Usa Expats: Are You Maintaining Virtual Us Residence?

[sfokevin]

jonniebkk, Where/how are you registered to vote?

[rchapstick]

I maintain an address in America and have a brokerage account and credit union account there. Both institutions are aware that I am not a US resident, as is the IRS. I like the credit union vs a bank, as they have all the same sevices, pay me an annual dividend and have higher money market rates. I also like that every senior employee there knows be my name, acts on my call, and we can dispense with most rules and paperwork.

Jonnie, I don't doubt that you have researched your CA property issue and feel confortable with your filing status. Just know that the CFTB is the most aggressive taxing agency on the planet and their computers WILL, at some point, generate some bullshit notice, saying you owe them some back taxes. This will cost you time and money to sort out and of course the clock will be ticking before penalties and interest accrue on the bogus charge from their "revenue enhancement officers"(no shit, that's what they call themselves. After 3 of these assualts I finally said to hel_l with it and pulled the plug on all California entanglements.

Truer word have never been written!

If you need to create a virtual US residence, better to set it up in a state without state income tax.

Nevada comes to mind ....

[realmadrid25]

i don't know how those with nobody back home do it. do banks send atm replacements to thailand? you can't use a thai address for anything financial in my experience.

mutual funds are strictly for suckers.

Edited May 18, 2008 by realmadrid25

[Jingthing]

i don't know how those with nobody back home do it. do banks send atm replacements to thailand? you can't use a thai address for anything financial in my experience.

mutual funds are strictly for suckers.

Yes, I agree stating foreign residence, particularly Thailand, can and does cause problems in many cases.

Regarding mutual funds, its kind of off topic, a huge portion of the investment money in the US is in mutual funds including the nation's retirement accounts, so I guess everyone is stupid. Also, INDEX funds are also mutual funds.

[Naam]

I have a question about maintaining bank accounts related to this topic.

When you open a US bank account, they almost always require a valid US driver's license ID (number, expiration date).

If you opened an account with a valid ID and you didn't get a new driver's license on expiration, do you think they would ask for the updated ID after the ID on their record expires? I suppose it varies bank to bank, but wonder if people can share experiences on that one.

Another question about maintaining US credit cards:

When you get a new credit card, they require that you call them to activate the card. When you call them from the US phone number on their record, it is AUTOMATICALLY activated. So if you have a US phone number to do this with, very easy. What happens when you call them from Thailand from a non-US number to activate? I am sure they won't activate it automatically that way. Will they activate it at all? Experiences please. (I have heard many times many companies will not mail the card to Thailand, at all!)

-i opened my U.S. bank account without U.S. license but with my german passport.

-you can't call from Thailand. it has to be a phone number registered with the issuer of the credit card. otherwise no activation.

[Naam]

mutual funds

[Naam]

a huge portion of the investment money in the US is in mutual funds including the nation's retirement accounts, so I guess everyone is stupid.

billions of flies and godzillions of their ancestors consider(ed) sh*t a delicacy. conclusion: sh*t must be a delicacy

sorry JingThing, could not resist

[jonniebkk]

jonniebkk, Where/how are you registered to vote?

If you re-read my last post before this one, you will see that I stated that I am not currently registered to vote in any state.

[jonniebkk]

-you can't call from Thailand. it has to be a phone number registered with the issuer of the credit card. otherwise no activation.

Naum...normally you are spot on the money but in this instance, you've fallen off the pineapple truck. Your above quoted statement is COMPLETELY untrue. It doesn't even make sense! I mean, what does " a phone number registered with the issuer of the credit card" even mean? Maybe that's how it's done in Deuschland, but with US credit cards, the number to call to activate the card/account is on a sticker affixed to the new card when it arrives. You can call this number from any touch tone phone in the world and either electronically or by speaking with the operator, activate it.

Normally, I do it electronically by keying in the account # and then it usually asks you to key in the proper responses to a couple of security questions you supplied whey you set-up the account. You then get a message that your account has been activated and is ready to use. Easier than picking up a working girl on Walking Street in low season

Completely agree on your comments re mutual funds, however. High fees for mediocre performance...only for saps or retired old American ladies living in Mexico!

Edited May 18, 2008 by jonniebkk

[Naam]

-you can't call from Thailand. it has to be a phone number registered with the issuer of the credit card. otherwise no activation.

