shawlar:

Its amazing that most peeps on this forum don't know about US tax laws or the FATCA and how it affects their lil ones
For me, it was one of the major aspects of this US birth thingy that I considered extensively b4 making up my mind

I'll post some additions to what @Ralphlauren posted later. Just know this, your lil americana will pay taxes to the US govt for life....

..unless he renounces sha,

more later

abeg @Ralphlauren how person go take get EU/UK passport..?
My wife never travel #itsnottoolate

A lot of people do not know and they are not restricted to this forum.

Haha @ EU passport. That's another thread/topic for another day.

If your wife is yet to travel, you should consider the Canadian option/route. It's still the same automatic citizenship and a better/sane country (in so many ways) compared to the US (that's my own opinion sha).

Greetings guys.
While I admire the valuable research n information, I believe it is obligatory and a civic responsibility to pay your taxes to your country(s). As such of u re a dual citizen, u don't have a choice than to pay taxes to both states because you are entitled to d civic benefits of both.
Plus if you are going to a foreign country to work it's illegal for one not to pay tax. As such in as much as letting the poeps know, it's really not so much as a negating factor on whether or not one should embark in d missionary journey on that premise.

because we in naija pay lil or no tax n gets nothing in return from d govt, in developed countries every penny of ur tax money is accounted for in a whole lot of entitlements which we over here are yet to even dream of.

Take for example, a John doe was hit by just a mere okada could stay beside d road n bleed to death n not stand a chance to life, ... that's near impossible over there. ...where med evac functions like breeze. ... if not for anything the life expectancy as a citizen beats ours jare lets face d fact.
So if paying my kido's taxes grants him those opportunity/privileges n more, sure y not!

Peace meehn. ...
Keep feeding us info n best regards to you n y'alls

shawlar:



Its amazing that most peeps on this forum don't know about US tax laws or the FATCA and how it affects their lil ones
For me, it was one of the major aspects of this US birth thingy that I considered extensively b4 making up my mind



I'll post some additions to what @Ralphlauren posted later. Just know this, your lil americana will pay taxes to the US govt for life....

..unless he renounces sha,

more later

abeg @Ralphlauren how person go take get EU/UK passport..?
My wife never travel #itsnottoolate

sayoberry:


Kikikikikiki
Upon all these fine babes Wey dey chase you for nairaland

nobody they chase me oo....

olokings:
Greetings guys.
While I admire the valuable research n information, I believe it is obligatory and a civic responsibility to pay your taxes to your country(s). As such of u re a dual citizen, u don't have a choice than to pay taxes to both states because you are entitled to d civic benefits of both.
Plus if you are going to a foreign country to work it's illegal for one not to pay tax. As such in as much as letting the poeps know, it's really not so much as a negating factor on whether or not one should embark in d missionary journey on that premise.

because we in naija pay lil or no tax n gets nothing in return from d govt, in developed countries every penny of ur tax money is accounted for in a whole lot of entitlements which we over here are yet to even dream of.

Take for example, a John doe was hit by just a mere okada could stay beside d road n bleed to death n not stand a chance to life, ... that's near impossible over there. ...where med evac functions like breeze. ... if not for anything the life expectancy as a citizen beats ours jare lets face d fact.
So if paying my kido's taxes grants him those opportunity/privileges n more, sure y not!

Peace meehn. ...
Keep feeding us info n best regards to you n y'alls

Couldn't have said it any better.

People chasing foreign passport and good health care about trying desperately to avoid paying into the same system they benefited from.

shelly23:
I can hook you up sharpish! Just let me know your specs, enough single and searching ladies in Lagos

By next month you can do introduction and by the end of the year trad and white wedding.

If you're not in Nigeria, they can put your picture on the chair next to your 'wife' at the introduction or infact you can facetime from wherever you are. Thank God for technology

And then we can do nairaland aso ebi, since technically we're part of your extended family

this is a true description of an arranged marriage.

I wouldn't dare try that, its hard enough to cope with somebody you have met lived with let alone somebody you married by proxy, that is another way of mortgaging your life

justwise:
this is a true description of an arranged marriage.

