R(etired)N

When I was very young, I had a stamp collection.

I would buy stamps from any missionary that would visit the church back in the 1960's.   I would also collect stamps from here and there, whatever envelope someone had saved for me,  and soon had quite a collection going.

As I transitioned into my teen years, I realized that collecting stamps was a monumental job and there was no way I would be able to collect all of the stamps I wanted.   I just didn't have the resources.

My OCD wouldn't let me continue.  ( If I couldn't collect them all, I wouldn't collect any!)

I gave my stamps to my cousin, who, through the years accumulated quite the array of Canadian stamps.

He is a computer techie that invented something that is used every day in the workings of the computerized New York stock exchange....and he makes a couple cents on every transaction. 

 It's not only stamps he is accumulating.   He can afford to buy whatever stamps he pleases.

Here are a few of his stamps he has collected:

Just in time for today:  Victoria Day holiday!

The entire collection of Jubilee stamps

Very old.....and very interesting!

This was the series of stamps issued for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.

Besides Queen Victoria, there is only one other British Monarch to celebrate 60 years on the throne.... Queen Elizabeth.

 2012 is the year of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee.

There are very few Historical Events that you can remember Where You Were When It Happened.

For me they were:

1.  John F Kennedy's assassination
2.  The eruption of Mount St Helen's*
3.  The great Earthquake in San Francisco*
4.  Princess Diana dying in a car crash
5.  9/11*

Three out of these five instances,* I just happened to be at work in a hospital. 

Three different hospitals.

Two different countries.

Today is the 32nd anniversary of Mount St Helen's eruption.

Photo Credit: Jim Nieland, US Forest service 1980 before the eruption

Photo Credit: Lyn Topinka, US Geological Survey 1982 post eruption

I remember how smoky the sky was - the red sun and the haze over the valley.   At first I didn't know what was going on....then someone mentioned that they had heard the radio announcement that people with respiratory illnesses should stay indoors because of the eruption of a volcano in Washington, just over the border. 

By the end of the day, a fine coating of ash settled all over everything.

Living  more directly in the path of the plume of ash, my husband has a much more interesting story.

My husband said that there were ashes settling like snow all over their cars and in the streets one hour after the eruption at approximately 8:30 am.  By 3 in the afternoon the sky was dark.  Thunder boomed in the dark - and sometimes the only light was from the streetlights and the lightning.

Photo Credit: Herb Hackenburg, THG file photo Ash fallout from Mt St Helen's

People had to shovel off their roofs because of the heavy load all the ash created.   Heavy equipment was sent into the street and plowed the ash to the center of the road then loaded onto dump trucks.  It took 10 weeks to complete the cleanup of the 20 thousand tons of ash from the streets and the tops of houses.

The airport was closed for seven days.

Credit: NOAA's Air Resources library. The path of the Ash from Mt St Helen's in 1980

Paths traveled over North America by 18 May 1980 Mt. St. Helen's ash at 3, 9, 16, and 18 km altitudes. Tick marks along each line show position of ash cloud front at that altitude every 24 hours, at noon GMT (0550 local time at Mt. St. Helen's). The date at each tick mark is indicated. For clarity, the 18 km path is shown as a dashed line. The 21 May cloud from at 9 km altitude is just off the map to the E. Data provided by NOAA's Air Resources Laboratory.

Were you were affected by the volcano??  Certainly the path of the ash followed a wide swath of countryside across the nation.

The only  visible remains from the volcano in my husband's home town is the lush green parks from the fertilizer the ash provided.

If you have the time, click on the link  just above the photo of the mountain.  It's a great pictorial of the history of that time.

One of Facebook's founders is giving up his US citizenship.

Not surprising -  after what we have gone through with my American husband.

Any American moving out of the country to live anywhere else on the planet is in for a rude surprise.


If you are a holder of an American citizenship or have one parent that is USA born ("Accidental" citizens) or are a Green Card holder living outside the country  you are doomed to file your 1040s and FBAR plus other documents for the rest of your life - even if you don't go back to the USA - ever. 

The tax breaks that are available in another country don't exempt you from paying the taxes in the USA.  You may even be double taxed on some income - by the home country and the USA.

Any lottery ticket I may buy (which isn't often) I tell my husband - his name doesn't go on it.   Lottery winnings - any winnings - are not taxable in Canada, yet, because he is an American - he would be subject to USA tax if his name were attached to any winnings.  

Already he has closed down his Retirement savings and Tax Free Savings account.  Plus, any money he makes is removed out of his account and put into mine to prevent the FBAR trigger.

Hey! Don't judge me!

He does get a credit card on which he can charge anything his heart desires! He is very spoiled!

Understandably, my husband is upset at his home country because of this liability - and how it strips him of the pride of ownership and the opportunity to save for his own retirement. 

After shopping around for an accountant to sort out the cross-border tax mess that is my husband's, I finally found H&R block would do the last 4 years of taxes (and 6 years of FBARs which I basically did myself and just gave them to check over)  for only $1500, which doesn't include what we already paid for our Canadian taxes!   (It was going to cost over $5K minimum with a regular Accounting company) 

If I could have understood the complicated forms, I would have done them myself since I am quite capable of filling out my own Canadian tax forms (however, I do get a local accountant to do it).


My dual citizen nephew who just moved here last year from the USA (born in the USA - Canadian mom/American dad), will be stuck with a huge bill every year, and as a poor newly-graduated student - he can't afford to hire someone to prepare his US taxes as required by law.

He isn't stupid.

