Читать книгу Larry's 2016 U.S. Tax Guide 'Supplement' for U.S. Expats, Green Card Holders and Non-Resident Aliens in User Friendly English - Laurence E. 'Larry' - Страница 13

Not too many years ago, one had an unlimited amount that could be excluded under the foreign housing exclusion. Then Senator Chuck Grassley came along and under the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act, limits were imposed, city by city by city, around the world. The maximum amount allowed for verifiable rents, repairs, utilities, insurance, furniture rental and parking costs is no longer unlimited. What? You paid more than you are allowed? Tough luck! You have a limit, now, for the foreign housing exclusion. That exclusion would be the excess of all of these costs over a base amount of approximately $US16,000 – this is based upon an annual cost of living in the U.S. and to be specific, it is $US16,128 for tax year 2015 - that was deemed to be the average annual housing cost for tax payers residing in the U.S. Some people in some jurisdictions needed this exclusion for tax ‘fairness’ as these costs were truly part of their unreimbursed business way of life (mine to aspire to, yet never likely to attain..), part of the requirements going with that highest of levels of the biggest of the big. The tax act of May 2006 killed that…..such is life…..

It is interesting to note that neither bill that either the House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate passed, respectively, included the two items that Senator Charles Grassley, Republican of Iowa included within the conference bill which was then automatically passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by the President. This is a truly sad commentary – we elect legislators who do not read what they vote upon, who rely upon legislative aides who do not have the time to read what is ‘hidden’ into many joint conference committee bills. The rider added to that bill now set limits on the maximum amount that could be excluded, based upon cost of housing, per location; and the graduated income tax, with progressive rates is, for all intents and purposes, inapplicable to those taking advantage of foreign earned income and housing exclusions: that the very first dollar over and above all valid expenses, deductions and exclusions would now be taxed as if the taxpayer were at the 33 percent tax bracket rather than starting out at the lowest 10 percent rate and working up to the higher rates – progressive taxation is now a thing of the past for expats. And, if you lived in a high cost of living/low tax jurisdiction (ie Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai), you, the U.S. expat, could expect to encounter some previously unseen tax problems. It is now 2016 – sadly, nothing has changed in Washington. Do you think any of the 535 Congresspersons or Senators read Hire-FATCA of 2010? Not one! That, my friends, is a very, very sad commentary about American democracy…..