Naum...normally you are spot on the money but in this instance, you've fallen off the pineapple truck. Your above quoted statement is COMPLETELY untrue. It doesn't even make sense! I mean, what does " a phone number registered with the issuer of the credit card" even mean. Maybe that's how it's done in Deuschland but with US credit cards, the number to call to activate the card/account is on a sticker affixed to the new card when it arrives. You can call this number from any touch tone phone in the world and either electronically or by speaking with the operator, activate it.

Normally, I do it electronically by keying in the account # and then it usually asks you to key in the proper responses to a couple of security questions you supplied whey you set-up the account. You then get a message that your account has been activated and is ready to use. Easier than picking up a working girl on Walking Street in low season

i am talking about my U.S. credit cards Jonnie which can only be activated by calling FROM a specific U.S. phone number which is on record with the credit card companies. i still hold half a dozen of these cards although i don't use them. my statement is therefore correct!

[jonniebkk]

i am talking about my U.S. credit cards Jonnie which can only be activated by calling FROM a specific U.S. phone number which is on record with the credit card companies. i still hold half a dozen of these cards although i don't use them. my statement is therefore correct!

So am I...I have 4 credit cards issued by American banks for which I have activated them all from Thailand on my Thai mobile phone, which is certainly not registered with any of the banks who issue my cards. The most recent being a new American Express credit card that I received and activated from Thailand about a month ago. Maybe what you are referring to is specific to your bank. It certainly has not been my experience with my banks or American Express.

Maybe there is some semantic confusion here. Is the number you are referring to the bank's own phone number that is affixed to the card. Is that the number you are saying one must call to activate the card? If so, that is what I am saying as well. I thought you were saying that the number you were calling from had to be known/registered with the bank for them to authenticate who you are and to activate the card.

Edited May 18, 2008 by jonniebkk

[Naam]

Maybe that's how it's done in Deuschland but with US credit cards.

for the record: no U.S. financial institution will issue a credit card for a German who lives outside the Greatest Nation on Earth™. although my case is a special one because my wife and me hold U.S. Social Security Numbers marked "not for employment" (disclosing the reasons for this is irrelevant), it was suggested not to reveal that we are leaving the country. it's a different story for U.S. citizens.

[Naam]

i am talking about my U.S. credit cards Jonnie which can only be activated by calling FROM a specific U.S. phone number which is on record with the credit card companies. i still hold half a dozen of these cards although i don't use them. my statement is therefore correct!

So am I...I have 4 credit cards issued by American banks for which I have activated them all from Thailand on my Thai mobile phone, which is certainly not registered with any of the banks who issue my cards. The most recent being a new American Express credit card that I received and activated from Thailand about a month ago. Maybe what you are referring to is specific to your bank. It certainly has not been my experience with my banks or American Express.

Maybe there is some semantic confusion here. Is the number you are referring to the bank's own phone number that is affixed to the card. Is that the number you are saying one must call to activate the card? If so, that is what I am saying as well. I thought you were saying that the number you were calling from had to be known/registered with the bank for them to authenticate who you are and to activate the card.

what part of "my U.S. credit cards must be activated FROM a phone number located in the United States of America" is it you don't understand Jonnie?

addendum: the above-mentioned phone number is on record with the financial institution. of course i can only speak how MY credit cards are handled.

Edited May 19, 2008 by Naam

[jonniebkk]

what part of "my U.S. credit cards must be activated FROM a phone number located in the United States of America" is it you don't understand Jonnie?

addendum: the above-mentioned phone number is on record with the financial institution. of course i can only speak how MY credit cards are handled.

Well, all I can say is that it is not the same with my bank (Citibank) or with American Express. I can activate these from my phone in Thailand with a number that is not registered with either Citi or Amex. I certainly would not want to bank with an institution that made dealing with them so difficult when one resides overseas.

So what do you do when you get a new credit card or a renewal of an expiring card? Fly back to the US so you can make the activation call from a USA based phone number that you have previously registered with the bank I hope you enjoy all the hassle of dealing with your bank!

Edited May 19, 2008 by jonniebkk

[realmadrid25]

i don't know how those with nobody back home do it. do banks send atm replacements to thailand? you can't use a thai address for anything financial in my experience.

mutual funds are strictly for suckers.

