Interesting post on the 40% estate tax for sums above $60,000. I am also puzzled as to why StashAway and Syfe are evasive on this.
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Do you think the US IRS (Internal Revenue Service) is stupid? Do you believe StashAway, AutoWealth and/or Syfe are smarter than the US IRS?
They are evasive because they know that you (the client) do not own the US ETFs.
Read StashAway's answer to the FAQ question: Am I subject to Estate Tax?
"If you invest in US assets directly as an individual, the estate tax regulation applies. For our clients, the ownership is indirect as StashAways' legal entity (Asia Wealth Platform Pte Ltd) is the one that holds the assets and fractionalize them for our clients. Because of this structure, our clients should not be subject to this estate and gift tax.
With that said, unfortunately, we do not and are not able to provide tax, legal or accounting advice.
*This is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be tax, legal or accounting advice and should not be relied upon as such. We recommend that you consult your tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.""
If that answer is true, StashAway's clients have a bigger problem than the 40% estate tax. It means that Asia Wealth Platform Pte Ltd is the
beneficial owner of the clients' US ETF shares. All of it. StashAway clients do not have ownership. I think it is similar to unsecured credit when StashAway clients transfer monies to StashAway. StashAway can do anything with the monies and has actually invested the monies in US ETFs for the sole beneficial ownership of its legal entity.