I wouldn't dare try that, its hard enough to cope with somebody you have met lived with let alone somebody you married by proxy, that is another way of mortgaging your life

Dey there dey over think and analyse, till you wake up one day and a well packaged wife has been delivered to your doorstep from your village.

Phema:


Dey there dey over think and analyse, till you wake up one day and a well packaged wife has been delivered to your doorstep from your village.

honestly u no well

shelly23:
Is it really such a bad thing to pay taxes? At least we can see the value of the taxes. Medicaid that some of us are illegally using is a result of taxes.

I'll rather my child pay taxes than to be wondering what if or singing sholda woulda coulda songs many years down the line

God bless you! Infact, your child will be a blessing to all of mankind!
Even I would not mind paying tax sef to US instead.all the tax av pd in nigeria, what has it done for me? Common road, we no see

I'm not being defensive at all, sorry if it came across that way. I'm really just curious as to why people are so opposed to taxes, whether double or single or whatever, especially when the effect/benefits are so obvious.

To each his own I guess.

Ralphlauren:


There's absolutely nothing wrong in paying taxes. Absolutely nothing wrong. It seems you do not understand what FATCA is all about. It's basically the double taxation a US citizen is subject to if he or she earn wages/does business/operate a bank account outside the US. As long as the individual lives/works/earns wages/does business/operates bank accounts strictly within the US, then there's nothing to worry about.

No need to get all defensive at me ma'am. I know Nigerian mothers take this US citizenship via birth really personal and they are very defensive about it which is my original post was directed to parents with foreign citizenship already.

All I have done is explain in layman terms a law which a lot of people do not know about or understand.

Hope the canada forum is as active

I finally got a PTA from Diamnd Bank Muhamed Buhari Way after a huge heartache from one branch that told e they can't sell to a customer that has less than six months acct. By Gods grace will get the balance of my medical bill to show at POE.

olokings:
Greetings guys.
While I admire the valuable research n information, I believe it is obligatory and a civic responsibility to pay your taxes to your country(s). As such of u re a dual citizen, u don't have a choice than to pay taxes to both states because you are entitled to d civic benefits of both.
Plus if you are going to a foreign country to work it's illegal for one not to pay tax . As such in as much as letting the poeps know, it's really not so much as a negating factor on whether or not one should embark in d missionary journey on that premise.

because we in naija pay lil or no tax n gets nothing in return from d govt, in developed countries every penny of ur tax money is accounted for in a whole lot of entitlements which we over here are yet to even dream of.

Take for example, a John doe was hit by just a mere okada could stay beside d road n bleed to death n not stand a chance to life, ... that's near impossible over there. ...where med evac functions like breeze. ... if not for anything the life expectancy as a citizen beats ours jare lets face d fact.
So if paying my kido's taxes grants him those opportunity/privileges n more, sure y not!

Peace meehn. ...
Keep feeding us info n best regards to you n y'alls

you are wrong there.

i have dual citizenship and i am under no obligation to pay any taxes to the nigerian government - legally or otherwise.

as long as you do not work/reside in a country or enjoy any 'benefits' from that country, there is no reason why you should pay taxes in that country and that is why FATCA rubs off on so many people in the wrong way.

i insist again that my post is directed at parents with citizenship of another developed country and not parents with only nigerian citizenship, so spare me the whole okada/life expectancy argument I am not here to convince you lot not to go to the US to have your kids. However, i am sure there will be a few people here that have learnt one or two things from my posts.

it pointless having a child live and work in UK/EU and pay taxes in the UK/EU while at the same time paying taxes to the US government (a country where he or she does not live or derive any benefits from). So parents holding a foreign citizenship should think twice before going through this US route - Canada right now, is a better alternative.

justwise:


Couldn't have said it any better.

People chasing foreign passport and good health care about trying desperately to avoid paying into the same system they benefited from.

yes, they have to pay into a system they are benefitting from.

my argument here are those mandated by law to pay into a system they are getting nothing from just because they hold the passport of that country.

you live and work in the UK, use the NHS, etc and you know how the tax system works. now imagine if you also had to pay taxes to the US government to fund medicaid and the rest - surely, you wont like that.

@Ralphlauren,

You do realise you are preaching to the choir

Folks here have weighed their pros & cons & have made their choices...No one(unless with unfettered access to stolen govt funds ) will want to spend 2-3m without doing a proper introspection. ..

