CaptHaddock

I looked into this a while back and got comfirmation from Manila office . If your wife lived with you in the USA for 5 years . When you die and she turns 60 she can collect as long as she does not re marry before turning 60 . What percentage she would get I did not get a straight answer . Also I am unclear if she can collect before you die and she reaches retirment age . My understanding is if she worked 40 quarters in the usa she can collect but must reside in the USA if not an amrican citizen ... when she reaches retirment age . Please correct me if im wrong ...

Partly right and partly wrong.

As I explained above, if she lived with the husband in the US legally for at least five years after marriage then she is fully qualified to receive both spousal (while the husband is alive) and widow's benefits just the same as a wife who is a US citizen. So she can collect spousal benefits based on the husband's earning beginng at 62 or wait and earn Delayed Retirement Credits up until as old as 70.

Just as with a citizen wife, an eligible foreign wife does not have to have worked a day in her life, much less 40 quarters, to receive benefits based on her husbands SS covered earnings. She does not have to reside in the US. Indeed, if her green card has lapsed because she has been out of the US for more than a year she would likely be denied entry once her husband has passed away.

If the foreign wife did work in the US and pay payroll taxes, she is eligible for SS benefits on her own record. When she applied for benefits she would generally receive the larger of her own benefits or the benefits (spousal or widow's) based on her husband's record. Just the same as a citizen wife. The portion of the husband's SS benefits that she would receive depends on her age at the time she files.

Reading comprehension not your strong suit?

Latest news from the Newspaper-That-Must-Not-Be-Named is that the land tax has been backburnered. Just as I always said it would be. Next up for "further study:" the inheritance tax.

The elite didn't do to all this trouble to make a coup just to see their taxes go up.

When the state of Utah says in its official document that it considers you to be resident in Utah if you are registered to vote there, they mean that you are thereby maintaining tax domicile in Utah, a concept that is apparently new to you. Tax domicile means that you are liable for taxes in the state whether or not you actually live there.

No one would mistake you for a tax expert. Since we do agree that you are not a tax expert, let's consult some tax experts.

When a state tax collection department wonders why you haven't been paying state income tax lately, they initiate the discussion with you by sending you a bill for taxes due plus interest and penalties. They then conduct a tax domicile audit on you. Here are the factors that the California Board of Equalization and the Franchise Board use in determining tax domicile for California:

In the Appeal of Stephen D. Bragg 2003-SBE-002, May 28, 2003, the Board of Equalization included the following list of factors which, while not exhaustive, inform taxpayers of the type and nature of connections the Board of Equalization and the Franchise Tax Board find informative when determining residency:

• The location of all of the taxpayer’s residential real property, and the approximate sizes and values of each of the residences.

• The state wherein the taxpayer’s spouse and children reside.

• The state wherein the taxpayer’s children attend school.

• The state wherein the taxpayer claims the homeowner’s property tax exemption on a residence.

• The taxpayer’s telephone records (i.e., the origination point of taxpayer’s telephone calls).

• The number of days the taxpayer spends in California versus the number of days the

• taxpayer spends in other states, and the general purpose of such days (i.e., vacation, business, etc.).

• The location where the taxpayer files his tax returns, both federal and state, and the state of residence claimed by the taxpayer on such returns.

• The location of the taxpayer’s bank and savings accounts.

• The origination point of the taxpayer’s checking account transactions and credit card transactions.

• The state wherein the taxpayer maintains memberships in social, religious, and professional organizations.

• The state wherein the taxpayer registers his automobiles.

• The state wherein the taxpayer maintains a driver’s license.

• The state wherein the taxpayer maintains voter registration and the taxpayer’s voting participation history.

• The state wherein the taxpayer obtains professional services, such as doctors, dentists, accountants, and attorneys.

• The state wherein the taxpayer is employed.

• The state wherein the taxpayer maintains or owns business interests.

• The state wherein the taxpayer holds a professional license or licenses.

• The state wherein the taxpayer owns investment real property.

• The indications in affidavits from various individuals discussing the taxpayer’s residency.

It is particularly relevant to determine whether the taxpayer substantially severed his or her California connections upon departure and took steps to establish significant connections with the new place of abode. It is also necessary to determine whether the connections in California were maintained in readiness for his or her return. See the Appeal of Richard L. and Kathleen K. Hardman, supra.

http://blog.myirstaxrelief.com/2010/06/ca-residency-rules-audit.html

Remember we are talking about a case where a person "lives" somewhere outside of CA. Like you. So, voting, despite your non-expert, common-sense conviction, however deeply held, that it has nothing to do with tax liability, is indeed a factor considered by the CA Board of Equalization. The Board of Equalization is an expert.

