The Taipei Times reports that the tax exemption for US citizens may end if Republicans get their way. This would mean that you would not only have to pay Taiwan tax, but also a portion of US taxes. I suggest you make your voice heard to your local (would be) congressman/woman on this issue:
Note that the Taipei Times (as usual) made a mistake in reporting:
To qualify for what is known as a Section 911 exemption, you must be a US citizen and live outside the country for an entire tax year, or 330 days in any 12-month period.
This is only one test to qualify. You can meet this “physical presence test” or you can claim that Taiwan considers you a tax resident for the entire year, meaning that you can be in the US more than 35 days a year since you are officially considered a tax-paying resident of Taiwan.
Remember, the myth that you as an American citizen working abroad do not have to file taxes, even if you end up pay no tax under the current expemption up to 80K, is a just that: a myth. Uncle sam wants you to report every year no matter where your income comes from. If you have a heartbeat, you file.
If you don’t report for seveal years while in Taiwan, then go back to the US some day, beware of a surprise audit by the IRS. They will be very curious where you got your income for those years. You will be found out. And it isn’t pleasant.
What the hell are you talking about? You’re suppose to file every year and with the $80,000 exclusion for being outside the country the whole year, why would you not want to?
I’ve filled out forms for myself and my friends for the last two years and it states very clearly what you can and can not do/claim. I have to do this for retirement purposes(you have to have income to put money in an IRA).
Please stop the rumor/fear mongering. An IRS audit, though unpleasent, doesn’t always work against you. The IRS just wants you to be a good tax payer and follow the laws. Being a citizen of a country has its rights, privileges and duties(one of them to pay your taxes).
It hasn’t even passed yet. Do you know the percentage of bills that actually pass. It’s low, like around 2-5%. Also if you weren’t reading, this will come up against some serious corporate lobbying. This would only work against you if they actually passed it and they found you with more money than you claim you made on your taxes and they audited you.
Do tell.
I haven’t filed a US tax form in 17 years. Guess one day they will put bamboo shoots up my fingernails, eh?
(But I do have all my Taiwan tax returns and I have never been anywhere near the 80K mark.)
I haven’t filed in 5 years but this year I actually made some official income, so I suppose I’d better. The way I understood it, if you make less than 2000us per year you don’t have to file. Is that still the way it works or does uncle same want into everybody’s business?
I would certainly write, call, and e-mail my congressman, but since I don’t reside in the US, my voter registration has been canceled. I have no representative in congress to contact.
The founding fathers considered “taxation without representation” immoral. So do I. I think congress is out of bounds in taxing ANY money earned outside the US by people who do not live in the US. The $80,000 exclusion is just a scam to get most people to go along with what should be an illegal tax anyway.
I hope this proposal does not become law. Although I haven’t made any effort to hide income in the past, this would be enough to make me reconsider.
The US tax system is, in my opinion, screwed up beyond any possible repair. The only viable solution I have seen is the “Fair Tax”.
Archinasia, you can vote via absentee ballot. You can register to vote through them mail. Apply on line and the will send you the forms to sign.
I registered from my last address in the US that was before my military service some 10 years ago.
I was one of those absent tee voters from Florida during the last presidential election. Florida is a great state to be from because it has no state income tax. It is pretty easy to register anywhere in the US you like. Once you register that is your legal residence in the US even though you haven’t lived there for years. 66.218.71.225/search/cache?p=abs … ndix_d.pdf
I have personal experience with this. Many years ago, in the early 1980’s, I filed a U.S. income tax return while living in Taiwan. I had worked part of the year in the U.S., and part here. My purpose in filing was to get a tax refund on the part that got taken out of my U.S. paycheck, since my annual income was so low.
The IRS didn’t give me a refund. Instead, they determined that I owed them about 500 USD. If I had a problem with that, I could challenge their findings…in a U.S. tax court.
I later learned that the amount they docked me for, was a standard amount that they stuck everybody with. Any higher amount would have triggered some kind of review. In other words, they were meeting some kind of quota, and screwed me because it was convenient.
