American Passport/Registration for baby

carang said:
thank God i'm not american! too many taxes for my liking... much better to be canadian.... a LOT of tax, but if you're not resident, you don't have to pay it! ;)
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Indeed :) Especially when one gets used to HK 16% tax, it can sometimes be difficult to go 'home' where your disposable income is significantly reduced (not to mention no helper, and paying the nanny USD30k a year).
 
Obiwan said:
Agree, make sense! So when your children turn 18, do they have to pick one citizenship, i.e. renounce the other?
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They can keep the US without a problem (as long as the IRS is being paid), and the Dutch law is rather vague. Especially since we're both Dutch, how could they take Dutch citizenship away. But there have been a lot of confusing cases with immigrants, etc. so that's why things are a little unclear, I think they should be able to keep both.
 
well we have been going back to US every year since my husband has left the country... last time we spent a month there and one year he spent 3 months there and no prob... I talked to him about this too cuz I just know that americans need to pay US tax even living overseas when I was watching it on Money Magazine on Pearl... but he said no prob and his friends don't file too... :( I am confused.
 
gladyswly said:
well we have been going back to US every year since my husband has left the country... last time we spent a month there and one year he spent 3 months there and no prob... I talked to him about this too cuz I just know that americans need to pay US tax even living overseas when I was watching it on Money Magazine on Pearl... but he said no prob and his friends don't file too... :( I am confused.
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Think in general it is a gamble. If the IRS discovers that taxes are not being paid, there will be a long string of investigation that can be very troublesome. Hence, most will not mess with the IRS and will file and pay tax accordingly.
 
Since u guys are living outside the States, there's a tax exclusion. U need to file but no need to pay if you make US$ 90K per year. If you make anything more than that, then u need to pay the US Tax. I think the IRS only try to get the ones who are like bankers and lawyers. As long as you are not in these categories, I don't think they will bother you.

Also if you don't pay, when u go back to the States. Don't expect to get any Social Sec. or medicial.
 
well.. a bit shame to tell but my husband doesn't make that much of the money, maybe that's why we are not caught yet!

We never expect anything from the US government anyway, Social Security would be given all out way before my husband is qualified for that, this system is retarted. Medical benefit? Is there any in the states? lol.
 
Yup, the first USD90k (or is it USD80k) is tax exempt. If it works out that your husband doesn't have any tax due, wouldn't it make better sense to file? Unless you are preparing for the future where there is net taxable income ....

It is hard for the government to be after every American, but if one is investigated, it's just very troublesome, in my opinion, not worth taking the risk :) Trust me, there are many moments I am tempted to not declare/under declare, but I always chicken out and be a law abiding citizen.
 
obiwan, think about the lessons that you are teaching your children... good for you!

i'm the same way... i have two businesses. most of the income from one of them is cash-in-hand. hubby has on occasion said that i don't have to declare all of it... but i do, everytime.
 
to OP:
I got both passports for my son. the deadline for US citizenship is 18 yrs old but i wanted to bring my son back to the US w/o getting a visa. and wanted the return home card so easier for him to travel to China. Can have both. just not legally. no one really checks (there are still a lot of HK citizens with 2 passports). when he turns 18, he can decide on his own what he wants to do. but for now, he is free to travel to most parts of the world.

for taxes, i pay US taxes and will report my son on IRS forms. price to pay for being US citizen. when he earns income though, whether he pays taxes or not depends on what he uses when working. if he works in HK as HK citizen, no one is going to check (a lot of HK/US citizens don't pay US taxes) if he is also US citizen. grey area. after all, sadly there are kids who just don't work.

for the poster whose husband never paid taxes. i don't think the IRS will catch him. the reason is he never filed taxes as an adult so no reason to investigate him. as i said earlier, there are people who just don't work. but technically, no matter how much he earns (unless under 11k USD), he has to report even if he doesn't owe taxes. also he is supposed to report his bank account info (people tend to forget this part and focus on income). so if his bank account is based on his US passport, he may be screwed.
 
Thanks mwong222. We have decided to hold off getting her the American passport. Don't want her to have any tax liability until such time (before 18) that she decides she wants to be an American.

I'm afraid it's not a grey area. Regardless of where an American works, the law is clear that he/she is subject to global taxation. How one interprets the law, and does with it, is individual's choices, but the law is clear. What one would hope in cases where income is not reported, is that the government never finds out. And you are right that it would be very difficult for the IRS to track every oversea American. They are making a serious effort though ... BBG article below on HK government cooperating in this regard. Yes they are targeting high income individuals.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/newspid=newsarchive&sid=aoY9mGd1juOY

And of course it's another discussion on whether one should be fulfilling our duty as citizens (American or otherwise) to declare our taxable income honestly. That boils down to individual's integrity, but the law is clear - you need to declare your income.
 
Does one really want to be a Chinese citizen (which, in effect, you are when you travel on a HK passport with the multiple re-entry visa for HK citizens) when travelling in China? There are numerous cases of foreigners - including HK citizens - who are incarcerated for various "business" disputes indefinitely until their "debts" are repaid. These people can even receive visitors from family and friends at their places of detention but the central and provincial governments do not even acknowledge their existence! The Hong Kong government has been powerless in negotiating for their freedom, because they have waived their right for consular representation when they entered China! This is not a joke. You're pretty much on your own if you're travelling on the HK passport. Our family only uses it when travelling in and out of Hong Kong. Until these "missing persons" cases are resolved, we'd rather travel on a foreign passport to China!
 
that is the exact reason we have not applied for a hk passport for our kids. my (local) husband has said that he really doesn't want them to get a passport... they already have PR in hk, so there's no real need to get the passport... they will only ever enter/exit china on a canadian passport
 
Back to Obiwan's original question, you don't HAVE to obtain the baby's passport or social security card right away (although you might like the latter if you want to claim a US tax exemption), but you can. The passport you would only obtain if you wish to travel on the US passport. However, you cannot apply for either until you have registered the child at the US Consulate and obtained a "Consular Report of Birth Abroad".

One other benefit of a US citizenship that is very meaningful to my Korean-born friends - evacuation. The US embassy will evacuate US citizens for free, but non-citizen family are chargeable at US$65,000 (if I remember correctly). I know it's not what most of us thinks about! :)
 
Thanks yonge. I understand that registration can be done before the child is 18 years old.

From the US Consulate:

Your Baby's Passport, Report of Birth and Social Security Number

Congratulations on your child's birth!
Your new baby needs a first passport, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (similar to a birth certificate) and a Social Security number. On this page we'll tell you what you need to do to get all three items.

When Do I Need to Start?
It is important to start this process as soon as possible after your child is born. In the case of urgent, unexpected travel, your child will need a passport. In addition, you may need to secure a visa for your child, which also requires a passport. Hong Kong local law requires that your child be registered locally within 42 days of birth (see "Registering a Birth" - Immigration Services, the Government of the Hong Kong SAR). Once this is done, the only U.S. deadline for completing this process is before your child's 18th birthday.

On evacuation, it is interesting to find out that during the Phuket Tsunami, Americans were evacuated later than the Chinese/Hong Kong citizens. You are right though, we are holding different passports from our child, in the event of evacuation, it'll be troublesome. AMEX will cover the cost though ... (just thinking aloud here)
 
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