Investing 1 million in the Hang Seng Tech Index at the beginning of 2016 and holding it for 10 years—what would the result be? The final result, as of the October closing, is that the principal is down to 937,735, a loss of over 60,000. Over the 10 years, 455,000 was paid in taxes. The funniest (or saddest) part is that mainland investors in Hong Kong stocks have to use their own principal to pay taxes even when they’re overall at a loss. Yes, you read that right—it’s not based on the gains from buying and selling, but on the unrealized gains each year. No need to doubt this; many people have been paying taxes this way in recent years. If you’re planning to buy Hong Kong stocks, don’t foolishly use a Chinese-funded brokerage, or you’ll end up paying taxes to the point of wanting to curse out loud.