So, was the Tom Petty reference planned from the start, or did it just slide nicely into that segment of the article? Made me do a double-take.
Here’s more on Kyle Canty, an American denied refugee status in Canada earlier this year: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/black-us-citizen-kyle-lydell-canty-denied-refugee-status-in-canada-1.3396511
My comment as a refugee lawyer (and this is based on that article, rather than the board’s decision, which I haven’t read):
“However, he said Canty had not personally had experiences with police that “resulted in assault, excessive detention or lack of due process.””
This isn’t a good enough reason for refusal. It’s not required that a refugee have personally experienced persecution; the assessment is a forward-looking one, so the proper question is whether there’s a reasonable likelihood that he will experience persecution. It would be quite appropriate to take into consideration the fact that other persons similarly situated (i.e., young black men) face persecution on those grounds.
Canty would still have problems if he wasn’t able to show that such persecution was either a deliberate policy or was condoned by the authorities (such that there was impunity for perpetrators), or that there was no part of the US that he could relocate to where he wouldn’t be at risk.
Canadian-US politics also features into this, of course.
My personal preference as an expatriate would be Belize, Panamanian, or Ireland.
There is an excellent book on the subject https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Out-Leaving-Expanded-Self-reliance/dp/1934170291
If there is one reason for voting for Trump, though, it is to see how silly the overwrought liberal establishment looks when none of their imagined horrors come to pass. Not a good enough reason to make me vote for him, mind, but still – watching the Left head for their fainting couches every time Trump opens his mouth is one of the most amusing things I have ever seen.
Since we’re throwing remote possibilities around, here’s another: outright secession of states hostile to an American fascist. Of course there could be those who might want to secede from California, too, but that’s what I envision if a right wing ideologue actually tries to create an American Nazi party. Taking over this country completely would be damned hard for even the cleverest of tyrants. It would much more likely end in the dissolution of the United States.
That’s a good point. Refugees could plan on moving to a different state: [fantasy] Trump rejects election results. Arizona recognizes Trump as true president and attempts to take control of Luke Air Force Base. Federal forces resist. Left-wing refugees flee to California and Nevada [/fantasy]
Just a reminder to everyone that it rains everyday in Oregon, all day long … wet, muddy, grey … just an awful place to live … if you don’t have a boat you’ll be housebound ten months a year … every the bars close down at 6pm Saturday nights … and you can’t buy booze on Sundays … standing water everyplace … eco-freak vegans ragging on your rayon … even the Syrians are asking to go back home …
ETA: Cell phone coverage quits about ten miles from I-5 … landline service gives out at around 30 miles …
I don’t know if you’ve missed this, but it’s not just the liberal establishment that’s crapping itself over the idea of a Trump presidency. A big chunk of the conservative establishment is also soiling it’s undies. You see the recent report on a number of Republican candidates who are threatening libel suits against Democrats for running adds linking them to their party’s candidate for president?
It should have been mentioned in the column that the US along with Eritrea are the only two countries in the world were you are required to file and possibly pay taxes on your worldwide income no matter where it is that you live. So if you move to Canada, you still have to file your taxes every year and pay them if the amount you pay to Canada is less than the US thinks you should pay. International taxation - Wikipedia
Additionally, if you have more than $10000 total in foreign bank accounts (fairly reasonable if you are actually living in a foreign country) then you are required to tell the US about it. This last requirement is one that has also been forced on foreign banks which is why many now refuse to let you open a bank account if they now you are a US citizen.
So not only do you have leave the country, you have to renounce your citizenship if you really feel that you don’t want to support its government.
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But only if you earned over a certain amount (approx $100,000) to begin with. I’ve worked abroad for 16 years, and never had to tell the US how much I’m paying in taxes here, because my income isn’t anywhere near that threshold.
Where are you getting your tax advice? I’ve never seen an exemption “overseas resident doesn’t have to fill out tax return if earns less than $100,000 USD” and I’ve been doing it for a lot longer than 16 years.
That’s not what I said. See the bolded part of the text I quoted (I bolded it for a reason).
My income isn’t anywhere near that threshold, but if I want to claim my Australian tax against my American tax liability, I have to report it.
According to the IRS, if you make over a certain amount in income you are required to file regardless whether taxes are due or not. From the IRS page specifically detailing the requirements for those living abroad:
And the table that it refers to shows that the lowest level of income that allows you not to file is $4000 and even that is superseded if you are self-employed and made over $400.
Any reputable tax advisor will tell you that it is a mistake not to file, even if nothing is due. I also make less than $100000 a year and I file every year though it is costly to do so because I need an accountant to figure it all out. Additionally the reporting of foreign accounts having $10000 at any time during the year is not dependent on your income level at all.
Because of the hoops that people living abroad have to go through especially with new laws in that regard that the number of people renouncing their US citizenship has gone up (link). And this was before there were any worries about the outcome of the election.
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Again, I didn’t say you don’t have to file. But if you earn below $100K (and meet a couple other criteria) you can file form 2555-EZ, on which you report your income but not the amount of foreign tax you paid. If you paid 0 in tax on your foreign earnings you still don’t have to pay taxes to the IRS.
So if you move to Canada, [or Australia] you still have to file your taxes every year and pay them if the amount you pay to Canada [or Australia] is less than the US thinks you should pay.
Really, I don’t know what the situation would be if I paid zero tax on my Australian Earnings. But I do pay Australian tax, and I have to declare it to the IRS, or else I would also have to pay American tax.
I apologize for thinking that you meant that you did not need to file. I see that was not the wording that you used. At the same time, it depends on your situation whether you use the foreign exclusion credit or not. One thing using it prevents you from doing is putting money into an IRA which can only be done with money that is not excluded. Also using the exclusion is something that has to be used continuously. If you decide one year not to use it, then you can’t use it again for another 5 years.
In any case, given that the US tax laws are overly complicated, the point still stands, if you really want to divest yourself of obligations to the country, then you have to renounce your citizenship. Other countries won’t require to you to file taxes regardless of your income level while you are not a resident.
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I don’t see anything on the 2555-EZ that says you can’t file it if you live in Canada or Australia.
I think you’ve gotten something very confused here. The 2555-EZ has nothing to do with how much tax you pay in your country of residence. It has to do with how much money you earn in that country.
At present I live in the UK and I earn less than the equivalent of $100,000 (especially now that the exchange rate is so low). So I fill out the 2555-EX, write down how much money I earned in the UK, compare it to the amount exempt from US taxation, and note that “money earned” is less than “exemption amount” which means taxable income is $0.
Then I fill the back of my 1040 with zeroes, which is always fun. But I still have to fill it out, zeroes or no.
OK, this is the scuttle butt; the IRS is seriously un-staffed by not enough employees, right now, they can’t keep up with the tax work. the most likely folk to be audited are—those who work for themselves, small-time. YOU guys get punished, audited the most.
Here is another facto; during the 1960’s, in Eugene, OR, a local man started a group “Tax Payer’s Protective Assn.” WAS THAT LEGAL? YES. However, the IRS did not see it that way. To punish them, the founder of the group had his taxes audited.(He worked for himself.) the IRS claimed that he cheated on his taxes, (never showed anyone the proof) and stuck the group’s founder in prison without an end date.End of that GROUP! FOREVER! There is no report of the founder ever getting out of prison.
Conservative groups got audited, unfairly, because they were conservative.YES, THEY , the IRS CAN DO IT. BUT–its not “legal.”–unless you think the IRS can do no wrong. hah. They do pick on and persecute groups they do not like. TRY to have a professional do your taxes, if you work for yourself, then the accountant gets blamed for errors.