US Expats Renounce Citizenship Over Tax

The number of US expats cutting their ties with their home country had doubled since 2008 because of tax related issues. “The U.S. is unique among industrialized countries in being the only one that taxes its citizens who live and work overseas, in many cases subjecting them to double taxation in both the country they reside in and their country of citizenship.”

Read more from International Living

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UK Expats Lose Pension Appeal

With the appeal rejected by the European Court of Human Rights, expat pensioners who moved to countries without reciprocal agreement might have to wait longer to have their pension augmented. “The expatriate pensioners say they have been fighting ‘tooth and nail’ against the UK government in an eight-year court battle.”

Read more from BBC News

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Expat Grocery List in India

Moving to a different country is challenging on many different levels from finding a home to insurance to finding that certain food you might be craving in the grocery store. Expats in India are finding that to keep their cost down they eat more local Indian food, but they are able to source Western products more and more. “Of course, there are issues such as quality and price which have to be faced. So often, expats are trying to figure out whether to boil the milk or to eat or avoid pork and poultry in summer. Or whether to buy imported items which are often better quality but much higher priced. Sometimes expats have difficulties with language when shopping for greens or fish and meats at local markets. “Language is a barrier but you can still make yourself understood. Most of the counter guys can understand what you are saying if you say it slowly, and have less of that accent,” feels Jennifer Moore, who works for Strategic Links in Chennai. She cooks a lot of Indian food, and shops for spices and vegetables. For seafood, she sometimes goes to local markets, where she likes to bargain to get the right price. Not surprisingly, the challenges of finding grocery for high-flying expats in India have thrown up business opportunities, especially in the metro cities. Roger Langbour was on an assignment at the French Embassy in Delhi in the 1970s, when he decided to stay on after his retirement. ”

Read more from Economic Times

Britain’s Airports Slow Down As Passengers Opt

For “Staycations”

Expats flying in and out of Britain may have found British airports a bit more quiet then usual. BAA has seen a 4.1% drop while Stansted airport has faced a 10% passenger loss since 2008. “The 4.1 per cent drop, announced by BAA, reflected a year in which the recession saw demand for overseas holidays drop and a number of airlines ground planes to save money. Worst hit was Stansted, with 2.3 million drop – representing 10 per cent of total as both Ryanair and easyJet cut back on capacity. Passenger numbers plummeted in the first half of the year, when not only was the economy at its lowest ebb, but weather forecasters were predicting a “barbecue summer”. When the barbecue summer stubbornly refused to appear, there was a surge in bookings in the second half of the year, which slowed down the rate of decline compared to the first six months of 2009.”

Read more from Telegraph

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Expats Expat Look to China

At the end of 2003 there were 90,000 expats living and working in China. Today the number is closer to 220,000 and some estimates guess the number is more like 700,000 when you look at expats working under different visas. The majority of expats are from the USA or Japan. “At the end of 2003, almost 90,000 foreigners had been officially employed in China with legitimate work permits, said Gao Lin, a director at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. According to the latest figures released by the ministry, the number of officially employed foreigners has increased to 217,000 foreigners till the end of last year, an increase of 7,000 persons from 2007. …In recent years, the Japanese and Americans ranked as the top two nations with the largest labor forces in Shanghai, according to Sun Hande, Director of the Shanghai Job Center for Foreigners. While workers from Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries used to fill the third spot, South Korea has since increased its work force presence in China in recent years.”

Read more from Beijing Review

An Expat Tale Hits The Cinema

An expat in Buenos Aires has written an expat tale that has turned into a new premiered movie. Expats around the world can appreciate not only Matt, the writer’s, story, but also his film. “He arrived in BA in 2007 as “I wanted some fresh air in life. I’d been to film school in LA and then got an assistant’s job with quite high stress levels right after that, and I was fed up with going to parties on Saturday nights and talking about who you know, ‘can you get me into this meeting’ or ‘I’m doing better than you’. Los Angeles is a very insular world so I was desperate. After doing a post-grad in writing for screen and television at the University of Southern California (USC), I came here basically to concentrate on my writing career and to escape Los Angeles.” Last Night… is a contender for the title of ultimate expatriate film for several reasons. First, its principle roles are played by foreigners based here permanently — a North American leading man is supported by a Kiwi actor. Second, the driving force is from the UK, thanks to its British director and producer David Labi, and script writer Matt. Some financial backing came from independent sources in the US, and of course the plot revolves around an expatriate who runs into trouble on his final evening in the Argentine capital.”

