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Thats a great idea—just let the Brutalizing class take everything you have —-be a good little slave while they send your children to die in illegal foreign wars
Waggoner–you are a Genius
[quote=”waggoner41″][quote=”gzeniou”]Perhaps I am way off on this? but I’m sure there gotta be some way to get around it.[/quote]Sure, there [b]IS[/b] an easy way around this new law. Do your banking in tne U.S. and pay the taxes that you owe.
The intent of the law is simple. It is intended to stop those who are illegally avoiding paying taxes due the government. If you are within the old law you have no worries. If your actions are to avoid paying legitimate taxes you have a problem.[/quote]
[quote=”maravilla”]hahahaha — that’s funny. will we have to goosestep too?[/quote]
I agree that things in the USA arent what we want them to be, but disagree it is the country for corporations. Most corporations make less here than overseas. Those who claim the US tax rates are low for high earning individuals and corporations ignore the fact the US is one of two governments who tax income earned outside the US. So the next wave of departures you will see is Corporations moving their HQ and tax domicile to other locations. The consumer driven economy is tapped out in the US and with a low population growth rate, demand is weak and going to stay so for some time. Jobs were moved out of the USA and now Corporations will move next, how is the government going to feed its insatiable demand for more money? Borrow more from the Chinese, a short term strategy at best. Long term, military spending must be cut. I know the US has fewer entitlements than many countries but do not know how our spending as a $ of GDP stacks up. I believe much higher spending on medical services is a fundamental reason for the lower US standard of living. I think the difference is not a single payer system. I think we have access for more services for those who can afford it than most countries. My mother in law just had knee replacement surgery paid by medicare. I suspect it will run over $200k once PT is complete. So rationing medical services is what I suspect will be required to lower spending to the levels of other countries. I believe lawyers are a big difference in cost of living here. We have 7 times the nos of lawyers per capita as Japan. I Believe that is too many. Manufacturin jobs bring significant money into the country and help standard of living but those are almost gone except for oil, which will soon be gone too.
The truth about our situation is undeniable but the solutions are not as clear as some suggest… Meanwhile, CR sounds like the place to be.
“So the next wave of departures you will see is Corporations moving their HQ and tax domicile to other locations.”
that’s been going on for years, with corporations setting up shop and subsidiaries in the bahamas, the caymans, or bermuda to avoid paying US taxes. as for medical services, if you have enough moolah, you can get the best medical care almost anywhere in the world except maybe Bangladesh.
[quote=”mindfulobserver”]Thats a great idea—just let the Brutalizing class take everything you have —-be a good little slave while they send your children to die in illegal foreign wars
Waggoner–you are a Genius[/quote]Since The Shrub is no longer in office I did not have world domination in mind and being [b]mindful[/b] we should [b]observe[/b] who it was that initiated a unilateral war in Iraq and who is currently moving us out of Afghanistan.
Like you, I have a problerm with the ultra conservative idea of world domination and find it hard to justify any unilateral interference by the U.S. since the 1950’s with the possible exception of Grenada.
Ho Chi Minh asked the U.S. to help expel the French from Indochina in the 1940’s and we refused and then decided to fight him once the mission was accomplished.
The war in Afghanistan was justified and against the organization that attacked the U.S. and those who provided aid and comfort. It was also totally screwed up for seven years.
The unilateral decision to invade Iraq was not justified and was initiated by the same group of idiots who do not remember history and made the same mistakes that the British made. The cobbled together “nation” of Iraq will never hold together without a strongman and will revert to oppression of one group or another as soon as we remove our presence. The best thing that could happen to Iraq is to divide it into it’s various factions as seperate nations.
You and I probably have more in common than your short rant would suggest. I did not have in mind that taxes be used to continue as the U.S. has. We have enough problems at home that need to be addressed. In order to solve the current problems created by the previous administration will initially take trillions of $$$ that will be recovered in the long haul but we cant leave it to our children to resolve.
If you think that my life in Costa Rica puts me out of concern regarding what is in the future of the U.S., it doesn’t. I have a large family, children, grandchildren and great grands living in the States and you had better bet I am concerned.
[b]Sorry, Scott.[/b] With me poltics just happens. What goes on in the States affects us all no matter where we are.
[quote=”Johnhw2″] The consumer driven economy is tapped out in the US and with a low population growth rate, demand is weak and going to stay so for some time.[/quote]
The true unemployment rate is said to be something over 25%. The consumer driven economy isn’t tapped out, it is underemployed. What is to be done to bring jobs back to the U.S.? Lowering wages doesn’t bring back consumers, they just buy what China sells, cheap products not worth the price.
[quote=”Johnhw2″]The truth about our situation is undeniable but the solutions are not as clear as some suggest… Meanwhile, CR sounds like the place to be.[/quote]
Clarity and leadership come from Washington, D.C. and can only be found by getting rid of the radical fringe idealists that are being elected. If moderate men capable of compromise are not elected you can kiss 1st world standing goodbye.
Everything in the States affects everywhere in the world. What we have going for us here is a beautiful country with friendly, helpful people.
