Why Americans Are Going Abroad
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Why Americans Are Going Abroad
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Re: Why Americans Are Going Abroad
#2I wonder how increases in remote work acceptance will affect emigration. If you allow remote work from anywhere it would seem like moving to another country on some sort of visa would be an instant pay increase using the foreign earned income tax break.
Re: Why Americans Are Going Abroad
#3I wonder how increases in remote work acceptance will affect emigration. If you allow remote work from anywhere it would seem like moving to another country on some sort of visa would be an instant pay increase using the foreign earned income tax break.
Except that you have to pay taxes in that foreign country. Many of them have higher taxes than the US, and in any case, having to file taxes twice is not fun.
Re: Why Americans Are Going Abroad
#4I wonder how increases in remote work acceptance will affect emigration. If you allow remote work from anywhere it would seem like moving to another country on some sort of visa would be an instant pay increase using the foreign earned income tax break.
Except that you have to pay taxes in that foreign country. Many of them have higher taxes than the US, and in any case, having to file taxes twice is not fun.
Many countries (including Israel, where I live) have tax treaties with the US. You still need to file US taxes every year, but any money you pay toward your country of residence counts toward your American taxes, up to a certain ceiling.
The fact that US income tax is lower than those in most other countries means that such people will almost never paying any actual tax -- and, believe it or not, are even entitled to a tax refund from the US government.
So yes, it's a pain that the US makes me file tax forms every year. Or more realistically, the US makes me pay an accountant to handle this for me. But the odds of my having to pay income tax to the US are pretty slim, until/unless I'm making a ton of money, in which case I'm sure that my accountant will think of new clever ways to avoid doing so.
Re: Why Americans Are Going Abroad
#5For comparison, when asked in the UK Parliament, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs gave an estimate for the number of British nationals living abroad of around 13 million people. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/v...
Which given the UK population of 64 million, is a massive diaspora and completely dwarfs the 7.5 million foreign-born residents in the UK.
edit - these figures led me to the sobering conclusion that here in the UK we should really be keeping quiet about immigration and hope nobody notices
Re: Why Americans Are Going Abroad
#6I wonder how increases in remote work acceptance will affect emigration. If you allow remote work from anywhere it would seem like moving to another country on some sort of visa would be an instant pay increase using the foreign earned income tax break.
Except that you have to pay taxes in that foreign country. Many of them have higher taxes than the US, and in any case, having to file taxes twice is not fun.
The US taxing citizens abroad, the irony: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution#1764.E2.80....
Re: Why Americans Are Going Abroad
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
Except that you have to pay taxes in that foreign country. Many of them have higher taxes than the US, and in any case, having to file taxes twice is not fun.
Many countries (including Israel, where I live) have tax treaties with the US. You still need to file US taxes every year, but any money you pay toward your country of residence counts toward your American taxes, up to a certain ceiling. The fact that US income tax is lower than those in most other countries means that such people will almost never paying any actual tax -- and, believe it or not, are even entitled to…
> The fact that US income tax is lower than those in most other countries means that such people will almost never paying any actual tax
Not to the US, at least, but to the other country, yes. So going abroad is not a way to save money on taxes.
Re: Why Americans Are Going Abroad
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
Except that you have to pay taxes in that foreign country. Many of them have higher taxes than the US, and in any case, having to file taxes twice is not fun.
The US taxing citizens abroad, the irony: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution#1764.E2.80....
You can vote from abroad, so that's not the problem, really.
Re: Why Americans Are Going Abroad
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
The US taxing citizens abroad, the irony: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution#1764.E2.80....
You can vote from abroad, so that's not the problem, really.
Other than president who can you vote for? Who represents a US citizen's interests when living abroad? Some never have been to the Unites States and have no home state. Yet they are required to file and pay taxes.
Re: Why Americans Are Going Abroad
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can vote from abroad, so that's not the problem, really.
Other than president who can you vote for? Who represents a US citizen's interests when living abroad? Some never have been to the Unites States and have no home state. Yet they are required to file and pay taxes.
You can vote in the state you last resided in or even the place you feel is 'home' in the US. I still participate in Oregon elections, for example.
http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/abroad/leg...
I don't know the details for people who have never lived in the US, but they are entitled to vote, being citizens.
Being forced to pay taxes is an unwelcome burden with few benefits, but you can vote if you live abroad.