So, voting is one factor among many. Would this lead us to conclude that, if voting were the only factor that applied in your case, then it would be too weak to establish tax domicile by itself? Let's hear what another tax expert has to say, from a CPA firm:

Meeting Residency Requirements

Various factors are considered in determining whether a taxpayer has close ties with a particular state, including:

• Where you are physically established

• Where you have sources of income

• Where you register to vote

• Where you own a house

• Where you claim the homeowner's exemption

• Where your driver's license is issued

• Where your closest business contacts are, i.e., attorneys, accountants, banks, etc.

• Where your closest social contacts are, including religious, community and social affiliations (clubs)

• Where your vehicles are registered

• Where your minor children attend school, and whether you paid resident or non-resident tuition

• Which state has jurisdiction in the administration of your wills and trusts

• Where you obtained a homestead exemption

• Where you maintain a safety deposit box

• Where you filed an affidavit of domicile

• Where you own a cemetery plot

While no factor by itself can positively determine residency, registering to vote or claiming the homeowner's exemption in California, for example, have been found to make the taxpayer a California resident, regardless of the other factors.

http://ashleyquinncpas.com/services/residency.php

Since, as I mentioned, the effectiveness of enforcement varies from state to state and from taxpayer to taxpayer. So, even if you do cast an absentee ballot in CA that doesn't mean that you will get a bill for back taxes in the next mail. Nor does the fact that you don't get such a bill now mean that you won't get one in the future. Speeding is against the law, but many speeders get away with, perhaps most of them. Nevertheless, if you want to avoid a speeding ticket the most reliable way to do so is not to speed.

It will be interesting to see if the TPP will pass the US Senate. On the one hand, the Repubs have made the core of their policy undermining every position of President Obama. On the other hand, the provisions of the TPP strongly favor the interests of Big Business which are dear to the heart of every Republican office-holder.

2 years still to run in power, I predict, as there appear to be no ends to his talent, that the world will be a better, safer and happier place within that period.

I'll take the over on that.

I have an upcoming appointment at the US Embassy to add pages. Can someone tell me how early I should arrive for the appointment to get through security, etc.? Also, do I have to leave the passport and come back later to pick it up or is it while-u-wait?

It took me about 5 minutes to pass through security. The pages are added while you wait. Probably took about 1 hour total.

That's what I was looking for. Thanks for the info.

There are at least two things to consider when speaking of languages : pronounciation and grammar ; considering this, rank is not the same at all

tones and spelling are difficult in Thai, but grammar is not very difficult: for me, French guy , German language is difficult because grammar is very complicated but pronounciation not difficult ; so, it's difficult to say which ones are more complicated to learn

I know that English is a big language, but for a basic every day life use , it's not a difficult language

I agree with Capt Haddock, "What if they included languages like K!ung with clicks? I'll bet clicks are harder to master than tones.", this language is simply totaly unhuman for us

listen to this :

Whoa! Apparently, some Khoisan languages have tones in addition to clicks!

Khoisan languages feature several tones. For instance, Juǀ’hoan has four level and one rising tone. Nama has four tones: high, low, rising, and falling.

http://aboutworldlanguages.com/Khoisan-Language-Family

Perhaps intro courses to Thai should spend the first two months on Khoisan after which Thai will seem like a walk in the park.

You could also use ผู้บริโภค for "consumer" which is more formal. The commonest term I hear for customer though is ลูกค้า. For Thais the ลูก position of the customer is not just subordinate, it also suggests that the seller in his implied role of พ่อ/แม่ has an obligation to look after his customer. This is not always just deception to take advantage of the customer. Sometimes the seller will indeed go out of his way to protect the customer's interest, although seldom to the point of compromising his own.

It does seem that customers here are less catered to than in the West, except for hi-so customers. Like pedestrians, customers appear to be at the bottom of a power hierarchy. Of course, businesses in the West sometimes abuse their customers, like Volkswagen for a recent example on a massive scale. The other factor affecting service here is that the employee, the waiter in a restaurant, for example, has no authority at all to make concessions and is trained to follow the boss's orders to the letter. Focusing on solving the customer's problem or maintaining good-will to encourage repeat business is not on his menu. Most of all he wants to avoid being blamed for anything by his boss. If the teller in a bank here makes a counting error in a transaction she will be forced to make up the difference to the bank out of her own pocket, a practice that would be illegal in the US. Just as in the West, if you can manage to deal directly with the business owner you will be better off, although one of the main responsibilities of the employee is to keep you away from the owner.