Yes, I agree stating foreign residence, particularly Thailand, can and does cause problems in many cases.

Regarding mutual funds, its kind of off topic, a huge portion of the investment money in the US is in mutual funds including the nation's retirement accounts, so I guess everyone is stupid. Also, INDEX funds are also mutual funds.

exchange traded index funds are not mutual funds. thats why they have a different name.

Edited May 19, 2008 by realmadrid25

[Heng]

The point is, is depends on your card issuer. It's funny that folks like to make universal declarations like Moses from their own couple of credit card issuer experiences. I have US issued atm cards that require my home number to activate them and I also have a few that can be activated from Bangkok and could probably also be activated from Vanuatu if need be.

[realmadrid25]

i bet heng maxes out his credit cards every month but never pays any interest.

[Heng]

i bet heng maxes out his credit cards every month but never pays any interest.

I have a few dozen debit cards and one Amex card. And all but 3-4 of those cards are sealed in a zip lock bag in a safe.

You're right that I don't pay any interest though. Interest is a one way street, and whenever possible, I make sure that all roads lead to me.

[Naam]

So what do you do when you get a new credit card or a renewal of an expiring card? Fly back to the US so you can make the activation call from a USA based phone number that you have previously registered with the bank I hope you enjoy all the hassle of dealing with your bank!

no hassle at all. the person who handles my financial affairs in the U.S. sends the cards to me and activates them AFTER my confirmation that i received them. as simple as that. the question remains "why do i keep these crap cards although i don't use them?"

i call them crap cards because if i didn't use them for a month or two (when staying in our home in Germany), returning to the U.S. and my wife out shopping to top up the larder they used to call me "have you just spent $ 149.95 in Publix and $89.95 in Winn Dixie?"

but something similar happened a couple of years ago with my german credit card. 02.00 in the night a call "did you just spent £ 89.- in London?" half asleep i answered "of course not. i am in Thailand and you called my thai phone number." then i woke up fully remembering that my wife was in London

it's the CC software that causes the alarm when a "different spending pattern" is detected. now my agreement with the bank which issued the credit cards we use most is "don't call me, i call you except if the amount exceeds the equivalent of €UR 10,000" in this respect i am well aware of the risk i am taking.

[vagabond48]

i don't know how those with nobody back home do it. do banks send atm replacements to thailand? you can't use a thai address for anything financial in my experience.

mutual funds are strictly for suckers.

It depends on the institution. I have 3 DC/CCs and 2 mail overseas but the 3rd, does not.

[Spaniel]

What happens when you call them from Thailand from a non-US number to activate? I am sure they won't activate it automatically that way. Will they activate it at all? Experiences please. (I have heard many times many companies will not mail the card to Thailand, at all!)

Jing...when did you actually expatriate yourself? You seem to have all these worries about managing your former USA financial relationships from overseas. Whether is banks, credit cards, taxes, whatever. You know, most business in USA are equipped to deal with customers who live overseas...I mean, you are not the first American who is either working or retired outside the United States! Millions of Americans are in the same position so don't worry about managing your affairs from afar

As to your specific question about activating new credit cards using a Thai based telephone...I have never had a problem. I have activated at least a half-dozen new and renewal credit card accounts from both landl-line and mobile phones in Thailand with no problem. My most recent was for a new American Express card that I BOTH applied for online AND activated by phone when it arrived to me here in Thailand. (This is for a US based Amex account - not a Thai based account.) For my new Citi ATM and credit cards, when I used to live in Bangkok, I could also activate them at the ATMs at Citi's branch on Sathon if I so wanted.

Excuse me, but I really, really think you are trivializing an issue that is indeed a big issue for alot of expats. Maybe not you, but alot of us.

One example, I have a huge percentage of my net worth in a US brokerage account.

If I were to tell them I am no longer a US resident, they would force me to SELL all my assets there, causing me a HUGE tax bill on ten years of profits, not to mention forcing me to sell at a time I do not think is a good time to sell. I don't want to do that! So I keep my US address with them. I am sure there are hundreds of variations on that kind of story. Get it now?

You may not be a US resident but you still are a US citizen. Is that correct? I have been living overseas since 1967 and I too have a large portfolio with both Fidelity and Vanguard. I receive both American Express card and Visa gold card from Fidelity here in Thailand and activate by phone with no problem. Up until a few months ago I also receive my statements here in Bangkok but I have since switched to getting them on-line. I dont think anyone will force you to sell anything because you're not a resident.

