Re: For Americans Abroad, Taxes Just Got More Complicated

[Gloria Sampson <gmsampson@shaw.ca>]

Hi Robert,

I'm not offended.

For people wondering why there might seem to be so many SFU retirees filing US tax returns, here's the reason.  Back in the dark days of the 1960s when protests about the Vietnam war, civil rights, and other topics had cities across the U.S. burning (literally), many clever Canadians department heads went down to U.S. universities like the U of Michigan, Stanford, etc., and actively recruited young Ph.D students who were finishing up their degrees.  We were told we wouldn't have to live in a tumult-filled city, that we'd have excellent medical care, and that we would not have to pay income tax on our salaries for the first two years we worked in Canada.  Also, the starting salaries for brand new assistant professors were $2,000 per year higher than those in the U.S.  Too, a husband with a Ph.D and a wife with a Ph.D could both get academic appointments at the same university--this was not allowed in the U.S.

The result of all this recruiting by sharp Canadians who were building up new departments was an enormous influx of young academics from the States.  When I went to the U.S. consulate here in Vancouver many years ago to see how to be a Canadian citizen only and not a U.S. citizen, I was bluntly told that once you are a U.S citizen you cannot renounce your citizenship and if I became a Canadian citizen it would not be recognized.  Later, I encountered people who had moved from the States to Canada, became Canadians, tried to travel, and they had enormous problems trying to cross the border.  

Recently I was reading St. Augustine's, "City of God."  I'm not sure he ever set foot in Rome (he lived in north Africa), but his dad was a Roman and his mother was Nubian.  The Romans have claimed him for the past 1800 years.  I'm sure he paid taxes to Rome.

Sincerely,
Gloria Sampson, Retired Prof.


On 2012-04-18, at 10:22 AM, Robert Spratt wrote:

> Without intending offense to anyone let me just state that;
> 
> I am not now nor have I ever been a member of the US citizenry, so help me
> god!
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gloria Sampson [mailto:gmsampson@shaw.ca] 
> Sent: 17-Apr-12 16:23
> To: David Ryeburn
> Cc: retirees-forum
> Subject: Re: For Americans Abroad, Taxes Just Got More Complicated
> 
> Hi Fellow Retirees,
> 
> One new thing my accountant at Deloitte told me to do when she talked to me
> about my U.S. tax filing is to close down my tax-free savings account here
> in Canada.  While it is tax-free here, the U.S. is generally taking these
> accounts to be something called "trusts" and apparently they are taxed at
> some huge rate.  My accountant said the safest thing to do is to simply put
> the money in a regular savings account.
> 
> The U.S. is going after citizens living abroad simply to collect money
> because of the massive U.S. deficit.  
> 
> Sincerely,
> Gloria Sampson
> 
>