Heading to work in LA...

[Junius]

Originally Posted by Fatbrit

She can work on an E2 after a little extra bureaucracy. That'll solve the cash problem.

I agree. But that's still in the future, and we haven't made any solid plans regarding her stay in US, and whether she's even going to relocate to LA or not. In the meantime, we'll just have to make do with her trips to visit me from time to time (doesn't that remind you of conjugal visits for those people serving their time? LOL).

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by synthia

If the US has a tax treaty with Singapore, the tax setup is not dodgy at all. When my friends were in Germany working for a US company, they paid US taxes, not German taxes (a good deal for them, as the taxes were much lower) even though the money was paid into a German account. And Filipinos working for my company in the US had a similar deal under a tax treaty. Their salaries were paid to accounts in the Philippines, and they lived on expenses in the US.

You have to be careful with tax treaty situations like the ones you describe. These can be very dependent on the precise terms of the job - especially how long the transfer is for and the exact type of visa being used. There is normally also the requirement that the foreign national must maintain their social insurance payments back home (i.e. health care and retirement).

And of course there is always the issue of how much the employer thinks he can get away with. (I sat in on a labor court in Germany as part of a seminar, where the US Military was a constant defendant because they simply chose to disregard local labor laws.)
Cheers,
Bev

[Junius]

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

You have to be careful with tax treaty situations like the ones you describe. These can be very dependent on the precise terms of the job - especially how long the transfer is for and the exact type of visa being used. There is normally also the requirement that the foreign national must maintain their social insurance payments back home (i.e. health care and retirement).

And of course there is always the issue of how much the employer thinks he can get away with. (I sat in on a labor court in Germany as part of a seminar, where the US Military was a constant defendant because they simply chose to disregard local labor laws.)
Cheers,
Bev

Hi Bev,

There are still some uncertainties that I'm working out with the company. I know I am still fulfilling my contribution to the pension here in Singapore (Known as the Central Provident Fund). As for tax in Singapore, there is no need to pay for salaries earned overseas for my case.

I will be in US under the E2 visa. The company is going to pay for tax in US, so I will go through with them again to make sure which components they are responsible for (State tax, Federal tax, etc. Hopefully they will be paying for all).

Thank you all so much for your helpful advice regarding the tax issue. I'm wondering if there is anyone residing in LA who could give me more insight on the area near Inglewood (my office) and a suitable place to stay since I'm Asian. I shouldn't have problems staying in a diverse neighborhood since I used to stay in Australia and Shanghai (being around people of different races and nationalities), but I thought it would be nice to be around Asians too. Also, I have been checking out this serviced apartment on 8700 Pershing Drive in the oakwoods website, in an area called Playa Del Rey?

Any comments would be of great help. Thanks once again.

[synthia]

The tax treaties provide that you are taxed by your home country as if you are working there. For Americans transferred from the US to Germany under the right conditions, they continue to make Social Security payments as well as income tax payments.