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Barbados introduces plan to allow visitors to work remotely there for a year

money.yahoo.com

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Re: Barbados introduces plan to allow visitors to work remotely there for a year

#61

Post by throwaway894345 »

brm wrote: post #53
throwaway894345 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would love to work remotely from Europe. I would think it would be in the interest of European countries to make this kind of arrangement because I would be spending my cushy US salary on European goods and services and not taking a job away from a European.

This shouldn't just be for the remotely employed. We need to do more decouple freedom of movement from employment by a company. Perhaps there should be something like this: An International Creative or Digital Visa that countries can sign onto. This proposal is a good start for what it should be: http://artsvisa.org/ireland/ Have something to contribute. Be able to support yourself. Don't compete for an in country jo…

> Have something to contribute. Be able to support yourself. Don't compete for an in country job and any country should welcome your residence/citizenship.

I think agree with this, but I'm not sure what this looks like apart from "remote employment". How do you not compete for an in-country job without being employed remotely? Even if you're a self-employed plumber, for example, you're still competing for a job in your host country (your presence increases the supply of plumbing services without the corresponding increase in demand).

Re: Barbados introduces plan to allow visitors to work remotely there for a year

#62

Post by kranner »

throwaway894345 wrote: post #61
brm wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This shouldn't just be for the remotely employed. We need to do more decouple freedom of movement from employment by a company. Perhaps there should be something like this: An International Creative or Digital Visa that countries can sign onto. This proposal is a good start for what it should be: http://artsvisa.org/ireland/ Have something to contribute. Be able to support yourself. Don't compete for an in country jo…

> Have something to contribute. Be able to support yourself. Don't compete for an in country job and any country should welcome your residence/citizenship. I think agree with this, but I'm not sure what this looks like apart from "remote employment". How do you not compete for an in-country job without being employed remotely? Even if you're a self-employed plumber, for example, you're still competing for a job in yo…

Being wealthy or just having enough in savings to not have to work for a while seems the obvious alternative.

Re: Barbados introduces plan to allow visitors to work remotely there for a year

#63

Post by jonahbenton »

input_sh wrote: post #47
jonahbenton wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being able to use someone else's passport....is not now and even more so in the future will never be a thing. But getting passports from more jurisdictions and choosing which to present- that is and will be even more of a thing.

Regarding your second point, there's a couple of dozens of countries that specifically require you to denounce your other citizenship to gain theirs, as well as those whose citizenship is lost automatically if you become a citizen of some other country. I do see the cases of multiple citizenships (and therefore multiple passports) increasing in the future, but I wouldn't hold my breath for it to become a common occur…

Don't disagree. Could even see that exclusivity strengthening, a global movement towards national allegiance and homogeneity. Would be a terrible tragedy.

Re: Barbados introduces plan to allow visitors to work remotely there for a year

#64

Post by seanmcdirmid »

throwaway894345 wrote: post #57
FpUser wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And raising local prices. I saw this happen over the years in some areas of Canada when they became more popular destinations for the US tourists. The result is not good for the majority of local folks.

Maybe, but the cost of living in Europe is already considerably higher than in the US (barring of course the popular but disingenuous comparisons between SF/NYC and rural Europe). I'm not an economist, but I wouldn't expect an influx of Americans to drive up the cost of anything except perhaps real estate. Moreover, I wouldn't expect a significant influx of Americans period--relocating to Europe would only be for the…

> Maybe, but the cost of living in Europe is already considerably higher than in the US (barring of course the popular but disingenuous comparisons between SF/NYC and rural Europe).

Living costs in Europe are incredibly uneven, like they are in the states. Denmark is much more expensive than next door Netherlands, for example, which is actually quite reasonable (and perhaps Americans might even find it cheap outside of Amsterdam).

Re: Barbados introduces plan to allow visitors to work remotely there for a year

#65

Post by dmurray »

GordonS wrote: post #37

This is really interesting - I wonder if, in our post-COVID world, we'll see other countries doing the same. I'm trying to see any disadvantages for countries that do this, but the only thing I came up with is the possibility of distorting local rental prices. But presumably if enough countries offered such a visa, applicants would be spread over those countries, causing less distortion.

The disadvantage is that you may become a burden on the host country - you cost more in public services than you bring in revenue.

This could happen if the host country supplies plentiful public services funded mainly by income taxes rather than consumption taxes. Or simply if you lost your job and turned to begging or crime, and the host country finds it expensive or politically difficult to deport you.

These are pretty niche cases and most countries are happy to take wealthy, self-sufficient immigrants. But there are valid reasons why you might not want too open an immigration policy.

Re: Barbados introduces plan to allow visitors to work remotely there for a year

#66

Post by seanmcdirmid »

freddie_mercury wrote: post #23
tjbiddle wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Other commenters have address your questions, but what I will add is that if you stayed the full 12 months (Or really, 330 days) then you apply for FEIE and won't have to pay federal income tax as a US citizen.

This isn't exactly true. You only get the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion if you actually have foreign earned income. Just can't just live abroad and pretend your income is foreign earned. There IRS defines what is and isn't foreign earned income. If you move to Barbados and just keep doing the same job you were doing in the US, then it almost certainly isn't foreign earned income.

There is a lot of debate about that, and the best thing is to contact a tax attorney. But a lot of digital nomads in Southeast Asia are working for American clients and getting that income in under the exclusion. I’m not sure if it’s different for full time rather than contracting income.

Re: Barbados introduces plan to allow visitors to work remotely there for a year

#67

Post by seanmcdirmid »

cpursley wrote: post #14
BrentOzar wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you apply for FEIE and won't have to pay federal income tax as a US citizen. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion only applies to the first $107,600 you earn in 2020. You still have to pay taxes on the rest.

And you're still liable for social security.

No, you only pay SS if you are resident.

Re: Barbados introduces plan to allow visitors to work remotely there for a year

#68

Post by skizm »

throwaway894345 wrote: post #48
GordonS wrote: post #37

This is really interesting - I wonder if, in our post-COVID world, we'll see other countries doing the same. I'm trying to see any disadvantages for countries that do this, but the only thing I came up with is the possibility of distorting local rental prices. But presumably if enough countries offered such a visa, applicants would be spread over those countries, causing less distortion.

I would love to work remotely from Europe. I would think it would be in the interest of European countries to make this kind of arrangement because I would be spending my cushy US salary on European goods and services and not taking a job away from a European.

Sounds like a net lose for countries that offer extensive social programs and healthcare depending on how the income tax works.

Re: Barbados introduces plan to allow visitors to work remotely there for a year

#69

Post by seanmcdirmid »

BrentOzar wrote: post #9
tjbiddle wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Other commenters have address your questions, but what I will add is that if you stayed the full 12 months (Or really, 330 days) then you apply for FEIE and won't have to pay federal income tax as a US citizen.

> you apply for FEIE and won't have to pay federal income tax as a US citizen. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion only applies to the first $107,600 you earn in 2020. You still have to pay taxes on the rest.

After your foreign earned income exclusion is exhausted, you can deduct your foreign taxes, at least. In low tax but high COL places such as Singapore and HK, you also have the housing deduction to help out.

Re: Barbados introduces plan to allow visitors to work remotely there for a year

#70

Post by brianbreslin »

nextos wrote: post #55
throwaway894345 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would love to work remotely from Europe. I would think it would be in the interest of European countries to make this kind of arrangement because I would be spending my cushy US salary on European goods and services and not taking a job away from a European.

There are some rumors that indicate the Canary Islands will set up some remote worker deal. It'd be great as they have low tax, great weather and nice infrastructure including really nice Internet.

Are their taxes not the same as rest of Spain?
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