Pappie Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 I have been thinking of buying silver for some time now but I am put off by the VAT charges and CGT. A colleague of mine suggested that I could open a bank account in Switzerland, buy precious metals at the counter (from what I read this is what all Swiss banks do) and hold it there. It may still be problematic bringing (any) profits back to the UK in the long run but what do you think of the idea? I am a complete newbie in such investments by the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet Guy Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 I'm also a newbie in investments generally but I'll give you my thoughts. Firstly, my understanding is that if you buy legal tender (Sovereigns or Britannias) then CGT does not apply so perhaps these are worth considering before poing to Switzerland? http://www.taxfreegold.co.uk/capitalgainstax.html You haven't given any indication of why you want gold or how long you intend to keep it. The premiums for gold coins can be very high hence it's impossible to make any money that way if you don't intend to hold them for the long term. The other thing you will have to consider very carefully is how you are going to store the coins. A Swiss bank vault does have some attractions but you will have to pay storage fees to the bank plus travel costs to access your gold - perhaps bullionvault or the Perth Mint Certification program is a cheaper and more effective way if you are determined to keep your gold abroad? http://www.bullionvault.com/ http://www.perthmint.com.au/investment_certificate.aspx Incidentally, I'd be wary of putting gold in a UK safety deposit box. http://nestmannblog.sovereignsociety.com/2...our-safety.html Lastly, you may do well to hold off any purchases for a few months. There seems to be some sort of cycle in gold price changes. Have a look at the five year chart at: http://www.kitco.com/gold_currency/charts.htm?GBP See the way gold rose from July 05 to May 06 slumped from May 06 to October 07 rose from October 07 to March 08 slumped from March 08 to October 08 rose from October 08 to February 08 slumped from February 08 onwards i.e. currently on downward trend. some people seem to think that gold will take off again later this year. Obviously, you should have a look at the "FAQ for Newbie Gold/Silverbugs" thread as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number79 Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 I have been thinking of buying silver for some time now but I am put off by the VAT charges and CGT. A colleague of mine suggested that I could open a bank account in Switzerland, buy precious metals at the counter (from what I read this is what all Swiss banks do) and hold it there. It may still be problematic bringing (any) profits back to the UK in the long run but what do you think of the idea? I am a complete newbie in such investments by the way. if you don't want to pay vat then buy gold. go to switzerland, buy philharmonikers and ship them back to your home address. You buy them tax free as they are legal tender in switzerland. You ship them back as customs do not check any post from within the european union. having a swiss account does not make you able to store gold/silver there. You have to get a safety deposit box which, as you can imagine is not cheap there. Last thing you want to do is leave your stuff abroad unless that is your exit strategy. Very last place to leave it is in a bank. If you don't hold it then you don't own it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whojamaflip Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 I have been thinking of buying silver for some time now but I am put off by the VAT charges and CGT. A colleague of mine suggested that I could open a bank account in Switzerland, buy precious metals at the counter (from what I read this is what all Swiss banks do) and hold it there. It may still be problematic bringing (any) profits back to the UK in the long run but what do you think of the idea? I am a complete newbie in such investments by the way. you can buy gold bars in the zurich train station (from 1 to 100grams), all banks sell them. most banks have the buy/sell price of 20franc coins (little smaller than sovs) in the window. the larger banks have a selection(pandas,brits,krugs,maples.) of 1oz coins on offer. selling is just as easy as buying btw.. silver is more tricky because of VAT, still lots of places (munzen shops) that sell physical, or you can talk to a bank - note that you would need 50k euros before the banks would like to talk to you.... i think VAT is 9%, same goes for platinum. there are also warehouse/safety deposit facilities near the (ZH)airport which are outside of customs clearance. you caan buy silver VAT free and have it delivered to these places, you are free to go and visit with your key, but if you want to take them out you need to pass thru customs. obviously you can mail your goodies off to some other country. my personal bias would be a swiss etf held in a swiss bank. you would need a lot of silver to justify the annual cost of a deposit box (they start around 120quid/year). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argentos Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 go to switzerland, buy philharmonikers and ship them back to your home address. You buy them tax free as they are legal tender in switzerland. You ship them back as customs do not check any post from within the european union. Why are Philharmonikers legal tender in Switzerland? They are Austrian coins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number79 Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 Why are Philharmonikers legal tender in Switzerland? They are Austrian coins. good point, mixed up little was I. You get the jist though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argentos Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 good point, mixed up little was I. You get the jist though. Ah, so! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappie Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 Many thanks to everyone for your contributions! I am now checking out the links posted in previous replies. I guess I need to do a lot more reading before I commit large sums of money to precious metals. I'm just interested in silver by the way. i think gold is overvalued, and while it may go higher due to today's economic crisis, its actual value is way lower than $1000. Silver on the other hand is a much better bet as it can shoot up anytime. Will keep you posted on my plan of action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endgame Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Many thanks to everyone for your contributions!I am now checking out the links posted in previous replies. I guess I need to do a lot more reading before I commit large sums of money to precious metals. I'm just interested in silver by the way. i think gold is overvalued, and while it may go higher due to today's economic crisis, its actual value is way lower than $1000. Silver on the other hand is a much better bet as it can shoot up anytime. Will keep you posted on my plan of action. Gold is about £600 an ounce. The average house will cost 100 ounces or less before the bottom of the ratio. At todays prices that would make £60,000 for the average house but the average house is £160,000. Either gold is going to £1600 or houses are coming down, or a bit of both I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whojamaflip Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Gold is about £600 an ounce. The average house will cost 100 ounces or less before the bottom of the ratio. At todays prices that would make £60,000 for the average house but the average house is £160,000. Either gold is going to £1600 or houses are coming down, or a bit of both I think. it doesnt take a genius to figure out a similar amount of silver would be in th 200kg region. that is a lot of metal to deal with physically... shifting it around & storage will be a "non-in-significant" cost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endgame Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 (edited) it doesnt take a genius to figure out a similar amount of silver would be in th 200kg region. that is a lot of metal to deal with physically... shifting it around & storage will be a "non-in-significant" cost I agree that silver is cheap compared to gold, I do not agree that golds value is way lower than $1000. Silver would be more reasonably priced at $75 in my (VI) opinion, based on current gold prices. Gold should be much higher, if it is to reflect its historical value. I do not see the issues of silver storage. 200 kilos could easily be stored at home. Palladiums looking good too. Edited May 4, 2009 by endgame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet Guy Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Many thanks to everyone for your contributions!I am now checking out the links posted in previous replies. I guess I need to do a lot more reading before I commit large sums of money to precious metals. I'm just interested in silver by the way. i think gold is overvalued, and while it may go higher due to today's economic crisis, its actual value is way lower than $1000. Silver on the other hand is a much better bet as it can shoot up anytime. Will keep you posted on my plan of action. Pappie, Sorry, somehow I managed to miss the fact that you clearly stated you are thinking of buying silver - not gold. I must be turning into a goldbug Regarding your comment that silver can shoot up any time, my understanding is that speculators anticipate silver demand rising sharply due to industrial demand. Most silver that has been mined has been used aready for manufacturing and is gone. Implicitly, silver will really take off when industrial demand exceeds supply and that might be a while yet considering that we're in a global recession. Regarding CGT, the markup on silver legal tender coins is horrendous so I don't see any practical way to avoid CGT in the UK. Bullionvault say that they offer to deal in silver as well soon but I'm unsure how this works w.r.t. tax: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=new...id=aXhlaFn8dzbQ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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