7 thoughts on “93-Year-Old Tennessee Woman Who Cleaned State Capitol For 30 Years Denied Voter ID”
One of the polical parties resists voter ID legislation at every step. How much you want to bet that this story is actually a sad story produced by that party. Do you know which one it is?
Why? Because if you have voter ID it might be little harder for illegal immigrants and dead people to vote.
Another interesting fact from the WSJ article by renunication in the comments section – “They can do it for Puerto Rico – why not the rest of US ex-pats”
see bottom of Puerto Rico’s Government page stating that if you’re a bona fide resident of the island you are not liable to US Income Tax and therefore do not have to file a 1040. (except income from the Federal Government).
@John, If you are a Puerto Rico resident you are not subject to US Federal income tax on Puerto Rico source income only. If you are employed by Federal Government, or if you are a resident of Puerto Rico and have income from sources outside of Puerto Rico (either from within the US or from a foreign country) then you are requred to file a US tax return and pay US Federal income tax on that income.
If you are a US citizen or foreign (green card) resident who lives anywhere else in the world, including in the US, you may claim a foreign tax credit paid to Puerto Rico for taxes on Puerto Rico source income. This is true even though Puerto Rico is not a foreign country. Puerto Rico is the only place in the world where a US citizen may live and not be subject to the US income tax, as long as the person’s income is from Puerto Rico sources. This is the result of an agreement beween Puerto Rico and the US that is very old. As I recall it dates back to 1917.
In 1996 the GAO, at the request of Congress, conducted a study to determine whether or not Puerto Rico’s tax status should be modifed to extend the US income tax to residents of that island. The results of the study, as covered by the GAO report which is available on the Internet, concluded it would be a bad deal for both Puerto Rico and the US. So it was dropped like a hot potato and not pursued further.
Puerto Rico is on the path to statehood, they have a referendum this year. So within a year or two they’ll be the same as any other state.
*I was born in Puerto Rico, lived in New York and Massachusetts for for about 20 years and recently immigrated to Canada. I am all confused about the tax filing requirements. If I live in Puerto Rico I do not have to file but I do now that I moved to a foreign country? What is more confusing is that if I move to Puerto Rico I loose the right to vote on any federal election but now that I live in Canada I can complete an absentee ballot with my last state of residence. The rights and requirements of U.S. Citizens born in Puerto Rico is extremely confusing.
@WhoaIt’sSteve Don’t hold your breath on Puerto Rico becoming a State. It is not the first such referendum and it won’t be the last. Firstly, Puerto Ricans don’t decide if the island becomes a State, the U.S. Congress does. If PR was to be a State it would be the one with the highest unemployment, lowest wages, highest poverty level and most in using social services. Do you really think the U.S. Congress would vote to admit PR as a State under these conditions when they can continue to take all our resources with the least of investment? Secondly, the requirement of English only as an official language will never be accepted on the island. It has failed everytime it has been attempted since the 1920’s.
~Martin
@Martin Nieves
Welcome to Isaac Brock… Good to see someone from PR commenting here with new POVs for us to consider. That does sound very confusing for you. Thanks for taking the time to leave us this message. Not sure @WhoaIt’sSteve will see it, as we haven’t seen and heard from him for a while, but maybe! In the meantime, maybe some others have some perspectives or comments that might help you with your unique dilemmas.
One of the polical parties resists voter ID legislation at every step. How much you want to bet that this story is actually a sad story produced by that party. Do you know which one it is?
Why? Because if you have voter ID it might be little harder for illegal immigrants and dead people to vote.
Another interesting fact from the WSJ article by renunication in the comments section – “They can do it for Puerto Rico – why not the rest of US ex-pats”
see bottom of Puerto Rico’s Government page stating that if you’re a bona fide resident of the island you are not liable to US Income Tax and therefore do not have to file a 1040. (except income from the Federal Government).
http://www.sisterstates.com/statetaxforms.php?id=43
@John, If you are a Puerto Rico resident you are not subject to US Federal income tax on Puerto Rico source income only. If you are employed by Federal Government, or if you are a resident of Puerto Rico and have income from sources outside of Puerto Rico (either from within the US or from a foreign country) then you are requred to file a US tax return and pay US Federal income tax on that income.
If you are a US citizen or foreign (green card) resident who lives anywhere else in the world, including in the US, you may claim a foreign tax credit paid to Puerto Rico for taxes on Puerto Rico source income. This is true even though Puerto Rico is not a foreign country. Puerto Rico is the only place in the world where a US citizen may live and not be subject to the US income tax, as long as the person’s income is from Puerto Rico sources. This is the result of an agreement beween Puerto Rico and the US that is very old. As I recall it dates back to 1917.
In 1996 the GAO, at the request of Congress, conducted a study to determine whether or not Puerto Rico’s tax status should be modifed to extend the US income tax to residents of that island. The results of the study, as covered by the GAO report which is available on the Internet, concluded it would be a bad deal for both Puerto Rico and the US. So it was dropped like a hot potato and not pursued further.
Puerto Rico is on the path to statehood, they have a referendum this year. So within a year or two they’ll be the same as any other state.
Reblogged this on Stop Unconstitutional Double Taxation.
*I was born in Puerto Rico, lived in New York and Massachusetts for for about 20 years and recently immigrated to Canada. I am all confused about the tax filing requirements. If I live in Puerto Rico I do not have to file but I do now that I moved to a foreign country? What is more confusing is that if I move to Puerto Rico I loose the right to vote on any federal election but now that I live in Canada I can complete an absentee ballot with my last state of residence. The rights and requirements of U.S. Citizens born in Puerto Rico is extremely confusing.
Read the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rican_citizenship
@WhoaIt’sSteve Don’t hold your breath on Puerto Rico becoming a State. It is not the first such referendum and it won’t be the last. Firstly, Puerto Ricans don’t decide if the island becomes a State, the U.S. Congress does. If PR was to be a State it would be the one with the highest unemployment, lowest wages, highest poverty level and most in using social services. Do you really think the U.S. Congress would vote to admit PR as a State under these conditions when they can continue to take all our resources with the least of investment? Secondly, the requirement of English only as an official language will never be accepted on the island. It has failed everytime it has been attempted since the 1920’s.
~Martin
@Martin Nieves
Welcome to Isaac Brock… Good to see someone from PR commenting here with new POVs for us to consider. That does sound very confusing for you. Thanks for taking the time to leave us this message. Not sure @WhoaIt’sSteve will see it, as we haven’t seen and heard from him for a while, but maybe! In the meantime, maybe some others have some perspectives or comments that might help you with your unique dilemmas.
Cheers