[sfokevin]

I had the issue pop up where I was not at my home phone... The automated system eventually transferred me to a live person who asked me what mothers maiden name and my favorite action figure was and they activated it

[Spaniel]

I will be going back to the US in June. Do you get the travel insurance in the US or a policy khere in Thailand?

I bought my travel policy last time through my own Thai insurance broker here, and I think it was thru the same company that I have my regular Thai medical insurance with. I suppose I could have bought the same policy in the U.S... but I figured it was likely to be more expensive there...since everything medical is more expensive there.

I think it's also important to consider what kind of insurance, if any, you have here....

My Thailand medical policy excludes coverage in the U.S., except for emergency care. No outpatient or regular inpatient coverage in the U.S. So for me, when I go back home, it makes sense to get traveler's insurance to cover me, just in case.

The traveler policies are really cheap and based on how many days you'll be abroad. I don't remember exactly, but the last time I did it for two weeks, I think it was like $40...

But on the broader issue of general medical insurance, there also are other kinds of Thailand medical policies. You can get a policy that includes coverage in the U.S., but you'll pay a fortune extra for it, in my experience. Then there also are less expensive policies than my own, because they exclude not just the U.S. but even most other countries outside Thailand, including most of Europe and Japan.

So it's important to consider which countries your Thailand policy does or doesn't cover, and how those relate to the places you plan to be traveling.

You can get a quick idea about traveler's insurance policies by doing a Google search on the Internet, and/or by checking with whatever insurance agent you may have a relationship with.

Thanks for the reply. I have a policy here in Thailand with BUPA. I was told it will be valid in the USA but will only cover accidents. I looked at their travel insurance and it only covered accidents too so I didn;t think it made sence to get another policy to cover the same thing. I'll be there (USA) for several months and I was looking for a policy that would cove hospitlization in case I came down with a serious illness which would not be covered by the accident insurance.

[realmadrid25]

for those with nobody back home, your best bet is to open one of those international accounts like hsbc premier, but then that bank account actually gives really lousy atm rates and charges fees on purchases made in thailand. i actually think the hsbc account is purely for people who want to feel like they are a mover and shaker. you can get a better interest rate and no fee atm's with many money markets in the us. of course, there is no way you are going to be able to open an account there without an address in the usa. also, sometimes a debit card will go from no fee atm to charging a fee, happened to me several times, or interest rate changes, so you want as many options as possible imho...

Edited May 19, 2008 by realmadrid25

[autonomous_unit]

Wait a minute, you think 'foreign income' means 'baht'??? I get paid in USD, not Thai baht and it is direct deposited into my US Bank. Since I do not get paid Thai baht, I have no earned income for Thailand. Otherwise I would have to pay Thai taxes. I have a reliable CPA that has been doing my taxes for me each year since I have moved overseas. She has signed on the dotted line just as I have and is willing to 'go to bat' with me if I ever would happen to be audited. She has been doing taxes for over 30 years and for many expats so I am sure she is fully aware of the tax laws. By the way, 'foreign earned income' refers to any monies (US or foreign) made while working outside of the USA. Mind you there are other restrictions that must be met before you can use the foreign income form.. (i.e. residing outside the USA for 330 or more of the year)

I'm afraid this may go off the deep end and repeat previous threads, but I'll try explaining my thinking once... I think I've explained myself carefully below after several edits and "previews" so in the interest of thread continuity I will not reply further on this tangential topic. Feel free to agree or disagree, but at least you can read what you're disagreeing with.

No, I do not think the unit of currency or the payment locations have anything to do with the "foreign-earned" designation. By the same measure that US dollars into a US account are not US-earned in this hypothetical scenario, they are instead Thai-earned solely because the earner was in Thailand while performing the work! In my opinion, you cannot perform the test such that your income is "nowhere-earned".

The problem for telecommuting expats here in Thailand is that the Thai revenue authorities do not seem to want to be bothered to tax Thai-earned income that is not paid by Thai employers to Thai employees with Tax IDs who do all the proper filings and estimated payments. There is no self-reporting mechanism like there is in the US for people with US-earned income from foreign employers. However, the actual Thai laws about working in Thailand do not excuse this situation... the tax and labor bureaucracies are simply not setup to support it.

