As far as I am aware, the US government taxes US citizens resident in foreign countries on their earnings outside the US, even when they pay local taxes, a practice some consider so egregious that they renounce their US citizenship. It would take but a few strokes of a pen to treat US corporations similarly.
There would be no escape. I think the clouds are gathering for large corporations internationally and there will at some point be agreements that do away with the absolute rorts that are currently going on.
My brother is a US citizen living in Sweden. He does have to pay U.S. taxes, but Swedish taxes are deducted from it. So you only wind up paying the highest amount you would have paid in either place. At least according to him. And if that's all accurate, the only people for whom it would be practical to renounce U.S. citizenship are those who live in countries which have a lower tax rate than the U.S.
My brother is a US citizen living in Sweden. He does have to pay U.S. taxes, but Swedish taxes are deducted from it. So you only wind up paying the highest amount you would have paid in either place. At least according to him. And if that's all accurate, the only people for whom it would be practical to renounce U.S. citizenship are those who live in countries which have a lower tax rate than the U.S.
Yup, she's been living in Switzerland for 20 years according to an embassy spokeman. I did not know that.
"The key word in the embassy report apparently is the term “relinquishment.” That means, a knowledgeable source told us, that she did not “formally renounce her U.S. citizenship under 349(a)(5) Immigration and Nationality Act, but took Swiss citizenship with the intent to lose her U.S. citizenship.” As opposed to formal renunciation — a much more complex process, we were told — there are no “tax or other penalties for loss of citizenship in this fashion.”
My brother is a US citizen living in Sweden. He does have to pay U.S. taxes, but Swedish taxes are deducted from it. So you only wind up paying the highest amount you would have paid in either place. At least according to him. And if that's all accurate, the only people for whom it would be practical to renounce U.S. citizenship are those who live in countries which have a lower tax rate than the U.S.
That is true, however, you can get slugged badly if the US rate for a particular tax is high:
Quote:
London mayor bends to IRS, settles U.S. tax dispute
Barely even worth having a thread about tax on this forum, just take a trip down to the pound and watch the rabid dogs try and eat their own shoulders. Same effect.
Exactly. Apple was following Ireland Tax Laws. Laws used to get company's like Apple to do business in their country. If the EU thinks this is somehow unfair and should get back taxes, well I say that's on Ireland to pay them!! After all it's was THEIR LAWS Apple was following. Apple paid out what was required under their law. Trying to get back taxes now is a load of crap.
The kicker is the EU membership that Ireland holds comes with that sort of subservience to the EU rules. Which apparently include something about "level playing field" that such tax regulations have run up against.
So Ireland is fighting it first and Apple and such will be right there appealing as well.
Yes. Europe has the same people (and more of them), the same excellent ariable land/natural resources, and the same massive amounts of money/capital as the US. So the fact that they're not ahead must be because of bad policy.
Yes. Europe has the same people (and more of them), the same excellent ariable land/natural resources, and the same massive amounts of money/capital as the US. So the fact that they're not ahead must be because of bad policy.
What do you mean "not ahead"? The GDP for the EU is comparable to the USA. Per capita it lags a little, but the EU has been accepting memberships for new, poorer countries from the former Soviet bloc, so those areas are still catching up.
What do you mean "not ahead"? The GDP for the EU is comparable to the USA. Per capita it lags a little, but the EU has been accepting memberships for new, poorer countries from the former Soviet bloc, so those areas are still catching up.
Yes, I was talking about GDP per capita, but yes if a lot of poorer countries have been integrated lately that could explain it. Hopefully joining the free trade bloc will help to improve their standard of living.
My brother is a US citizen living in Sweden. He does have to pay U.S. taxes, but Swedish taxes are deducted from it. So you only wind up paying the highest amount you would have paid in either place. At least according to him. And if that's all accurate, the only people for whom it would be practical to renounce U.S. citizenship are those who live in countries which have a lower tax rate than the U.S.
It's a little more complicated and less pleasant for expatriates than that due to some of the more recent policies on reporting. Any international firm will have accounting resources. Individuals have to track exchange things such as exchange rates on the days that funds were received, and the paperwork is more complicated than something like a 1040 and a few itemized schedules. People do sometimes renounce citizenship over tax matters. At the low end it could easily be due to the cost tax preparation and exchange rate volatility rather than the tax itself.