In terms of getting better service or resolving problems in retail transactions I have found that I can sometimes use Thai's aversion to confrontation to my advantage by complaining quite directly and making it clear that I will not go away until it is resolved. When it works, which is not always, it does so by letting him know he's not getting off the hook.

Thai has an important expression, ตอบส่งๆ, which is a brush-off reply, a tactic they almost always try to avoid an uncomfortable situation. When I hear this I usually respond bluntly, ช่วยอย่าตอบส่งๆครับ and then restate my demand. Thais would never speak so directly, so I am sure they are offended.

I have an upcoming appointment at the US Embassy to add pages. Can someone tell me how early I should arrive for the appointment to get through security, etc.? Also, do I have to leave the passport and come back later to pick it up or is it while-u-wait?

The US State Department use to rank, and may still rank, languages according to learning difficulty for native English speakers. It was a rather crude classification system placing languages into four ranks depending upon how long it took the average learner, and these were pretty bright students from the State Department, to reach a set level of speaking proficiency. Thai was given a Level III ranking, as was Chinese. Level IV rankings included Japanese, Russian, and Arabic. I would think that the highly agglutinative languages like Navajo would be pretty hard to learn. Languages like the Salish languages which are highly agglutinative, highly symbolic, and contain lots of radical consonants might top off the list of difficulty, if they had the data for these small North American languages.

The rankings from the Foreign Service Institute of the US State department that I find show Thai in the group of the most difficult among Level IV. Level V, the most difficult of all, include Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Mandarin, and Cantonese.

http://www.effectivelanguagelearning.com/language-guide/language-difficulty

Interestingly, although Thai ranks at the top of the second hardest-to-learn group, the time to the FSI's defined level of proficiency is 44 weeks, while it takes double that time, 88 weeks, to achieve similar proficiency in the Level V languages.

The FSI is only interested in major languages relevant to the mission of the State Department. What if they included languages like K!ung with clicks? I'll bet clicks are harder to master than tones.

Voting does not make you liable for back taxes any more than having a driver license.

You're either liable or you're not.

Each state has it's own criteria for determining if you're a state resident or not, for tax purposes. Some are more aggressive than others. But I agree having a driving license is much stronger evidence that you are than voting.

It has been my experience that (generally) you pay taxes where you earn them. Where you reside has little to do with it.

I currently live and work (mostly) in Thailand but I am on the payroll of a California company.

I have California:

Address

Bank accounts

Driver license

Heath Insurance

Fishing license

Magazine subscriptions

Credit cards

I visit California for work and vacation 3-4 times a year, and I only have to pay taxes to California on the money I earn in California.

The idea that voting is going to make you liable for back taxes is ridiculous.

I guess if you yourself have never encountered an idea it must be ridiculous on the face of it, right?

Nevertheless, voting is usally a factor in determining where your tax domicile is. Here's just one example from the state of Utah:

Unless you can prove otherwise, you are considered to be a Utah resident in the following situations:

1. You claim your Utah home as your primary residence and receive a lower Utah property tax rate,
2. You are registered to vote in Utah,
3. You file an individual income tax return as a Utah resident.

http://incometax.utah.gov/filing/residency

That doesn't mean that if you register to vote in Utah you will immediately be sent a tax bill. That depends on how aggressive their enforcement is. The states all have different regulations and different standards of enforcement no matter how difficult you might find it to grasp that concept that clashes with your own common-sense notion of residence. Do I need to point out that you tax liability will not be determined by your own common-sense notions?

California, by the way, includes among the many factors it considers to determine whether you have tax domicile there such items as whether you hire CA professionals (lawyer, accountant) and, indeed, whether you have friends in California. CA is also among the most aggressive in enforcement.

It's quite possible that casting an absentee ballot in the last state you lived would not result in a tax bill at all. But, in my opinion, that possibility, however small, is not worth it to me.

The difficulty level of any language depends on what is your mother language and its relation with the language that you are trying to learn, also of your will to learn, for example, my mother language is Spanish, when I was in high school it was mandatory for me to take French lessons and for the 90% of my classmates it was very easy to learn cuz French and Spanish are very close languages, but for me it was imposible mission because I didn't like how it sounded and because I was not interested in anything French, in the other hand I have mastered very easily Chinese Mandarin, Japanese, Thai and Russian, so how difficult is a language to learn depends mostly on how willing are you to learn it.

