[gargarplex]

Makes a huge difference when considering the tax implications.

[fennecfoxen]

Many retirement funds are in a tax shelter either way, though.

[Scoundreller]

Problem is, the US-based euro or emerging market fund will have withholding taxes applied to it, unless it’s a retirement-specific fund.

You just won’t see the tax withholdings on your statement because it shows up on theirs.

[bradlys]

Many but not all and that is the important detail.

Also I keep money in index funds even if I don't plan on using that money for retirement. (e.g. downpayment on a house, saving for another large purchase, financial buffer, etc.) I also keep money in index funds that are in regular brokerage accounts because 401k + backdoor roth ira isn't sufficient for retirement if you make $200k+/yr. (True for even lower amounts too but whatever)

[evandijk70]

That depends on which country you live in. In my country (The Netherlands) you pay a fixed percentage of the value of your portfolio. Dividends are not taxed.

[jacquesm]

> Dividends are not taxed.

I wish.

But no, dividends are taxed:

https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/...

What you probably miss is that dividend tax for non substantial holdings (less than 5% of the total stock) is withheld before being paid out.

[yread]

and you have to care about where the index fund is domiciled. Otherwise you get dividend leakage. Some Vanguards are domiciled in Reland where 30% of dividends are withheld as taxes even though we need to pay just 15%. It might be difficult to get the difference back

[cesarb]

Indeed it does. Here in Brazil, for instance, dividends are not taxed, while selling a stock (to take advantage of growing stock prices) has a capital gains tax of 15%.

[tut-urut-utut]

That largely depends on the tax laws where you live.