Comments
As far as I am aware, the US government taxes US citizens resident in foreign countries on their earnings outside the US, even when they pay local taxes, a practice some consider so egregious that they renounce their US citizenship. It would take but a few strokes of a pen to treat US corporations similarly.
There would be no escape. I think the clouds are gathering for large corporations internationally and there will at some point be agreements that do away with the absolute rorts that are currently going on.
My brother is a US citizen living in Sweden. He does have to pay U.S. taxes, but Swedish taxes are deducted from it. So you only wind up paying the highest amount you would have paid in either place. At least according to him. And if that's all accurate, the only people for whom it would be practical to renounce U.S. citizenship are those who live in countries which have a lower tax rate than the U.S.
See: Tina Turner
Yup, she's been living in Switzerland for 20 years according to an embassy spokeman. I did not know that.
"The key word in the embassy report apparently is the term “relinquishment.” That means, a knowledgeable source told us, that she did not “formally renounce her U.S. citizenship under 349(a)(5) Immigration and Nationality Act, but took Swiss citizenship with the intent to lose her U.S. citizenship.” As opposed to formal renunciation — a much more complex process, we were told — there are no “tax or other penalties for loss of citizenship in this fashion.”
My brother is a US citizen living in Sweden. He does have to pay U.S. taxes, but Swedish taxes are deducted from it. So you only wind up paying the highest amount you would have paid in either place. At least according to him. And if that's all accurate, the only people for whom it would be practical to renounce U.S. citizenship are those who live in countries which have a lower tax rate than the U.S.
That is true, however, you can get slugged badly if the US rate for a particular tax is high:
http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/22/pf/taxes/boris-johnson-london-mayor-us-tax/index.html
Barely even worth having a thread about tax on this forum, just take a trip down to the pound and watch the rabid dogs try and eat their own shoulders. Same effect.
Exactly. Apple was following Ireland Tax Laws. Laws used to get company's like Apple to do business in their country. If the EU thinks this is somehow unfair and should get back taxes, well I say that's on Ireland to pay them!! After all it's was THEIR LAWS Apple was following. Apple paid out what was required under their law. Trying to get back taxes now is a load of crap.
The kicker is the EU membership that Ireland holds comes with that sort of subservience to the EU rules. Which apparently include something about "level playing field" that such tax regulations have run up against.
So Ireland is fighting it first and Apple and such will be right there appealing as well.
What in the world? "European names"?
Yes. Europe has the same people (and more of them), the same excellent ariable land/natural resources, and the same massive amounts of money/capital as the US. So the fact that they're not ahead must be because of bad policy.
Yes. Europe has the same people (and more of them), the same excellent ariable land/natural resources, and the same massive amounts of money/capital as the US. So the fact that they're not ahead must be because of bad policy.
What do you mean "not ahead"? The GDP for the EU is comparable to the USA. Per capita it lags a little, but the EU has been accepting memberships for new, poorer countries from the former Soviet bloc, so those areas are still catching up.
A quick glance at the list of the world's biggest companies by revenue (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_companies_by_revenue) shows that a healthy number (6 of the top 20, 7 if you include Switzerland) of them are EU based.
So I'm not sure what you mean?
The idea that asking companies to pay tax on a level playing field is a bad policy... I just.... what?
What do you mean "not ahead"? The GDP for the EU is comparable to the USA. Per capita it lags a little, but the EU has been accepting memberships for new, poorer countries from the former Soviet bloc, so those areas are still catching up.
Yes, I was talking about GDP per capita, but yes if a lot of poorer countries have been integrated lately that could explain it. Hopefully joining the free trade bloc will help to improve their standard of living.
^ It has, significantly: http://www.cbs.nl/en-GB/menu/themas/dossiers/eu/publicaties/archief/2013/2013-3825-wm.htm
My brother is a US citizen living in Sweden. He does have to pay U.S. taxes, but Swedish taxes are deducted from it. So you only wind up paying the highest amount you would have paid in either place. At least according to him. And if that's all accurate, the only people for whom it would be practical to renounce U.S. citizenship are those who live in countries which have a lower tax rate than the U.S.
It's a little more complicated and less pleasant for expatriates than that due to some of the more recent policies on reporting. Any international firm will have accounting resources. Individuals have to track exchange things such as exchange rates on the days that funds were received, and the paperwork is more complicated than something like a 1040 and a few itemized schedules. People do sometimes renounce citizenship over tax matters. At the low end it could easily be due to the cost tax preparation and exchange rate volatility rather than the tax itself.