how do you get your money outside of the US and avoid all of the hassle?”

I read an article in National Geographic magazine a while back that spoke of Gold… the beautiful yellow metal that never tarnishes.

A very interesting statistic that article taught me was: if you took all of the gold that has ever been mined and put it all together in one place, it would fill up two Olympic-sized swimming pools. That’s it. No more. In the history of nations, it has ALWAYS remained the backbone of all financial institutions.

So one thing we do is buy gold. Now here’s the dilemma with gold. It’s heavy, hard to transport and not safe to store in your home. Don’t get me wrong… having a few ounces lying around is never a bad idea.

But what about having $50K… $100K… $500K+ lying around your home?

That could be very bad if someone found out, and someone always does. I would never put my family at that kind of risk.

What to do? Do you store your gold in a US bank safe deposit box? That’s not an option for us. Do you store your gold in an offshore bank’s safe deposit box? Hmmm… Maybe… But there is a lot of risk with that as well.

Those are both viable options for many people. However, if your gold is in the US, how are you going to get it offshore? Once you get it offshore, what financial institution are you going to trust to hold onto your livelihood?

I’m not saying this is the best way. I’m not saying this is the only way. But this is the way I do it. A lot of people will blast me for my choices, but I don’t care. I’m not advising anyone to do manage their money the same way I do, but I’ve been asked this question many times, so I feel obliged to share with those who are interested.

I buy gold through Gold Money by having money wired from my US credit union to Gold Money. I can wire up to $5,000 a day by fax request (plus wire fees).The $5000 a day is my Credit Union’s limitation.

If I need to cash in my gold, I have Gold Money sell my gold and wire my money to my Banco Republica of Uruguay bank account. Once my gold is liquidated from Gold Money, I have two options.

  1. Buy gold in Pocitos or Centro (there are a couple of places that sell gold in these areas of Montevideo) and put my gold in a safe deposit box at a local depository.
  2. Do a wire transfer to my BuillionVault account from my Banco Republica of Uruguay bank account.

I keep gold in BullionVault because they have nothing to do with getting gold or cash out of the US. So, just in case something happens and the US won’t allow the purchase of gold or what have you… I’m diversified.  Maybe I’m a little paranoid, but I’d rather be paranoid and wrong than unprepared and right.

The differences between Gold Money and BullionVault are:

  • Gold Money will allow a wire transfer to purchase funds from anywhere… While BullionVault will only allow funds to be received from one bank account.
  • Gold Money allows you to sell gold and transfer it to any bank account in the world… While BullionVault will only transfer money to the bank account it receives money from.
  • Gold Money allows you to purchase Gold, Silver and Platinum while BullionVault only allows for Gold Transactions.

Hey Gold Money or BullionVault may be an option to help you get your gold or cash out of the US. Then again, it may not. Either way, I’m not offering or soliciting any financial advice, I’m just letting you know what works for me.

Filed Under: Financial Tagged With: Banco Republica of Uruguay, BullionVault, gold, Gold Money, Uruguay bank account

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Blog Topics

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in