He has a University degree (math major - masters level) and is very intelligent and yet he struggled for a month with the US tax forms until finally, I decided to shell out the $500 he couldn't afford for having H&R Block file his taxes this year. (he claims he should be able to copy it for next year, good luck!)

So, I can see why one would want to give up their US Citizenship.

My husband would do it in a minute if it would at all help him.

However:  It's not that easy to give up your citizenship if you don't happen to have a high-priced lawyer in your back pocket. 

-If you are suspected of giving up your citizenship for tax evasion purposes - they will deny your application.  

-If you are allowed to give up your US citizenship - you are still liable for past years filing and  for another 10 years anyway - just so the IRS can keep an eye on you just in case the above is true.  

Mexican citizens coming across the border to have their babies have no idea what a complicated tax mess they are setting their children up for.

   

There are a lot of these "Americans" living south of the US border that are now subject to US taxes - and with the present IRS - they will now be held liable to pay - even on their Mexican income. 

Parents are held responsible for filing on behalf of their US-born children whether there is any income or not.  If they don't - the penalties are severe ($10K per year !) - and border guards are now starting to ask questions on behalf of the IRS/Treasury.  In recent years, the US government is beginning to agressively pursue these individuals.  

What's so scary about an anchor baby? THE US TAX OBLIGATION!!

Someone should tell them - in the long run, it isn't worth it.*

I am just thankful everything is finally filed, and it's all behind us

......until next year!

_____________________________________________________

* -a USA citizen (accidental, reluctant & naturalized - whatever) has to pay Inheritance taxes on any money inherited, even from foreign parents outside USA - even if you no longer live in the USA (or have NEVER lived in the USA) and don't intend on going back.

   -Spouses who are not US Citizens face a discriminatory set of rules for US purposes - if "giving" their partner any gift - taxes must be paid (so much for that new mercedes as a gift!).

   -Retirement planning is impossibly taxed.  USA doesn't recognize a lot of the pensions that belong to other countries and will tax this....causing double taxation in some cases.

  -If you DON'T file, you are still liable years later for taxes due.  The time clock for the statute of limiations only start once forms are filed.  Non-filing penalty is $10K per year and up.

  -If you get lucky and find wealth over $10K - this now triggers an obligation to declare ALL your bank accounts details to the Treasury (filing the FBAR).  Penalties are severe.  If you KNOW you should file and don't - it's 5 years in prison and the greater of $100,000 or 50% of the total balance of the account at the time of violation.  If you DON'T KNOW you should have filed and plead ignorance - you get a little break - only $10K fine per violation. (hopefully you can convince the Treasury of a reasonable cause for not filing - for example: you don't have an education )

  -Completely severing ties doesn't eliminate your obligation.  You still have to file.  Because of the long lineups of people now wanting to relinquish their US citizenship - the wait list can be several months long.

  -NON AMERICANS with Greencards:  If you retain your Greencard after moving out of the USA - unless you file a form 8854 - you will STILL be liable to pay taxes.  (I didn't even have a greencard when working in the USA - I had a temporary yearly permit - and I was sent a bill of $25K 5 years after moving back to Canada!!!!! I wrote the IRS a letter and haven't heard back, but still not sure if they think I owe them!)

  -Tax laws are complicated - you WILL need an expensive professional experienced in cross-border tax laws to not only interpret but to file any and all forms.  You may also require an attorney.

  -Don't think that living outside the USA will allow you to avoid collection of taxes or fines.  The USA will file in their own courts and apply for application in another country in order to collect.

  - You may be considered a "US PERSON" and be required to file taxes/FBAR if you are NOT a citizen but reside (aka vacation) in the USA for more than 180 days or more even if you are a citizen and file and pay taxes elsewhere (this has implications for vacationing Snowbirds).  It's 30 days, if you don't have any clear tax home base.  With the recent "sharing of border data" laws, it's easy for the USA to determine your coming and going if you are from Canada.

  - If you file your taxes in another country, then file in the USA - you are liable to pay taxes if deemed by the USA.  However, if you are shown to be "owed" in the USA upon filing - you won't be gettiing any refunds! It only works out to the benefit of the IRS...not a two-way street!

If you are interested, you can read about the atrocities of the American tax/FBAR laws here. (written by American Citizens Abroad = ACA)

"Have you got your flu shot this year??"  might soon be a question of the past.

The latest research at UBC (Vancouver) suggests that the testing they are now doing may eliminate the need for the yearly flu immunization.



Read their media release in it's entirety:

Led by Prof. John Schrader, Canada Research Chair in Immunology and director of UBC’s Biomedical Research Centre, the research team found that the 2009 H1N1 “swine flu” vaccine triggers antibodies that protect against many influenza viruses, including the lethal avian H5N1 “bird flu” strain.

As it says in their commentary - this research can "potentially make influenza pandemics and seasonal influenza a thing of the past".

Yay.  I can't wait.  

Although there is a whole lot worse than a needle stick -  in my opinion - - - -

The fewer, the better.

It's Nurse's week - that time of the year when all the nurses will bring in baking and potluck to work - which is eaten by everyone else BUT nurses, because there is not enough time and too many patients.....

photo credit

Ironic.

A little nature break here.

You would expect this type of a thing elsewhere....but in Victoria, British Columbia??

At breakwater's edge, a giant octopus makes a quick meal of a seagull

Unbelievable!

Check it out!

Grandparents Send Awesome And Awkward Wedding Toasts - Watch More Funny Videos

In a way it's cute. But in another way....it's tragic.
As time goes on, I can understand where they are coming from.....