I have never filed again since. I leave it to you to imagine the effect on my feelings for the U.S. government.
[quote]I have personal experience with this. Many years ago, in the early 1980’s, I filed a U.S. income tax return while living in Taiwan. I had worked part of the year in the U.S., and part here. My purpose in filing was to get a tax refund on the part that got taken out of my U.S. paycheck, since my annual income was so low.
The IRS didn’t give me a refund. Instead, they determined that I owed them about 500 USD. If I had a problem with that, I could challenge their findings…in a U.S. tax court.
I later learned that the amount they docked me for, was a standard amount that they stuck everybody with. Any higher amount would have triggered some kind of review. In other words, they were meeting some kind of quota, and screwed me because it was convenient.
I have never filed again since. I leave it to you to imagine the effect on my feelings for the U.S. government.[/quote]
One of the best examples of why you should register to vote. The American system of government has mechanisms to correct these kinds of problems. One of the most effective ways is to contact your congressman. One of the first things a congressman’s office will do is check to see if you are registered to vote in his area of representation. As an absent tee voter you can register pretty much anywhere you like. Say in the precinct of the Chairmen of the Joint Committee on taxation. billthomas.house.gov/ house.gov/jct/
Go back and read my post. I encourge people to file.
Not everyone is as so smart as you. That’s why I took the opportunity to inform people of the current laws and the trend to change the laws.
Again, go back and read my post. I imply clearly that an IRS audit when you haven’t been following the rules would be unpleasant. It always is. Most good-intentioned tax-payers out there get burned by the IRS because they believed tax filing myths and didn’t check their facts.
You have interesting logic. It hasn’t passed yet. Yes, you are right. So, go call your congreeman before it passes OR passes somewhere in the near or medium-term future. Unless you have a time machine somewhere up your sleve, I’d suggest taking proactive action.
The 2-5% bill pass rate is due to individuals and groups that lobby their congressman. If you feel your voice is not important, then that’s your problem. Please don’t discourage people from enaging the political process by calling them “fear mongerers”.
OK, yea … You just keeping watching CNN and reach for that next Taiwan beer. Let the corporate giants decide your future. They care about you.
And no, you’re wrong. There is another way that this would work against me. My taxes would would go up.
i am getting sick awful quick of america’s shit. glad i switched over to euros a month or so back. cali, dc and only god knows who else is bankrupt. now they wanna tax me while i reside overseas! they can bite me. the president wearing a military uniform!?! great, now he and castro are on the same level. land of the free my eye.
This new deal has about -0- impact for those Americans teaching overseas, if they are at least a bit aware of how to file taxes. You get to deduct any foreign taxes paid from your tax bill. So your taxes paid would be just the same as if you lived in the US, but a portion of those would be to a foreign gov’t.
It’s annoying trend, but then when you see how this affects large corporations and how the US is the largest exporter in the world. I’m pretty sure this little amendment(baby) will silently be smothered in this bill(its crib). Large corporations normally pay the taxes for their expats, so they have a very real reason to have this killed. I mean what about all those poor private American citizens who will be working in Iraq
Dodging taxes is relatively easy deal. I believe that you earn about $7500US in income taxe free. I’ll have to check the forms. That’s about what I send home in a year through wire transfers. Taxes, I don’t need to pay no stinking taxes.
There are plenty of stupid bills every year. Most never make it out of committee, though somehow if you put “patriot” on it then it will pass easily(as in the horrendous Patriot Act). Hopefully this will be struck down in parts or in entirity(sp?) soon by the US Supreme court.
I actually don’t watch CNN or drink Taiwan beer regularly, about twice a year for each. I read the international papers. I was a bit rude in my post, I apologize, but I don’t see this as a problem. It shouldn’t be a problem for the average US citizen working overseas either. We’ll just have to pay the same amount of taxes whether we work in the US or overseas. I’m an accomplished tax xheat so let me know if you need any help.
