I'm considering to buy index ETFs from US through TD Ameritrade, but as a non-resident alien (foreigner), my main concern is the 30% withholding tax on:
- all dividend (especially the bond ETFs)
- capital gains redistribution
Q1: Do I miss out anything other those 2 mentioned above?
Q2: Is the brokerage firm able to exclude the dividends derived from non-US sources for tax purpose?
From tax perspective, would it be a bad idea to buy US mutual fund/ETF as a foreigner?
My country is Malaysia. There's no tax treaty between US and Malaysia. Our local brokers don't offer overseas ETF (US in particular), and the general trading commission fee is prohibitively high.