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I am not a legal expert but this is from the application form of Citibank: 7) US PERSON CERTIFICATION: I/We certify under penalties of perjury that (Ple

by eis 11y ago

I am not a legal expert but this is from the application form of Citibank: 7) US PERSON CERTIFICATION: I/We certify under penalties of perjury that (Please tick one box) (i) I am/We are not a U.S. Person (as defined below) ... “U.S. Person” as used by the Bank means any of the following: ... (ii) a United States resident; meaning: ... d. an individual with a U.S. mailing address or U.S. telephone number. Make of that what you will.

lstamour 11y ago
IANAL. That said, here's my armchair, never-done-it analysis from Canada: That is what a W8 form is for. So if you have an individual account with a US bank, the bank knows you aren't a US resident, meaning you don't actually reside in the US. Now, as someone non-American but connected to a company doing business, that's another W8 or W9 form. But even then, while you might have reporting obligations to the IRS as an individual (I'm not sure) your company definitely would, as in all scenarios, a US based company is considered a "US person" even if it has foreign shareholders. That you pay taxes on the company should reduce the need to pay taxes as an individual. If you reside in the US more than 50% (IIRC) of a year, you become a US resident even if you don't have a special visa or citizenship. If you don't actually live that long in the US it's easy to argue that you're not connected to the US, but you will likely have to self-report that. It might be a question of how you get paid too. If you set up a subsidiary C-Corp where dividends go back to the parent company, you'll pay taxes on the profits and taxes at home, but as mentioned elsewhere, you shouldn't pay more tax than your rate in both countries, whichever is higher. This is the cost of doing business -- taxes. Alternatively, you could work remotely for the company, thus taking profits before they are subject to tax. This is a more complicated structure and you might end up paying more taxes, it depends on the income brackets at your local jurisdiction. The reason you consult is not because US law is complicated but because most legal systems internationally do not have easy ways of dealing with US company income for taxation. LLCs can be especially interesting internationally, because their tax obligations can change based on how they declare themselves on the IRS form.
kintamanimatt 11y ago
That's on an individual basis. A corporation is an entirely separate legal entity that is not you. (That's the whole purpose of it.) Generally, indications that a natural person may be a "US person" include[0]: * A U.S. place of birth * Identification of the Account Holder as a U.S. citizen or resident * A current U.S. residence or mailing address (including a U.S. PO box) * A current U.S. telephone number * Standing instructions to pay amounts from a foreign (meaning non U.S.) account to an account maintained in the United States * A current power of attorney or signatory authority granted to a person with a U.S. address * A U.S. "in-care-of" or "hold mail" address that is the sole address with respect to the account holder * Special note: Others affected by FATCA include any non U.S. person who shares a joint account with a U.S. person or otherwise allows a U.S. person to have signatory authority on the account. * Any business or not for profit organization that allows a U.S. person to have signatory authority on a financial account. They're basically looking for Americans and permanent residents who have foreign accounts so that they can report the accounts to the US Gov. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Account_Tax_Compliance_Act#Provisions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Account_Tax_Compliance...

by eis 11y ago

lstamour 11y ago

IANAL. That said, here's my armchair, never-done-it analysis from Canada: That is what a W8 form is for. So if you have an individual account with a US bank, the bank knows you aren't a US resident, meaning you don't actually reside in the US. Now, as someone non-American but connected to a company doing business, that's another W8 or W9 form. But even then, while you might have reporting obligations to the IRS as an individual (I'm not sure) your company definitely would, as in all scenarios, a US based company is considered a "US person" even if it has foreign shareholders. That you pay taxes on the company should reduce the need to pay taxes as an individual. If you reside in the US more than 50% (IIRC) of a year, you become a US resident even if you don't have a special visa or citizenship. If you don't actually live that long in the US it's easy to argue that you're not connected to the US, but you will likely have to self-report that. It might be a question of how you get paid too. If you set up a subsidiary C-Corp where dividends go back to the parent company, you'll pay taxes on the profits and taxes at home, but as mentioned elsewhere, you shouldn't pay more tax than your rate in both countries, whichever is higher. This is the cost of doing business -- taxes. Alternatively, you could work remotely for the company, thus taking profits before they are subject to tax. This is a more complicated structure and you might end up paying more taxes, it depends on the income brackets at your local jurisdiction. The reason you consult is not because US law is complicated but because most legal systems internationally do not have easy ways of dealing with US company income for taxation. LLCs can be especially interesting internationally, because their tax obligations can change based on how they declare themselves on the IRS form.

kintamanimatt 11y ago

That's on an individual basis. A corporation is an entirely separate legal entity that is not you. (That's the whole purpose of it.) Generally, indications that a natural person may be a "US person" include[0]: * A U.S. place of birth * Identification of the Account Holder as a U.S. citizen or resident * A current U.S. residence or mailing address (including a U.S. PO box) * A current U.S. telephone number * Standing instructions to pay amounts from a foreign (meaning non U.S.) account to an account maintained in the United States * A current power of attorney or signatory authority granted to a person with a U.S. address * A U.S. "in-care-of" or "hold mail" address that is the sole address with respect to the account holder * Special note: Others affected by FATCA include any non U.S. person who shares a joint account with a U.S. person or otherwise allows a U.S. person to have signatory authority on the account. * Any business or not for profit organization that allows a U.S. person to have signatory authority on a financial account. They're basically looking for Americans and permanent residents who have foreign accounts so that they can report the accounts to the US Gov. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Account_Tax_Compliance_Act#Provisions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Account_Tax_Compliance...