#197 - The ‘Talk’

Today was a red letter day for me. After 23 years together with my business partners, I finally broached with them the subject of being bought out. I have to admit I have been thinking about it for over a year. And the anxiety that this conversation, or rather the thought of this conversation, caused, was immense. But finally, today, I screwed up my courage and uttered the words.

I have been fortunate to have been in business with some of the best people in the world. They are 100% honest, hardworking, dedicated, and ethically above reproach. I have seen so many businesses with partners who are nothing like that. Not just here in Asia, but everywhere. I feel like honest partners are the exception and not the rule. Which is yet another unfortunate comment on the state of humanity.

However, the conversation went well. I did explain that I felt terrible about saying this. it was like being married to somebody for 23 years and saying, “I love you, but I want a divorce.”

But my partner understood. He has yet to speak with his wife, and I'm sure she will have another take on it, although not a bad one, or at least I hope not.

And what I told him was I am just tired. I'm exhausted. I don't feel like my health is that bad, but the fatigue that I suffer, no matter how many different things I have tried to ameliorate it, remains the same. And if I could get my buy out, I would be perfectly content with sitting in Thailand, getting up, having my coffee on a quiet morning, doing my workouts, studying languages, looking at my investments once a week, and otherwise just relaxing and enjoying my life. It doesn't take much. 😊

So, we shall see. I did not say that it needed to be done immediately. I spoke about two to three years, but I suspect it may end up being faster than that. I don't know why, it is just something I am thinking. They did want to do one more project, and I am not radically opposed to participating in it although at a very small level, but I would prefer to be out of the other projects.

Investing through my bank in Singapore has proved to be highly educational. The United States does indeed, insist on getting its pound of flesh though still. There are ways to minimize the amount of tax that one pays, but it takes a little bit of work. The bank in Singapore, since they are the overarching organization that holds the US listed equities that I buy, and the fact that Singapore does not have a tax treaty with the United States, withholds a flat 30% on all dividends. Now since I am resident in Thailand, and Thailand has a tax treaty with the United States, as an individual, when I buy US listed securities, I should only be getting taxed 15%. I think the bank in Singapore is just too lazy to want to do that.

So, I have been investigating online brokerages that are not based in the US (of which there are surprisingly few) and I have found at least one that has told me that as an Argentinian, resident in Thailand, if I buy U.S. Securities, they will only withhold 15% of dividends. Fortunately, although there is a withholding tax on dividends, there is none on capital gains from selling an equity that makes a profit. So that is good.

Another way is to buy non-US listed securities in which case there is no withholding tax at all. As far as I know. But those securities seem to have lower yields. It is all math and risk evaluation. 😊

I have discovered a way to be resident in St. Kitts, which is a zero personal tax jurisdiction. However, when dealing with brokerages and buying US listed securities, the only thing relevant is if the US has a tax treaty with the jurisdiction. And as far as I can see, the US has no tax treaties with any of the zero tax jurisdictions. How convenient.

None of this is a complaint. It was a very educational experience, and that has been good for me. It has gotten my mind working on something else. I don't know if the investing stuff is of any interest to my readers, but I hope so. It is a complex environment. Especially if one is a foreigner who is not resident in the country of his passport.

I will be returning to Thailand next Saturday. I will be happy to get home. I like the house here in the Philippines, but my heart is not here anymore. I come back, and it is merely a place for me to stay until I go back to Thailand. The sole reasons for being here are three of the few people who are closest to me in the world, and a very nice house. Not inconsiderable things, but that's all. I don't go out here, I don't enjoy it, and I still spend 99.9% of the week just sitting inside the house. In Thailand at least I do get out and around. Honestly, if I got a firm schedule on a buy out, I would most likely accelerate my move plans to “as soon as possible”. Otherwise, I am maintaining two households for no particular reason. I’ve noticed that my outlook has changed markedly since I had the conversation. Now I just want to reduce my footprint and simplify my life as much as possible.

My goal … 

Even now, I am very tired. I had to force myself to sit down and get this article written for the blog. But … life is still good. No complaints. 😊

I did this thing on my journaling app the other day where a red ‘X’ or ‘?’ indicates the days I’ve experienced back flare ups. An ‘X’ indicates I was totally immobilized and a ‘?’ indicates that some medicine and hot packs got me back on my feet within a few hours. It is what it is. But some days can be hard.