US Citizen living abroad? Prepare to take it in the shorts

[PatGund]

Thanks to Sen. Charles Grassley, (R) Iowa, we expats are looking at the biggest tax increase in 30 years on our income.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/12/news/expats.php

"But many Americans abroad protest that it unfairly targets them. The joint committee on taxation in the U.S. Congress estimated that the new measures would add a new tax burden of $200 million a year for the 4.1 million Americans - excluding military personnel and foreign service officers - living outside the United States.

John Fredenberger, an American tax lawyer living in France, said that the measures would make hiring American workers more expensive and risked undermining the competitiveness of American multinationals at a time when the weakness of the dollar against the euro was already reducing the purchasing power of Americans working abroad who get paid in dollars.

The United States is the only developed country in the world that continues to impose worldwide income tax on its citizens working overseas. Tax experts say that new taxes on Americans working abroad could prompt U.S. companies to start hiring employees from places such as Britain and Canada, while provoking American executives in Europe and Asia to return home."

[MADem]

1. And what's the Euro at now? A buck thirty eight???

If you're relying on a US based pension or annuity for all or a portion of your income, it's gonna be even harder out there.

[cliss]

2. Expatriat Americans are going to get hit

in more ways than one.

#1: if Americans are receiving pay checks, government payments like retirement, Social Security, transfer payments, all of this is denominated in US dollars. As the dollar goes down in value, this check is now worth less. A lot less. This is going to present a big hardship for a lot of Americans living abroad. Taxes are going to go up.

#2: for US travelers in Europe and other places, it's going to be the same thing. Our US dollars buy less over there. It costs more to buy the same things that cost less 1 year ago.

The more the dollar drops, the worse it becomes.