3761

Just got an email about some contract voice work!!

HURRAH!!!

3762

Really? How does that work? Even if you moved to Canada and your income was 100% Canadian, you’d have to report it to the US and pay taxes on it?

3763

Gratz!

3764

All of which you could do as a permanent resident.

Well, I can vote (which, yes, I care about doing) and I don’t have to ever worry about being told to leave. It also makes traveling completely stress free, immigration wise. Those are things I can’t do as a permanent resident.

It comes down to adding more peace to my life. As a PR, there’s always the green card to be dealing with every 10 years and the knowledge that, yes, I’m a resident but I’m not really here. Not fully. Not in a whole hearted way. I sort of have one foot out of the pool, if you get what I’m saying.

Now, even just after getting the oath appointment squared away, I had such a feeling of peace. I feel a little more like I belong and that this is my place (the house, the country, everything). It’s a better feeling of belonging and being a part of the place where I live.

It wouldn’t be that way for everyone but that’s how I’m finding that it’s working for me. My retirement plans now feel much more real and tangible rather than sort of floaty as they were before, being based on conditions like “If I’m still in this country at that time…”

3765

I suffer from mild to moderate eczema and back in 2005 contracted impetigo which was absolutely unbearable. Wiki it, and imagine a billion itches that won’t go away when scratched, but can’t be scratched anyway as they’ll ooze puss and blood. Can’t be bandaged, and it’s contagious so no-one can get near you. Anything you touch must be ritually purged with alcohol, detergent and holy incense.

I have it right now in a less severe state, and my dad (consultant microbiologist working at the hospital) is coming to pick me up to take me to the hospital (I don’t drive). I am almost at the state where screaming is the only response to the itching.

Typing this is a beautiful 5 minutes distracted from it.

3766

I get you. I always considered moving back to Canada a very real possibility and I certainly didn’t live there as long as you have. Once I met my girlfriend, who’s also Canadian and has two sisters and several nieces and nephews in my home town it made the idea of moving back here pretty obvious. Also the fact that the studio I was working at got closed down and I needed a new job anyway certainly helped.

I’m not sure they can know what you made but you are legally bound to pay US income tax on income earned outside of the US, even if you earned it in your country of residence outside the US. It’s messed and the US is the only country to do it I believe. I think you’re only required to pay tax on your net after your resident country has taken it’s share but still, just seems wrong.

3767

I was 10. I hadn’t heard of Niven yet.

3768

Oh wow, so you need to pay tax to the country you are in and then again to the US.
That’s interesting!

3769

This isn’t always the case. IIRC, the first $80K (160K for married couples) is excluded. Also, a portion (maybe all) of foreign income tax offsets your US tax burden as a credit. So, there are many situations where you won’t be paying any US income tax.

3770

IIRC, the rules on taxing foreign income are really intended to stop rich people from playing games by buying a house in the bahamas and trying to claim all their income as foreign.

3771

I would be forced to take all my vacation time while my wife would be forced to work. Any leave not in this period would be taken as unpaid.

I’m trying to negotiate to get this sorted.

3772

Oh, that’s crappy. I thought it was in addition to vacation time. We have some forced vacation time here over Christmas. I’ve asked around what happens if someone doesn’t have any vacation time left and doesn’t want to take unpaid time and I’ve yet to get a response. Of course they can dictate vacation time and approve any requested time off so as long as the managers are on the ball they can always ensure you’ll have enough. Still, I’m not sure I like it, especially when it was sort of described to me as being in addition to regular vacation time when I was interviewing.

3773

Forced time off at xmas seems weird … why do they do that? What’s wrong with people working over xmas if they choose to?

3774

Well the interview went well, at least I take it that when they say “Hope to see you in the new year” it’s a good sign.

Not too sure that I actually want the job and my suspicion is that the rate they come back with will probably reflect how difficult I think the job is likely to be i.e not very. On the plus side it’s likely to be a 3 month contract in the traditional “dead zone” and it’s working on pre-release Hewlett-Packard hardware and software which might be useful.

3775

We have forced vacation over christmas because that means the janitor, mailroom-dude and receptionists gets time off too. And they can stop heating every room etc. - all money they wouldn’t save, if some people were working.

But this is in addition to our normal 6 weeks. Ie I have six weeks discretionary time, where I have to place two weeks in the summer, where everything is also shut down (but some do work in this period). How much additional time we get around christmas depends on where christmas falls - this year we’re off the 23rd and back the 4th.

3776

We get a week off at Christmas but it’s ‘free.’ You don’t need to spend vacation time and you’re paid for it. It’s awesome.

3777

Hanzii

OK, that makes some sense.

3778

The impression I had was that it was the same here, I’ve worked at places that did this sort of thing regularly. It’s not, it costs us vacation days and as far as I understand we don’t have a choice. This was new to me I never heard of what the company calls a closure costing employees vacation time.

3779

It’s 32 degrees at 7:00 AM here in Pasadena. I cannot remember it being this cold this late in the morning. While I realize that this would actually be warm in certain parts of the country, there’s a reason I live in SoCal! :)

3780

Yes, but is it hot in the hot tub?
;-)

Does Mount Wilson have snow on it?