This is being done to give the children an option in case the Country refuses to improve (my case & the visaless rntry to 177 countries will not hurt either).. Nothing stops anyone from renouncing citizenship , Tina Turner did not long ago, so whats the fuss? My 2k...

modath:
@Ralphlauren,

You do realise you are preaching to the choir

Folks here have weighed their pros & cons & have made their choices...No one(unless with unfettered access to stolen govt funds ) will want to spend 2-3m without doing a proper introspection. ..

This is being done to give the children an option in case the Country refuses to improve (my case & the visaless rntry to 177 countries will not hurt either).. Nothing stops anyone from renouncing citizenship , Tina Turner did not long ago, so whats the fuss? My 2k...

Thank you....@Ralphlauren I'm sure ppl have weighed their opinions so coming here and over flogging the issue about taxes....we get it.

0yin:



Thank you....@Ralphlauren I'm sure ppl have weighed their opinions so coming here and over flogging the issue about taxes ....we get it.

erm. . . i am not overflogging nada. you personally knew ZILCH about fatca till i mentioned it and you are the reason why i took time to explain/break it down (refer to your previous post), so you should be thanking me for educating you and spare me the sarcasm

that said, you should also do your research on citizenship by descent. i don't know who told you that crap that british citizenship isn't transferrable to the 3rd or 20th generation. information is knowledge and no - i will not be educating you on that

nice one there!..
however, logically looking at it from your apparent point of view, may i point to the fact that on the premise of one holding a dual citizenship (UK/EU & US on this ground) you are entitled to benefits of both states.
now its a whole different ball game altogether but the simple logic is that your tax is used to ensure that the entitlements / benefits due u as a citizen are available when needed however when, where, and how you need it is up to you. you are paying taxes for the entitlements, bear in mind that its not a "pay as you go" thing.

do you pay your insurance only when you have planned to have an accident and make insurance claims over a period?

trust me i am not sentimental about my arguments so don't think i am.

but then again, if you feel the FACTA is causing you double taxation and perceive it as a rip off, you could easily denounce one of the citizenship and stick with the other. the fact that you are holding on to both of them is because it is beneficial to you. that is a plus all on it own..

please feel free to school me so i can dust off my keyboard n employ google search engine..

infact i dey jealous you weh get US & UK/EU.... me na kpako naija garage (not even kuma church sef) rat i be..

peace mahn.!

Ralphlauren:


you are wrong there.

i have dual citizenship and i am under no obligation to pay any taxes to the nigerian government - legally or otherwise.

as long as you do not work/reside in a country or enjoy any 'benefits' from that country, there is no reason why you should pay taxes in that country and that is why FATCA rubs off on so many people in the wrong way.

i insist again that my post is directed at parents with citizenship of another developed country and not parents with only nigerian citizenship, so spare me the whole okada/life expectancy argument I am not here to convince you lot not to go to the US to have your kids. However, i am sure there will be a few people here that have learnt one or two things from my posts.

it pointless having a child live and work in UK/EU and pay taxes in the UK/EU while at the same time paying taxes to the US government (a country where he or she does not live or derive any benefits from). So parents holding a foreign citizenship should think twice before going through this US route - Canada right now, is a better alternative.

bro... 2-3m is even on the extremely prudent ones...

others have gone and debitted themselve of well over 9-10m sef....
this missionary journey is a project all on its own...
buh then again.. we as parents are ready to do anything for our lil' ones...

modath:
@Ralphlauren,

You do realise you are preaching to the choir

Folks here have weighed their pros & cons & have made their choices...No one(unless with unfettered access to stolen govt funds ) will want to spend 2-3m without doing a proper introspection. ..

This is being done to give the children an option in case the Country refuses to improve (my case & the visaless rntry to 177 countries will not hurt either).. Nothing stops anyone from renouncing citizenship , Tina Turner did not long ago, so whats the fuss? My 2k...

