Bryan Kellar wrote:

- quote -

Cool! Thanks to everyone who replied. From what i've read
i'm fairly confident the 5% Ozi rate will apply. As soon as
Kiwis start making a living in Australia they're considered
Australian residents and taxed accordingly, including
compulsory super etc.

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"gimp" <anonymous[at]smeg.com> wrote:

- quote -

A couple of points:

An ITIN is simply an identifying number that gives you a tax
account number with the IRS. It follows you wherever you go
(unless you become, say, a US PR or citizen, in which case
you would get a different number). If you need one, one
will be provided for you when you apply for it. However,
the latest policy is that you send the application with the
first tax return you are required to submit, as a way to
prove that you need to have a tax account number issued.

The purpose of the tax treaties are to avoid double taxation
for the residents of both countries involved. The term
resident is used in them to identify people who are
residents for tax purposes in the country they are in.
Thus, if you are a resident of Australia for tax purposes,
then you are a resident of Australia for tax treaty
purposes. Citizenship is not the issue at all.

The argument against this is that if you are still a NZ
resident for tax purposes (were there over 183 days during
the year, or have an "enduring relationship" there, meaning
you still have lots of ties to the country) then you are
still a resident there, too. I would argue that since you
were an Aus resident, then those rules would apply, but that
might also depend upon whether the Aus-NZ tax treaty
addresses where you are a tax resident (I don't have that
one at my fingertips!).

I can't find any cases that specifically address this issue.
But the answer is this -- the treaty that applies will be
whichever country considers you a resident for tax purposes.
If both do, I can't find anything that says you can't use
the US-Aus tax treaty if that is the better deal for you.

If I can help more, let me know....

Bryan
------------------------ Bryan Kellar, EA
Oregon Tax Help, Inc. -- Portland, Oregon
www.oregontaxhelp.com
www.canadatax.org

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gimp wrote:

- quote -

The 5% and 10% tax rates apply to residents of either
Australia or New Zealand not citizens. If you become a
resident of Australia and are subject to Australia income
tax as such, then you would be subject to the US - Australia
tax treaty protocol and be taxed at 5%.

--
Alan
http://taxtopics.net

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I'm a New Zealand citizen who hopes to have an ITIN approved
for earning royalties from US assets. Assuming its approved
ok, I'll be taxed by the IRS at 10% on royalties instead of
30%.

However, what if I relocate to Australia (who are only taxed
5% on royalties). New Zealanders can work without
restriction in Australia and are actually considered
Australian permanent residents for tax purposes, but I'm not
sure if that's only in the eyes of the Australian Govt. Will
the IRS tax me as a New Zealander unless I actually become
Aust citizen..? Then do I have to apply for an ITIN all over
again?

Any info greatly appreciated.

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