Read more from Buenos Aires Herald

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Top 10 Expat Friendly Cities

The Huffington Post has released photos of the top 10 expat cities in the world. Could you be an expat moving to or living in one of them? Check out the photos on Huffington Post

Expats, Yes We Complain

Expat in developed and developing countries share complaining in common and it’s not necessarily a bad thing, according to an expat in Hungary. When you settled in as an Expat do you remember your stages of likes and dislikes? “My theory is that this is normal. Most expatriates go through several stages in their relationship with host countries. Initially, apprehension of the unknown is combined with high expectations of the new post and/or the country itself. The second stage is usually the high point: the expatriate having found that settling in was manageable, the country is interesting, the people are friendly, and so, all is well, or at the very least, as good as at home. Stage three is when reality intrudes: irritants surface, there are usually genuine problems of the kind rarely experienced at home, often coupled with professional/job/business related issues, and concerns about the next posting.”

Read more from The Budapest Times

Russian Taxation Creates Woes For Expats

According to a World Bank survey, Russia has been placed 103rd for it complex and vague tax regulations. Expats in Russia feel that this is not only making things difficult on a personal level, but is affecting expat business and investment in the country. The result is businesses and expats alike are being over taxed. “A 2009 study performed by a Big 4 accounting firm and the World Bank placed Russia 103rd in the world ranking for ease of paying taxes. The other study showed that more than half of expat top-managers working in Russia believe that the current tax regime is considerably damaging to the Russian investment climate. Russian tax legislation, after almost two decades of formation, remains ambiguous and provides numerous loopholes. Such circumstances allow local tax authorities to exercise to some extent the budget-creativity approach that basically means exhaustive forced collection of taxes on dubious grounds. The latest most outrageous tax claims are detailed below.”

Read more from The Moscow Times

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Singapore Becomes More Expensive for Expats

Expats in Singapore now live in the 9th most expensive city in Asia. Expats in Singapore have seen the cost of groceries go up as well as housing. Depending on when an expat signed for office space or housing they could be pay upwards of 30% more than their neighbours. “…He said the prices of raw food in particular, such as eggs and fresh milk, have gone up quite considerably in the past 12 months, especially if they are imported from countries like New Zealand and Australia, which have seen their currencies strengthen against the Sing dollar. “Housing rentals, office rentals and the prices of general goods and services have been swinging back and forth a lot over the last couple of years.” This is worrying for companies because they cannot predict costs and plan accordingly, and it hurts Singapore’s competitiveness, he said.” Read more from The Malaysian Insider

RBI Announces Changes For Expat Take Home Salaries

The Reserved Bank of India announced this week that expats in India will be able to take home their entire post-tax salary. This is good for business as it allows companies to create expat packages with more flexibility. “In this regard the Central Bank has changed the regulations under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema). Basically this will help many companies to plan the flexible salary packages of expats without keeping in concern about the forex laws. Amitabh Singh, partner at Ernst & Young said “This is a very positive move from RBI. However, the expatriates have to ensure that they pay proper Indian taxes and any non-compliance will expose those to penal provisions of Indian tax laws and exchange control laws.” According to the current tax provisions, the total amount of salary of the expat employees is taxable in India. Many experts stated that this measure will protect the expats from exchange rate fluctuations.” Read more from The institute of International Trade

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Challenges of Moving Abroad as a Corporate Expat

According to the Epoch Times, recent studies show that there is growing risk to moving employees overseas for long term assignments. For American expat’s it involves the tax complications. While potential expats around the world may not have to deal with tax issues they have seen, like Americans, expat packages decrease. “Employees often expect promotions upon returning from overseas assignments, but studies have shown that it’s not a guarantee. In addition, the global economic recession—a period often associated with cost cutting at companies and family unity for individuals—has lessened the draw of moving abroad. “In terms of expatriation and tax, the United States is one of the only countries in the world that taxes on worldwide income based on citizenship,” said Clarissa Cole, director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, in a recent report. “U.S. citizens working abroad continue to be subject to U.S. income tax, whereas other expatriates have no or limited continuing home-country tax obligations.” …The latest economic upheaval put a dent in the additional benefits of working abroad—including losing touch with family and coworkers, missing outon networking at the home base, and a drastic reduction of financial perks.”

Read more from Epoch Times

Asia in Expats: Cost of Living Increase

Many expats in major Asian cities are starting to feel a pinch as dollar slides. The cost of living has increased especially for expats in Japan. While those expats living in cities like Hong Kong and Singapore have also seen their US dollars not go as far. “Those who have moved to places such as Japan, Singapore, Indonesia and South Korea will require higher cost of living allowances in order to maintain the same purchasing power they had last year, he told AFP. “Japan remains the most expensive location in Asia largely because of the strength of the yen,” said Lee. The dollar recently hit 14-year lows against the Japanese unit.

Read more from AFP

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