Expat Obligations

In last week’s discussion we ventured into the area of expat voting, which got us thinking more deeply about it.


Toni:

According to British electoral laws, voters who have lived outside of the country for more than 15 years automatically lose their right to vote in British elections. If you’ve been popping back and forth in those 15 years, you remain eligible to vote in the last place you were registered.

I’ve now lived in the States for 21 years (gulp) and although I consider myself English through and through, I have no problem with this law. I don’t pay taxes in the country, and although I try to keep up with national politics, I am not as informed as I would be if I were voting there. Plus, I don’t think I should be allowed to stick my nose in on affairs that no longer directly affect me. Some countries require all citizens to vote no matter how long they have been out of the country. An interesting one that.

As an American citizen however, I have to file a US income tax return on my global income forever and ever, no matter where I live. Additionally, it’s against the law to give up your US citizenship in order to avoid those taxes. (I wonder how they’d know, but we won’t go there.) To be fair, through tax treaties with other countries, double taxation can be avoided by allowing credits for foreign income taxes paid while living outside the USA, but you must file a US return to claim these credits. Sounds like a government job creation scheme to me; why can’t they just let you off your taxes if you’re domiciled somewhere else?
 

Mike:

It always surprises native Brits when I tell them I have to file a US tax return on the money I earned in the UK. To tell the truth, it came as a bit of a shock to me, as well, but over the years I have come to accept it as simply one of the privileges of being a US citizen.

First, and foremost, the deduction is designed to be large enough to keep people like me from having to pay anything. It I were a multi-millionaire, I might feel differently (or pay my accountants to build a tax shelter) but as a work-a-day sort of guy, the only disadvantage is the yearly headache of filling out all those forms.

As for advantages, it keeps me in practice for dealing with US Bureaucracies—something you don’t want to take on without basic preparation—and it reminds them that I am here, so when my turn to suckle at the dwindling Social Security teat rolls around, they will, hopefully, recall that I have been dutifully filing my tax returns all these years and not forget to send the few remaining drops I am entitles to my way.

Also, it assures my right to vote; I pay taxes, therefore I vote.

I was taken aback by the fact that Brits are not allowed to vote after being out of the country for 15 years, but in thinking it over, it makes sense. We don’t actually vote in a national election here, we just vote for our local representative and, if that party gets the majority, they get to elect the Prime Minister. If that were the case in the States, I don’t think I would feel qualified to vote. The mayor of the town I used to live in, the head of the county I left behind, the governor of the state I was all too happy to leave have no effect on me over here, and I therefore have no right to vote for them. The President of the US, however, is another matter, and I look forward to my absentee ballot every four years.

So, in my view, the worst thing that could happen is that I start making enough money to go over the deduction amount and have to start paying US taxes on the excess. And if that is the worst that can happen, may it happen soon.




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Absentee voting

Given the recent UK election, we discuss voting as an expat.

Mike:

America. Home of the free. Land of my fathers (well, father, anyway; grandpa was born in Lancashire). My rock. My anchor. My bolthole if things go really tits up. My primary source of retirement income. And you ask if I still vote in that country?

Bet your sweet fanny (sorry, British readers) I do!

As a dual citizen—or more specifically, an American who does not live in America—I am allowed to vote. I if had maintained my previous residence, I could have voted, not only for President, but for my senators, representatives, county executive, local sheriff and village dog-catcher, as well. But having moved permanently to Britain, I have forfeited my local constituencies and can only vote in the Presidential election every four years. And that’s a pity, because I would feel like I was getting more for my money if I could vote more.

I vote because I was brought up to believe voting is not a right, or a privilege, but a duty. I vote because I still love my country and want to feel connected. I vote because I have a vested interest in America. I vote because I feel it matters.

But primarily I vote because I don’t want them to forget me. Oh, they remember me well enough when tax time rolls around (yes, I continue to file a US tax return every year) but when it comes time to start giving some of that money back, I want them to know I am still an active, registered voter. Because, believe it or not, that does matter.

So I continue to vote, tugged on by a combination of civic duty, pride, homesickness and self interest. And I would be surprised if a lot of other expats didn’t feel the same way.


Toni:

How funny – I feel exactly the opposite. Actually, I can’t vote in the UK any more because I haven’t been registered to vote in the last 15 years; but even if I could, I’m not sure I feel right about sticking my nose in after all these years. I mean I haven’t lived there for twenty years, and I don’t pay taxes there. What right do I have then to tell resident Brits how to run the country?

If I’m being truly honest, it’s hard enough to keep up with the various political parties and their plans in the USA. Oh wait, that’s probably because they never actually tell you straight what they’re plans are, and a lot of them are prone to changing their minds and even changing parties.

But back to the UK. If anyone challenged me about voting when I didn’t have to live with the consequences, my response would probably be “Fair point.” To me it would be like trying to influence the curriculum of my old school. I may care passionately about the future of the girls still there, (okay, okay, I’m being hypothetical) but it wouldn’t really be appropriate for me to go back and try to change things.

Like Mike and many others, I believe we all have a duty to vote, especially if we feel the urge to complain about things every now and then. However, I also believe that to vote, you should educate yourself on the issues and take the trouble to find out what the various options on offer really mean. I also feel that voters should have a vested interest in the outcome and technically, I'm not sure I have that. Not wanting to vote doesn’t mean that I don’t care. I go back to England as often as three school kids and their schedules allow; who knows, I may even live there again some day, but until then, I’ll vote in the US where it affects me on a day to day basis.


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