Now, the question is: do US citizens as expats in Thailand purger themselves if they claim the foreign-earned income exclusion while also not paying Thai tax on those earnings? Also: is it legal for them to have Thai-earned income that is not being reported to the Thai authorities and taxed by local rules (and without holding a work permit)?

Some of us, who you may choose to brand as conservative or naive, feel that this is an illegal and unethical scenario on both counts. The only solution I could find to address all of these issues to my own satisfaction was to accept the overhead in creating a Thai company, getting a work permit and Tax ID, structuring my work via sub-contract and paying my Thai income taxes and claiming my exclusion with the IRS. It would have been much cheaper for me to be a virtual US employee with US-earned income, and "stay under the radar" here in Thailand. But after getting expensive legal advice from several sources, I did not feel comfortable taking that risk, nor did the US company that was purchasing my work. Your mileage may vary.

[Jingthing]

So what do you do when you get a new credit card or a renewal of an expiring card? Fly back to the US so you can make the activation call from a USA based phone number that you have previously registered with the bank laugh.gif I hope you enjoy all the hassle of dealing with your bank!

Call using Vonage. Anywhere in the world with a stable US phone number That is how.

It works great. But I am truly wondering, what people with this automatic validation by phone system on their credit cards and bank ATMS (it reads the number you have dialed FROM and validates automatically when you call) say when they get the human after the auto system notices you are calling from a different number. What do they ask? What do you say? I can't imagine. Now that sounds like a hassle to me. Some people say they validate their cards by using them. My cards are not like that and I have many! They all require a phone validation call every time one expires, and they all validate automatically if you call from the US number you have registered with them. So, again, what do you say? I am visiting Thailand and now calling you, I forgot to validate while at "home"?

Another note: Index funds are a type of mutual funds. Index mutual funds are not exactly the same thing as exchange traded funds. BTW, index funds have very small fees, so those who think all mutual funds are always stupid, please get a life.

Another note: MOST US institutions don't care if you are a citizen. They care if your are RESIDENT or NOT a resident. Some will open an account for you in their international branch if you are not a resident (those that have international branches). but in my experience if you are not a RESIDENT they will not open a US based account for you. PERIOD.

Edited May 19, 2008 by Jingthing

[jfchandler]

OK…Now…this is the THIRD time I’ve written this post….and I’m getting very CRANKY… (#1 lost to a power outage, #2 lost to a browser crash…) So now I’m typing in Word where I can save my writing and not LOSE it again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First, I want to say THANKS to Jing for starting this thread, which has provided me and others I think with a lot of information, and a lot of issues to consider. We may have different experiences and interpretations, but that is to be expected. Out of it all, hopefully, some learning and insight occurs.

Today, I went to see my new American CPA in BKK (originally from CA) about filing my CA and federal tax returns for 2007. Because this is my first tax return year in Thailand, I wanted to make sure I started out in the right direction. On my own, I started out with a few questions. But after reading in this thread for the past few days, I had a TON of questions to add on…

So, I wanted to pass along the advice I got today. If you have different ideas or understanding about these matters, feel free to reply accordingly. I’m not the expert here, but I am sharing the advice I received.

For the record, here is my personal circumstance, as I related to the CPA… So he’s answering me in this context. I worked CA for about three fourths of 2007 in a salary state government job, the salary ended when I moved here last September. During 2007, I had no property ownership or business ownership/interest in California, nor do I expect to have for the future. I have a car and voter registration in CA. But all of my financial addresses of record are in a no-income-tax state other than CA.

So, here were my questions and his answers:

What about my obligation to file CA state income tax returns? Because I had salary income inside California during 2007, I need to file CA income taxes for 2007. But if my situation stays the same as cited above in future years (Thailand resident), I don’t need to file ANY CA income tax returns for future years, 540 NR or otherwise.

What about my CA state pension, when I begin to draw it in future years? Provided I continue to be a non-CA resident, it would not be subject to CA state income tax, but would be subject to federal income tax. He indicated there was a past time when CA tried/did tax such situations, but that subsequently was clarified by federal law that the state cannot tax non-residents, and you don’t because a resident for tax purposes just because you are drawing a pension from inside the state.

