Schuylkill seeks to recoup foreign money

Could Schuylkill County’s investment portfolio be due some unclaimed money?

“If we don’t ask, we don’t get it,” said county Controller Christy Joy.

During a meeting Wednesday, the commissioners approved Christy’s request that they contract with Globe Tax, New York, “to recover foreign tax.”

What does that mean? According to the Globe Tax company website, “Many foreign governments withhold excess tax on dividend and interest payments to nonresident shareholders, and investors with portfolios benchmarking major global indices may be leaving money on the table.”

Schuylkill County currently has about $133 million in its retirement fund and about $21 million in its general fund. That money is in investment portfolios, where certain portions are invested in foreign entities.

Is Schuylkill County owed any money?

Globe Tax, with long-standing relationships with all major prime brokerages, is ideally positioned to find out.

The company won’t be paid a fee, but would receive a portion of any money the county gains through their efforts, Joy said.