THE IRS HUNTS DOWN AMERICANS IN AUSTRALIA
Editor’s note: This week’s Grassroots Corner comes from David Ives, Down Under. Dave lives in Australia and read the October 9, 2024, “Grassroots Corner” about how Republicans Overseas successfully prevailed on Donald Trump to call for ending the double taxation of Americans abroad. Dave is a U.S. Air Force veteran, and his Aussie wife has a lapsed “Green Card.” Here is Dave’s IRS story in his words:
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My wife and I are caught up in the “double taxation” big time. But I believe our case is the “poster child” for all that's wrong about it.
We live in Australia. My wife and I have been paying U.S. tax on our worldwide income since 1990 when we got married. My wife is Australian and a former US “green card” holder. Her card expired in 2003 because I stayed working for a U.S. company at a joint U.S./Australia facility in Australia for too long. We figured, “No big deal, we'll just get the card renewed when we want to come home.”
Well, three years in and still no “green card.” Yet, my wife still pays U.S. tax on her worldwide income. We got hit with a U.S. $20,000 extra tax bill from Uncle Sam last year because we had the audacity to make some money on the sale of a rental property in Brisbane Australia. The Australian capital gain tax was massive enough. But the gain triggered an automatic 3.8% tax debt with the U.S.A.
So, this is how it works. My wife gets to pay U.S. tax, but she can't enter the country and live in her own home? (We have a home in Florida where our two daughters are living now, just waiting for us to join them.) Go figure.
It gets worse. We've been told it'll be another 28 months’ wait for them (U.S. immigration) to make a decision. That's why I tell people, “It's an IQ test. If you apply to enter the U.S.A. legally, you flunk.”
I'm an 11-year US Air Force veteran.
Not happy that my taxes are paying for this kind of nonsense.
I weave the “overseas taxation” into my latest book, Lockdown Australia: Pandemic of Madness. The last Chapter - Chapter 10 - goes into detail about our “green card” situation, which includes the overseas tax craziness. (Editor’s note: You can order the book at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJQBT6R8/.)
Looking forward to hearing back. Let me know if there's anything I can do to assist with your crusade to eliminate the oppressive USA overseas taxation.
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Editor’s note: If the FAIRtax had been in effect when the Ives sold their rental property in Australia, they would not have needed to tangle with our IRS.
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Dave Ives is a former United States Air Force medic who became an engineering officer through a commissioning program. In 1992, he left the Air Force and worked as an engineer for U.S. defense contractors until July 2009, when he did his part for the ‘global financial crisis’ handing in his top-secret badge saying, “Give my job to someone who needs it more than I do.” He pays the bills these days through his residential property investments in both the U.S. and Australia. When he’s not paying the bills, he’s writing books. His bill paying and book writing activities take place in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia where he currently lives.
Also by Dave Ives:
• Working my BUT Off! Reflections of a Property Investor
• Yanks in the Outback: A story of Woomera, South Australia, the Joint Defense Facility Nurrungar (JDFN) and the First Gulf War
• Perception is Reality: And other things I learned in Officer Training School
• Dreams of the Philippines: Escape from Clark Air Base
• The Adventures of an Air Force Medic: Experience life in a military hospital without having to live through it yourself!
• Live Free or Die
• The Dayton Dilemma: When doing the right thing, isn’t the right thing.
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If you know of an IRS story similar to the Ives’, I would love to hear about it.
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