US TAX AND FATCA

Here is a report of my findings on FATCA & US Tax Laws

First of all, the US is one of the very few (might even be the only) countries who taxes its citizens regardless of where they reside. As long as u have that blue pali, even though u might not have set foot in the US since u were born, you must file tax returns/pay ur tax annually. Even astronauts based in the space still pay their taxes yearly. Its yet another means through which the US govt gets the money that ensures its systems work. (I can imagine if all Nigerians & companies based in 9ja paid their taxes & the money was actually used judiciously, we won't need 2 run off and give birth elsewhere )

The FATCA is the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act which just recently came into effect a couple of years ago. What it does is that it compels non US banks to report accounts of US nationals (that are above a certain min balance) to the US govt. The original intention was to help the US govt to fish out tax cheats (ie US citizens who stash their money in non US banks so as not to pay taxes on them) but it seems to have also caught out a lot of dual-nationals. The penalties for the banks not reporting the accounts/indivduals include huge fines and withdrawal of their US banking license. Even swiss banks are hustling to comply, talkless of 9ja banks. I remember one Nigerian bank (I think diamond/First Bank) sending me a mail about it a while back. Some banks are even closing the accounts of US/dual citizens in other to rid themselves of the burden of filing cumbersome paperwork with the US govt regularly.

So therefore papas and mamas, when your child is 18 yrs old, he/she will begin file his tax returns yearly with the IRS (along with income & banking details)and will start to pay tax to the US govt for the rest of his/her life.

In the US system, the more money you make the higher your tax. That is why some high networth individuals renounce their US citizenship. Does anybody remember the story of that facebook/google (can't remember which) exec that renounced his US citizenship just b4 their IPO a couple of years ago..?? It was because he didn't want to get taxed on the windfall coming his way. Infact, since the FATCA came into effect, the no. of US citizens that have renounced their citizenship has soared to record numberrs forcing the govt to increase the cost of renouncing by over 400% (from $400 - $3250). Its probably the huge nos that are renouncing that has led to the surge in granting visas for childbirth, the US needs to replace those people leaving their tax system.

Don't get me wrong, nobody is condemning the payment of tax. What people are angry about is dual taxation ie paying tax to the govt. of ur resident country & also paying tax to the US even though u don't reside there or may not have been there since birth and therefore not enjoying any benefits from there. There are lawsuits & focus groups challenging this right now but they all seem to be leading no where cos the no. of people it affects are jst a small %age of US taxpayers.

modath:
@Ralphlauren,

You do realise you are preaching to the choir

Folks here have weighed their pros & cons & have made their choices...No one(unless with unfettered access to stolen govt funds ) will want to spend 2-3m without doing a proper introspection. ..

This is being done to give the children an option in case the Country refuses to improve (my case & the visaless rntry to 177 countries will not hurt either).. Nothing stops anyone from renouncing citizenship , Tina Turner did not long ago, so whats the fuss? My 2k...

yeah, but am sure some have been enjoying all my melody and there will be one or two people that have learnt some few things from all my hymns.

let me return back to the sidelines before ya'll unleash the 'anger' associated with pregnancy hormones on me.

shawlar:
US TAX AND FATCA

Here is a report of my findings on FATCA & US Tax Laws

First of all, the US is one of the very few (might even be the only) countries who taxes its citizens regardless of where they reside. As long as u have that blue pali, even though u might not have set foot in the US since u were born, you must file tax returns/pay ur tax annually. Even astronauts based in the space still pay their taxes yearly. Its yet another means through which the US govt gets the money that ensures its systems work. (I can imagine if all Nigerians & companies based in 9ja paid their taxes & the money was actually used judiciously, we won't need 2 run off and give birth elsewhere )

The FATCA is the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act which just recently came into effect a couple of years ago. What it does is that it compels non US banks to report accounts of US nationals (that are above a certain min balance) to the US govt. The original intention was to help the US govt to fish out tax cheats (ie US citizens who stash their money in non US banks so as not to pay taxes on them) but it seems to have also caught out a lot of dual-nationals. The penalties for the banks not reporting the accounts/indivduals include huge fines and withdrawal of their US banking license. Even swiss banks are hustling to comply, talkless of 9ja banks. I remember one Nigerian bank (I think diamond/First Bank) sending me a mail about it a while back. Some banks are even closing the accounts of US/dual citizens in other to rid themselves of the burden of filing cumbersome paperwork with the US govt regularly.

