lavender r dragon
08-22-2007, 10:38 PM
the bolded bits give a good overview/summary
i just thought it was interesting
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20070815/pl_bloomberg/adhtapywytq
Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Antarctica may be a great place to avoid the heat and the crowds. For U.S. citizens living there, one thing can't be avoided: taxes.
The U.S. Tax Court ruled that the approximately 1,100 workers at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, McMurdo Station or other areas on the southern continent don't qualify for a longstanding exemption for Americans living abroad.
At issue in the tax cases is whether Antarctica qualifies as a foreign country for purposes of a 50-year-old law that allows Americans living abroad to exclude part of their income from U.S. tax. Most of the cases date to 2001 and 2002, when the exclusion amount was capped at $80,000; the amount is now indexed for inflation and was $82,400 in 2006.
``As Antarctica is not a foreign country for purposes of the code, we conclude that petitioner is not entitled to exclude the wage income he earned in Antarctica,'' Judge Juan F. Vasquez wrote in one of 15 cases with identical rulings released in the last month.
As far back as the 1960s, U.S. tax courts have held that Americans working in Antarctica must pay taxes as if they were in the continental United States, Vasquez said in his ruling. Tax regulations classify work in Antarctica as ``space or ocean- related'' activity.Taxed Everywhere
The U.S. generally taxes citizens on their worldwide income. To qualify for what is known as a Section 911 exemption, U.S. citizens must live outside the country for an entire tax year, or 330 days in any 12-month period. U.S. citizens are required to pay taxes in the country where they are living.
The IRS decision particularly vexes some Raytheon Co. workers who also filed claims in labor court demanding overtime pay. That court ruled that Antarctica is a foreign country, and is therefore not subject to the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act.
``There can be no disagreement over the proposition that Antarctica is `foreign' to the United States,'' the 2004 ruling by U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro said. That case cited an earlier Supreme Court ruling that said the ``ordinary meaning of `foreign country' includes Antarctica, even though it has no recognized government.''
``So, according to U.S. law, Antarctica is not a foreign country, allowing taxes to be collected. But Antarctica is a foreign country when it comes to giving Raytheon a break in labor costs,'' said Nicholas Johnson, who was a party in both lawsuits. Johnson says he's returning to Antarctica tomorrow for another year of work.
Territorial Claims
Seven countries -- the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Chile, France and Argentina -- have made territorial claims in Antarctica, said Christopher Joyner, a government professor at Georgetown University who has written several books about Antarctica. None have been recognized by any other country.
In 1959, 12 states agreed in a treaty to use Antarctica only for peaceful purposes. Since then, 33 other nations have signed on. Since there is no recognized government, no taxes are levied in Antarctica.
The cases were almost all filed by Colorado residents working for Raytheon Support Services Co., under contract with the National Science Foundation at McMurdo Station on Ross Island in Antarctica.
Larry D. Harvey, an Englewood, Colorado, attorney who filed about 160 of the cases, said he was disappointed by the courts' rulings.
``I thought we had reasonably good arguments,'' he said in an interview.
The cases have parallels to a batch filed by Raytheon employees earlier in the decade who had worked on Johnston Island, a 591-acre, U.S.-owned South Pacific atoll located about 700 miles southwest of Hawaii.
Courts ruled against those workers.
To contact the reporters on this story: Ryan Donmoyer in Washington at rdonmoyer@bloomberg.net ; Alison Fitzgerald in Washington at Afitzgerald2@bloomberg.net
i just thought it was interesting
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20070815/pl_bloomberg/adhtapywytq
Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Antarctica may be a great place to avoid the heat and the crowds. For U.S. citizens living there, one thing can't be avoided: taxes.
The U.S. Tax Court ruled that the approximately 1,100 workers at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, McMurdo Station or other areas on the southern continent don't qualify for a longstanding exemption for Americans living abroad.
At issue in the tax cases is whether Antarctica qualifies as a foreign country for purposes of a 50-year-old law that allows Americans living abroad to exclude part of their income from U.S. tax. Most of the cases date to 2001 and 2002, when the exclusion amount was capped at $80,000; the amount is now indexed for inflation and was $82,400 in 2006.
``As Antarctica is not a foreign country for purposes of the code, we conclude that petitioner is not entitled to exclude the wage income he earned in Antarctica,'' Judge Juan F. Vasquez wrote in one of 15 cases with identical rulings released in the last month.
As far back as the 1960s, U.S. tax courts have held that Americans working in Antarctica must pay taxes as if they were in the continental United States, Vasquez said in his ruling. Tax regulations classify work in Antarctica as ``space or ocean- related'' activity.Taxed Everywhere
The U.S. generally taxes citizens on their worldwide income. To qualify for what is known as a Section 911 exemption, U.S. citizens must live outside the country for an entire tax year, or 330 days in any 12-month period. U.S. citizens are required to pay taxes in the country where they are living.
The IRS decision particularly vexes some Raytheon Co. workers who also filed claims in labor court demanding overtime pay. That court ruled that Antarctica is a foreign country, and is therefore not subject to the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act.
``There can be no disagreement over the proposition that Antarctica is `foreign' to the United States,'' the 2004 ruling by U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro said. That case cited an earlier Supreme Court ruling that said the ``ordinary meaning of `foreign country' includes Antarctica, even though it has no recognized government.''
``So, according to U.S. law, Antarctica is not a foreign country, allowing taxes to be collected. But Antarctica is a foreign country when it comes to giving Raytheon a break in labor costs,'' said Nicholas Johnson, who was a party in both lawsuits. Johnson says he's returning to Antarctica tomorrow for another year of work.
Territorial Claims
Seven countries -- the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Chile, France and Argentina -- have made territorial claims in Antarctica, said Christopher Joyner, a government professor at Georgetown University who has written several books about Antarctica. None have been recognized by any other country.
In 1959, 12 states agreed in a treaty to use Antarctica only for peaceful purposes. Since then, 33 other nations have signed on. Since there is no recognized government, no taxes are levied in Antarctica.
The cases were almost all filed by Colorado residents working for Raytheon Support Services Co., under contract with the National Science Foundation at McMurdo Station on Ross Island in Antarctica.
Larry D. Harvey, an Englewood, Colorado, attorney who filed about 160 of the cases, said he was disappointed by the courts' rulings.
``I thought we had reasonably good arguments,'' he said in an interview.
The cases have parallels to a batch filed by Raytheon employees earlier in the decade who had worked on Johnston Island, a 591-acre, U.S.-owned South Pacific atoll located about 700 miles southwest of Hawaii.
Courts ruled against those workers.
To contact the reporters on this story: Ryan Donmoyer in Washington at rdonmoyer@bloomberg.net ; Alison Fitzgerald in Washington at Afitzgerald2@bloomberg.net