What happens if you have dual citizenship? My wife is a Tica first and became a U.S. Citizen a year ago. I have dual Citizen because of my wife and my three year old daughter has dual citizenship. By August we will be full time living in Costa Rica. We have jobs lined up and we already have bank accounts set up as well.
What will we have to report? Maybe we should give up our U.S. citizenship if it gets to crazy.[quote=”ticorealtor”]What happens if you have dual citizenship? My wife is a Tica first and became a U.S. Citizen a year ago. I have dual Citizen because of my wife and my three year old daughter has dual citizenship. By August we will be full time living in Costa Rica. We have jobs lined up and we already have bank accounts set up as well.
What will we have to report? Maybe we should give up our U.S. citizenship if it gets to crazy.[/quote]It is legal to have dual citizenship.
Just being married doesn’t get your residency. You have to apply for the cedula (ID card) at Migracion.You can find more definitive information at this commercial site:
[url=http://www.residencyincostarica.com/questions.html]http://www.residencyincostarica.com/questions.html[/url][quote=”waggoner41″]It is legal to have dual citizenship.[/quote]
Thanks but we already are. My question is how is the tax going to affect us. Are we going to have to pay dual taxes? Income tax to Costa Rica and the U.S.?
If so we will seriously be thinking about giving up the U.S. passports.
There’s a lot more to it than just turning in your passports. First, you must understand that any income derived from a U.S. source and taxable under the U.S. IRS Code is subject to that tax regardless of the citizenship, nationality or residency of the recipient. Consider, for example, a Beatles concert. You can rest assured that IRS was there to collect their share before the Fab Four ever saw a penny. The money was earned in the U.S. and it was taxable in the U.S. The very same applies in Canada, by the way.
Second, even if you renounce your U.S. citizenship, you are still legally liable for U.S. federal income taxes for ten years just as if you had continued to be a U.S. citizen. Enforcement may be iffy, but the legal liability remains.
That’s the bad news . . .
The good news is that the IRS Code makes provision for the exclusion from tax liability for around $87,000US of income earned from your own work. So if you, ticorealtor, work as (say) a real estate agent in Costa Rica and have earnings from that work, the first $87k or so is tax free as far as IRS is concerned. You still have to file the tax returns, etc., however.
And that exclusion only applies to [u]earned[/u] income — from your own work. If you invest in something and sell it at a profit, those profits are taxable. They’re not “earned”.
The other good news is that the IRS Code contains a provision for an offset for taxes paid to a foreign taxing authority. This is a much more complicated matter than what I understand and would require the involvement of a U.S. tax professional to pursue. The point is, however, that IRS will cut you some slack if you pay taxes to another country.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]the first $87k or so is tax free as far as IRS is concerned. You still have to file the tax returns, etc., however.[/quote]
If I were earning $87k in Costa Rica…wow!
I can’t even imagine what the Costa Rican tax code looks like. Flat tax? Sliding scale American style? Something to look into just out of curiosity.
[url=http://www.costaricaweb.com/business/cindetaxes.htm]Costa Rican tax code[/url]
I’ve either got to quit reading your posts or find a way to shelve my curiosity.
a. – Persons whose income consists of a fixed salary
Any individual employed in Costa Rica pays a monthly withholding tax rate based on his salary. Employment income (on a monthly basis) of individuals is subject to a progressive tax of 15% as follows:Income up to ?323,000 exempt.
In excess of ?323,000 up to ?485,000 10%.
In excess of ?485,000 15%.Well if this is true than anyone making under 615.69 a month is tax free.
over $615.69 up to $924.49 is taxed 10%
over $924.49 is 15%, that is cheaper than Minnesota where we pay state income tax and fed. Not bad…. I would rather pay the 15 percent verses what we are paying now.
And take a pay cut to work in CR! Not bad![quote=”ticorealtor”]Income up to ?323,000 exempt.
In excess of ?323,000 up to ?485,000 10%.
In excess of ?485,000 15%.Well if this is true than anyone making under 615.69 a month is tax free.
over $615.69 up to $924.49 is taxed 10%
over $924.49 is 15%, that is cheaper than Minnesota where we pay state income tax and fed. Not bad…. I would rather pay the 15 percent verses what we are paying now.
And take a pay cut to work in CR! Not bad![/quote]Consider though that taxes are relative. We put up with roads that are inferior to those in the States as the most obvious difference. Growing up in rural Colorado in the 1950’s I would say the roads here are a step below that and accept it. With limited taxes there are limitations as to what the government is capable of doing.
You just cannot find a life like this anywhere in the States. That is a great incentive to live with what we have.
Law or no law… it would only be law in the US. The US can’t force another sovereign nation to follow its laws.
I think that’s a naive assumption, Todd. There are many ways that the U.S. can, and does, exert its influence over other countries.
What’s more, using reasoning I cannot explain, there certainly are U.S. laws the effect of which extends beyond U.S. borders. If you don’t believe that, just try shooting a U.S. federal law enforcement officer anyplace outside the U.S. Or hijack a U.S. ship or plane in international waters or airspace.
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