[Bluetooth]

Banking
Living in the UK now, i have (sterling) accounts at HSBC offshore, and Citibank. Whats the easiest thing to do,, just call my bank here and ask them to open an account in HK? Also I've seen elsewhere that people dont like HSBC there,, why is that?

Tax
I hear that you get taxed at 16%. Sounds good. What about offshore earnings (ie investment earnings?) are they taxable? Also , if i leave the UK in August, should i be able to claim back some tax from here this year?

Broadabnd
Are there a few providers for fast broadband there? I'm used to a pretty good connection here in London.

Also , I'm moving there with my wife,,, whats the story with the marriage benefit for tax>??

[jaykay]

Originally Posted by Bluetooth

Banking
Living in the UK now, i have (sterling) accounts at HSBC offshore, and Citibank. Whats the easiest thing to do,, just call my bank here and ask them to open an account in HK? Also I've seen elsewhere that people dont like HSBC there,, why is that?

Tax
I hear that you get taxed at 16%. Sounds good. What about offshore earnings (ie investment earnings?) are they taxable? Also , if i leave the UK in August, should i be able to claim back some tax from here this year?

Broadabnd
Are there a few providers for fast broadband there? I'm used to a pretty good connection here in London.

Also , I'm moving there with my wife,,, whats the story with the marriage benefit for tax>??

Even with HSBC and Citibank, as far as I understand, you are dealing with different entities in HK. So you would have to open an account here. Why do people not like HSBC? Actually not entirely true, The Premier account holders love HSBC and cannot see that they do anything wrong. Those that hold ordinary or business accounts know otherwise!

Broadband, well you're used to a certain speed in London so why not double it and literally pay half he cost. Thats the usual. 8Mb line with Netvigator (the BT of HK) or something like 10MB VDSL with HGC (try to find that in the UK). Upto 100MB with HKBN. Contention ratios well down compared to London so faster speeds.

There is a marriage benefit to tax here, you have a choice who claims it or whether it is split. All explained in detail on the HK IR web site.

[dougp]

Originally Posted by Bluetooth

Banking

I banked with HSBC in Sydney and opened a HK account before moving out here. Wasn't too painful at all, as long as you provide exactly the documentation it asks for on the forms, and ignore what the prat on the counter tells you you need to supply.

Their online banking is ok (not wonderful), and the only real problem I have with HSBC here is when I need to talk to a human being. Go to any branch any time later than 1 minute after opening and you've got 100 people in front of you. You could try the phone banking, but it's quicker to queue up than to find that one option that might occasionally let you talk to someone. Having said that, I've only needed to do that once or twice in 10 months.

Originally Posted by Bluetooth

Tax

Yes, if you leave the UK in August you should get a bit of a tax refund since your PAYE rate would be based on a full year's earnings.

[discobay]

Also, if you haven't already done it you need to notify the Inland Revenue of your departure (a non-resident declaration) so that a) they start to process your tax rebate and b) they stop sending you tax returns each year. You should also notify your UK building societies so that you can earn savings interest tax free.

[Caveman]

i'm relocating to HK late July, so have gone through similar preparations. if you are a HSBC Offshore Premier customer, the International Banking division facilitates the opening of your account in HK (also, they can transfer your Premier status to HK even if you don't comply with the minimum requirements in HK - as long as you maintain the requirements in your Offshore location). They can also transfer your Offshore credit history to HK. Other pluses: you can transfer funds between these separate accounts free of charge (if Premier), you can be assigned a relationship banker based in HK for your Premier Offshore account.

Re informing the Inland Revenue on your change of residence, I think the relevant form is P85 (check website).

btw, have you decided where to live and pros / cons considered? i'm still deciding and any input would be appreciated. i'm currently considering pok fu lam and kennedy town

[andyjbartlett]

Caveman, am also moving to HK in late July. We are taking over a flat in Pok Fu Lam, Baguio Villas. Have met last tennants and they say it was great. Flats in Baguio are not "swish" but are large. Schools, if relevant, are good - Kennedy Junior and West Island are both close by. Am only going on what I have been told but we are looking forward to experiencing it. If you go into hotel/serviced before you decide send me a pm in August and I'll let you know the reality

[Bluetooth]

Thanks guys. Helpful indeed.

So if HSBC isn't so hot, what are the decent alternatives? To be fair, I hardly ever go into a branch anyway, (my grandma sometimes still goes into her branch...) its all internet banking. I guess it would be good to have an account where its easy to swap from CCY to CCY... ie USD HKD CAD AUD GBP ( think that covers most of my needs).

For Caveman: I'm not decided yet, but my wife wants to live on the south side somewhere near the beach (shes Aussie). So we're thinking Stanley/Repulse type of thing. My friend used to live in Repulse Bay , then moved to pok Fulam, cause rentals trade at a 30% discount there. I'm leaning towards PokFulam,, get a bigger place for cheaper and a car and just drive to the beach if you want to go. Still very much undecided here as well.

[Caveman]

andyjbartlett: during your flat search, did you see Belchers or Bel-Air (Pok fu lam). these were also recommended to me. what's the rental price range for 2 bed 700+sqft?

[connecta]

Originally Posted by Bluetooth

Tax
I hear that you get taxed at 16%. Sounds good. What about offshore earnings (ie investment earnings?) are they taxable? Also , if i leave the UK in August, should i be able to claim back some tax from here this year?

as no one has replied to that yet:

in hkg you have got the territorial principle, which means that only income generated in hkg is taxable. all salaries and profits generated by work and businesses performed outside of HKG are not taxable by the HK IRD - no matter whether your primary residence is still in HKG. that's why you will find some HKG companies using an entity in the BVIs to optimize their tax for profits which had been completely generated outside of HKG.

but in any case there is no tax on investment earnings in hkg. therefore it doesn't matter whether the investment earnings have been generated offshore or in hkg. this applies to all kind of investment earnings including divdends, interest etc. but be careful if you should receive stock options from your company, as profits generated from options will be taxable as part of your salary. beside of that there is only a property tax of 16% if you plan to get some real estate in hkg as investment and receive rental income for that.

it furthermore might make sense for you to claim housing allowance from your company as part of your salary (if not already negotiated). the tax paid on housing allowance paid by your company is usually lower than even the 16% maximum salaries tax.

*disclaimer : i am not a tax consultant, so the best would be to check the website of the HK IRD if you want to be 100% sure.

[PDLM]

Originally Posted by dougp

Their online banking is ok (not wonderful)

I'm curious what you might want to do with online banking that HSBC doesn't let you do?