What about being required to report foreign (Thailand) bank/brokerage accounts to the IRS? Only if the combined balance of any/all of those accounts was $10,000 or more at ANY time during the pertinent tax year. If not, don’t need to report them.

Is there any meaningful difference for tax purposes between reporting to the IRS a U.S. mailing address vs. a Thailand mailing address? His answer was NO, that either way was possible. Though I pointed out in discussion, if someone is receiving a rebate or refund check, that would be mailed to the address you have used. And, it’s a whole lot easier to have such checks deposited in the U.S. (if someone there can do it for you) vs. trying to do it here in Thailand. The other approach, of course, is to have those checks direct deposited to your U.S. bank by the IRS, regardless of which address you use. Can I deduct my moving expenses from the U.S. to Thailand as an employment related expense? Only if I ended up being employed here for at least 18 months out of the two-year period after my arrival.

Can I deduct my travel and stay expenses here on prior trips during the tax year associated with seeking employment in Thailand? Yes.

[jfchandler]

On the issue of renewing/obtaining credit and debit cards (and keeping or not keeping a U.S. mailing address), it's very clear that various of us have had different experiences with that... I suspect practices vary among different institutions.

There are certainly enough people reporting BAD experiences about this to make it clear that at least SOME U.S. financial institutions balk at issuing/renewing credit/debit cards to addresses outside the U.S. On the other hand, I don't doubt those who've said they've had no problems with THEIR banks doing so.

For me, keeping a U.S. mailing address just makes it simpler in that I don't have to worry about which might have a problem, and which won't. I simply know I have a U.S. address and I'll always use that for purposes of my banking financial transactions. Finished... done!!!

As I read comments from everyone, it made me wonder whether there might be some different approaches to this among banks/credit unions vs. brokerage accounts.

For example, my brokerage folks didn't care that I was moving to Thailand and would have been fine if I wanted to list a Thailand address, even though I chose to keep a U.S. address of record. On the other hand, I've had some of my own banks indicate they won't issue new or renewal credit/debit cards to addresses outside the U.S. Perhaps the brokerage houses are more easy going about this???

[jfchandler]

Finally, different people here have talked about using Skype and/or Vonage to keep a U.S. based phone number in Thailand, which can be useful for financial transactions and other reasons.

I'm familiar with both of those services and their costs. I instead have chosen to use a different service called Magic Jack, that I think is certainly far more cost effective, and for me is a better value and more convenient. When I mentioned it previously in this thread, someone replied, why should I care about that when I already use Skype.

My answser to that is, because you can save a hel_l of a lot of money, compared to the monthly rates Skype charges for providing a fixed U.S. phone number that can be dialed to (and not just using their service to make outbound calls over the Internet).

Rather that restate all the details about this, let me post a link to a prior TV post I did on the subject that includes all the details about Magic Jack... All I can add is that three months have passed since the time of my original post, and I continue to use it with great results. Good call quality, reliable. Just pick up my standard household phone and call anywhere in the U.S. for free, talking as long as I want...

Prior TV post on Magic Jack

I'd challenge anybody to show me how Skype or Vonage are a better deal for the price or when comparing equal levels of service. PS... As I stated in the original post, I have no financial or otherwise connection with the company/product. Just a satisfied customer.

[jfchandler]

Thanks for the reply. I have a policy here in Thailand with BUPA. I was told it will be valid in the USA but will only cover accidents. I looked at their travel insurance and it only covered accidents too so I didn;t think it made sence to get another policy to cover the same thing. I'll be there (USA) for several months and I was looking for a policy that would cove hospitlization in case I came down with a serious illness which would not be covered by the accident insurance.

I shopped BUPA also when I was originally looking to buy health insurance here, but opted instead to go with LMGH. I know they, and other major carriers, have travel insurance that covers all the normal things above and beyond accidents in the U.S.

If you need a referral for an insurance broker who can assist you with this, I have a good one in BKK who's done great work for me. Just PM me and I'd be glad to pass along her contact info...

If you're going to be there a couple months, obviously, the price is going to be higher... I don't know if there's a maximum time limit that travel insurance policies will cover. I never have stayed away so long as to test that limit. I'm sure a broker could advise you about that.

But I'm going to be going back to the U.S. for a trip in June. So please post here or PM me with whatever outcome you reach. I'll be needing to do the same thing in the near future.