The difficulty does indeed depend on how closely or distantly the second language is to the student's mother tongue. Motivation itself doesn't change the difficulty in learning that language, but may enable the motivated student to succeed despite the difficulty. Since learning even a relatively "easy" language is in fact difficult, motivation is usually the determining factor.

Congratulations on learning four of the toughest languages out there.

This proves that languages did not evolve until after the human dispersal from Africa.

My problem is I can`t hear different languages, they all sound like a load of mumble to my ears, cannot distinguish the words, even Thai I struggle with.

But how does English sound to foreigners?

Thanks for dropping by and settling the question of the timing of language development in our species, which has been a subject of controversy among scientists for a long time. Most of the scientists believe, apparently mistakenly, that speech originated with homo saiens 200,000 years ago long before h. sapiens ventured out of Africa.

It's particularly impressive that your admittedly abysmal failure to learn Thai has not inhibited your theoretical development in linguistics.

Again, this thread isn't intended to launch a PARTISAN political debate.

Go elsewhere for that, please.

Here is another thought about the the pros and cons of expat voting.

All expats can vote in their last U.S. district of record.

But if you've lived abroad, you probably don't care very much if at all about LOCAL politics in that area.

But you probably still care somewhat or a lot about NATIONAL politics.

So your vote can to the U.S. senators, U.S. congressperson, and of course PRESIDENT.

But suppose your last district of record is a heavily DEMOCRAT state and you're totally REPUBLICAN.

So you know your votes won't make any difference.

So why bother voting?

Some states use voting as evidence of an expat's intention to return to the state at some point and therefore deem them liable for state income tax since the time they left the state. So, that's a reason not to vote as an expat from a state with an income tax. In my case I would have to vote in NY state, which always votes Democrat in national elections. Since I would also vote Democrat my vote would have no impact. No impact + an undetermined risk of exposure to state income tax makes it an easy decision not to vote. If I could help swing Florida to the Democratic candidate, maybe I would consider it.

No, it's another word for fake populism, to keep the masses quiet while depriving them of their political and free speech rights, among others.

Find a tax preparer in the US and send the documents by email. If you have to have a conversation with him use skype. Cheaper and not hard to find a qualified preparer. Why would you need to see him face-to-face?

I stopped listening to this bozo when started on about the coming end times and collapse of the US.

The culture here is not known for its high level of intellectual curiosity. Sure I get asked sometimes what country but I think that's usually about which stereotype box to put people in rather than learning anything new.

True enough, but I notice that when I return to the US for a visit none of my friends/family ask about life in Thailand. I don't think many people have intellectual curiosity. It's disappointing.

The news is not what it appears to be. The Thai Navy apparently still has other charges pending against Morrison. Sounds like a tactical shift.

During the communist era in Hungary residents were required to deposit a set of keys to their house/apartment with the local police.

For public safety, of course.

Keep your eyes on this space.

This is exactly why separation of church & state is so important. Believe in whatever ridiculous fairy tale you like, just don't use it as a platform for legislation to be imposed upon the rest of us.

I find it rich that the Kim Davises and Mike Huckabees of the world cry out for religious freedom, but when something like this happens, we find out that what they really meant was freedom of THEIR religion and not that funny superstition of those brown people.

To underscore the silliness of the issue, a satanic temple has filed suit against the state of Missouri for violating their religious freedom. Can: opened. Worms: everywhere.

Please point out to me the phrase in the U.S. Constitution or the Bill or Rights that says "Separation of Church and State"

First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...

Odd that so many people here, presumably Americans, get so exercised at the mere suggestion of a Muslim candidate for president, a possibility that is less likely than the election of an Emperor penguin for the job. In the meantime, all of the 17 would-be Republican candidates vigorously: deny the science of global warming, support reducing taxes further on the rich increasing inequality, favor military attacks over diplomacy, and are ready to shut down the US government in order to defund Planned Parenthood's budget of $500 million dollars, which is a tiny fraction of the $3.5 trillion dollar budget. Most or all of them now are on record as ready to undertake the largest forced out-migration in history, that of the 12 million undocumented Hispanics in the country.

I find every one of them a lot scarier than some imaginary Muslim candidate especially since they have a much bigger chance of getting elected than the penguins.

Yes, you need to be connected to the internet to use a voip service like Skype, Viber, Google Hangouts, etc. It uses the data capacity of your internet package. You may also need to open a cash account with Skype and deposit some money, although the call to a US 800 number will not actually cost anything.

It's embarassing being an American and having to hear the ignorant opinions of people like Trump and Carson, and indeed most of the TV posters in this thread.