So therefore papas and mamas, when your child is 18 yrs old, he/she will begin file his tax returns yearly with the IRS (along with income & banking details)and will start to pay tax to the US govt for the rest of his/her life.

In the US system, the more money you make the higher your tax. That is why some high networth individuals renounce their US citizenship. Does anybody remember the story of that facebook/google (can't remember which) exec that renounced his US citizenship just b4 their IPO a couple of years ago..?? It was because he didn't want to get taxed on the windfall coming his way. Infact, since the FATCA came into effect, the no. of US citizens that have renounced their citizenship has soared to record numberrs forcing the govt to increase the cost of renouncing by over 400% (from $400 - $3250). Its probably the huge nos that are renouncing that has led to the surge in granting visas for childbirth , the US needs to replace those people leaving their tax system.

Don't get me wrong, nobody is condemning the payment of tax. What people are angry about is dual taxation ie paying tax to the govt. of ur resident country & also paying tax to the US even though u don't reside there or may not have been there since birth and therefore not enjoying any benefits from there. There are lawsuits & focus groups challenging this right now but they all seem to be leading no where cos the no. of people it affects are jst a small %age of US taxpayers.

you've said it all bro!

a lot of people are not aware of all what you've stated here if they want to be brutally honest . i dont know about other countries but banks here in the UK/EU report the entire account turnover for the year - there is nothing like minimum balance.

i am not here to discourage anyone especially Nigerian parents from acquiring foreign citizenship for their wards. all i have doing here is passing on/sharing information which is what nairaland is all about anyways. sometimes, we are all guilty of the 'herd mentality' without finding out the nitty gritty. like i said earlier, canada is a better alternative

Ralphlauren:



Haha @ EU passport. That's another thread/topic for another day.

If your wife is yet to travel, you should consider the Canadian option/route. It's still the same automatic citizenship and a better/sane country (in so many ways) compared to the US (that's my own opinion sha).

I seriously considered the Canadian option too (actually preferred it) but it just couldn't work out for me cos;

1) I heard that Canadian doctors don't accept patients with less than 2months to the EDD and won't even accept patients until they have examined them physically.

2) I don't have any family/people who my wife could stay with for that period and she is a first timer (both pregnancy & travel)

@shawlar

i do not see the law changing or the government giving in to any focus group. there is so much money to be made into the government's coffers via fatca.

if anything, the US banking authorities will very soon make one or two banks 'scapegoats' (by imposing a very hefty fine on them for non-compliance) and that will make other banks sit up.

what is most annoying is the large number of countries that have happily signed up/agreed to the FATCA treaty

shawlar:


I seriously considered the Canadian option too (actually preferred it) but it just couldn't work out for me cos;

1) I heard that Canadian doctors don't accept patients with less than 2months to the EDD and won't even accept patients until they have examined them physically.

2) I don't have any family/people who my wife could stay with for that period and she is a first timer (both pregnancy & travel)

1) 'you heard'. have you done your research/contacted doctors directly yourself to confirm if this is true? i personally doubt if this is the case.

2)that shouldnt be an issue. a lot of first time mothers/travellers have coped fine in the US. besides, there is always the local/neighbourhood church thats willing to extend a helping hand

Ralphlauren:


erm. . . i am not overflogging nada. you personally knew ZILCH about fatca till i mentioned it and you are the reason why i took time to explain/break it down (refer to your previous post), so you should be thanking me for educating you and spare me the sarcasm

that said, you should also do your research on citizenship by descent. i don't know who told you that crap that british citizenship isn't transferrable to the 3rd or 20th generation. information is knowledge and no - i will not be educating you on that

I'll appreciate if you dont

shelly23:
I'm not being defensive at all, sorry if it came across that way. I'm really just curious as to why people are so opposed to taxes, whether double or single or whatever, especially when the effect/benefits are so obvious.

To each his own I guess.

@shelly,

Let me give you a scenario - Imagine you earn like 2million naira a year and you where born in the US but has never gone back since birth. You are therefore a US/Nigerian Dual National. Out of your annual income, lets say u pay like 100k (an assumption) a year as tax to the Nigerian govt for the socail amenities you enjoy here. (Which amenities I know, I know - please indulge me )

Due to the fact that you are also a US citizen, you have to pay another (lets say) 60k to the US govt [b]every year [/b]even though you have not benefitted 4rm any of their social amenities since you have never gone there.

A dual EU/Nigerian national resident in Nigeria would not have that additional tax to pay. If you think its a small amount, multiply it by the no of years one intends to live..

There is nothing wrong in paying tax. I am certainly not against it as long as I get to enjoy the benefits. This is the reason why most of us complain/grumble when we pay tax in Nigeria, cos we are enjoying next to nothing from the govt..

Ralphlauren:


1) 'you heard'. have you done your research/contacted doctors directly yourself to confirm if this is true? i personally doubt if this is the case.

2)that shouldnt be an issue. a lot of first time mothers/travellers have coped fine in the US. besides, there is always the local/neighbourhood church thats willing to extend a helping hand

Yeah, unfortunately I have run out of time for any further research. She is due in sept and has a ticket to travel next week

She is also a lead vocalist in the choir that modath mentioned.

I have decided that once my child is old enough he'll go and live in the US so as not to burden him unnecessarily with the double taxation. Let him pay them the tax and enjoy the benefits over there...

boss,

you are forgetting an angle to this, the choice whether or not to reside in the states and/or enjoy the benefits is entirely yours.
simply put, the states prepared a buffet for you (for which it is mandatory you pay as long as you are a guest*citizen) however if/not you eat from the table is totally your call.

there is a very easy way out of it... drop the blue if you dont like d conditions.. lets not be claiming the US citizen name n not wanna pay the piper when its required of us.

shawlar:


@shelly,

Let me give you a scenario - Imagine you earn like 2million naira a year and you where born in the US but has never gone back since birth. You are therefore a US/Nigerian Dual National. Out of your annual income, lets say u pay like 100k (an assumption) a year as tax to the Nigerian govt for the socail amenities you enjoy here. (Which amenities I know, I know - please indulge me )

Due to the fact that you are also a US citizen, you have to pay another (lets say) 60k to the US govt [b]every year [/b]even though you have not benefitted 4rm any of their social amenities since you have never gone there.

A dual EU/Nigerian national resident in Nigeria would not have that additional tax to pay. If you think its a small amount, multiply it by the no of years one intends to live..

There is nothing wrong in paying tax. I am certainly not against it as long as I get to enjoy the benefits. This is the reason why most of us complain/grumble when we pay tax in Nigeria, cos we are enjoying next to nothing from the govt..

We have heard ooooooo! we have learnt 1 or 2 things about FATCA so pls can we move on before yawa go gas, lets not derail. I have been reading through and getting info from the thread since part 1 (ko easy) though not preggie yet. Just getting my data about the whole procedure only for me to get here and its FATCA... about 2 pages! thanks @shawlar and ralphlauren for the enlightenment. @ralph its seems you have some quality info about giving birth in canada please can you kindly go to the 'give birth in Canada' thread and drop some info there it is highly needed ejo e ma binu, adupe sir. * back to my studying mode*

hi anyone going to el paso in dec? lets connect pls

ebonychic18:
We have heard ooooooo! we have learnt 1 or 2 things about FATCA so pls can we move on before yawa go gas, lets not derail. it is highly needed ejo e ma binu, adupe sir. *

Ralphlauren:


1) 'you heard'. have you done your research/contacted doctors directly yourself to confirm if this is true? i personally doubt if this is the case.

2)that shouldnt be an issue. a lot of first time mothers/travellers have coped fine in the US. besides, there is always the local/neighbourhood church thats willing to extend a helping hand

@RalphLauren: Thks for your explanation. What Shawlar was saying is the truth abt birthing in canada. I made extensive research before deciding on US,birthing in canada is not that straight forward like US. I contacted some doctors and midwives and i was told I have to be there in person b4 a particular week of pregnancy (that varies on the province),in fact I got a group of midwives (which includes other medical professionals) that delivers a pregnant woman for free as long as it is not multiple u are expecting and u have to be there in person from the 1st trimester. But considering the visa process for visit and all other factors,I had to switch to US. Let just hope and pray our children become successful either with single or double taxation,they decided if they want to denounce or hold on to the US citizenship.