Bancolombia

[Calipro]

so bancolombia sends me this form to fill out


Seems to they already have this information and does someone that makes it a point to spend less than 6 months out of the year there .....really have to fill it out?

[Calipro]

looks like BanColombia is now an agent for the IRS


What is FATCA?FATCA promotes cross border tax compliance by implementing an international standard for the automatic exchange of information related to US taxpayers. FATCA regulations require tax authorities obtain detailed account information for US taxpayers on an annual basis.[/font]
FATCA is intended to increase transparency for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with respect to US persons that may be investing and earning income through non-US institutions. While the primary goal is to gain information about US persons, FATCA imposes tax withholding where the applicable documentation and reporting requirements are not met.[/color]

[robert angel]

 Two things almost all of us can surely count on--death and taxes. Been to some third world areas, where they didn't collect formal 'taxes' for any recognized, legitimate 'government'--they were areas 'outside the law'

But if you wanted to move around there, or to pass thru, you had to pay sort of 'tribute' money.

If you didn't you risked severe damage to your body, vehicle, maybe even death.

A lot of companies, like Apple, are able to send their assets to nations like Ireland,, Islands in the English Channel etc, where they keep over a quarter Trillion dollars, avoiding paying billions in USA taxes.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.irishtimes.com/business/apple-s-cash-mountain-how-it-avoids-tax-and-the-irish-link-1.3281734%3fmode=amp

Heck, I think Trump's had some years where he hasn't paid any significant taxes, but he still hasn't released any of HIS tax returns.

Although Leona Helmsley, 'the queen of mean' eventually served time for not paying taxes on her eight billion dollar fortune, it's probably because she had the gall to allegedly say: "WE don't pay taxes, only the LITTLE people pay taxes".

Once that gem of a comment was all over the MEDIA world wide, the District Attorney had little choice but to finally go after her, LOL.

[utopiacowboy]

The US along with Eritrea is the only country on earth which taxes its citizens on their worldwide income regardless of where they live. I am a Canadian citizen but I have not paid any taxes to Canada nor filled out any Canadian tax returns the whole time that I have been away. A couple of times I did pay tax on some income which had a Canadian source but it was easy and pain free.


OTOH a US citizen living in Canada this whole time would have been required to complete US tax returns along with paying US tax. They would receive a credit for Canadian taxes paid but nevertheless it's a huge hassle.


More and more countries and foreign financial institutions are simply refusing to allow US citizens to open bank accounts. Americans like to think they are free but they actually live in one of the most repressive regimes on earth. I guarantee you that any wall with Mexico will eventually be used to keep US citizens in.

[robert angel]

The US along with Eritrea is the only country on earth which taxes its citizens on their worldwide income regardless of where they live. I am a Canadian citizen but I have not paid any taxes to Canada nor filled out any Canadian tax returns the whole time that I have been away. A couple of times I did pay tax on some income which had a Canadian source but it was easy and pain free.


OTOH a US citizen living in Canada this whole time would have been required to complete US tax returns along with paying US tax. They would receive a credit for Canadian taxes paid but nevertheless it's a huge hassle.


More and more countries and foreign financial institutions are simply refusing to allow US citizens to open bank accounts. Americans like to think they are free but they actually live in one of the most repressive regimes on earth. I guarantee you that any wall with Mexico will eventually be used to keep US citizens in.

Maybe it's according to the type of work, but I thought the first $100,000, IF earned abroad, is exempt from USA taxes...

[Wildstubby]

The US along with Eritrea is the only country on earth which taxes its citizens on their worldwide income regardless of where they live. I am a Canadian citizen but I have not paid any taxes to Canada nor filled out any Canadian tax returns the whole time that I have been away. A couple of times I did pay tax on some income which had a Canadian source but it was easy and pain free.


OTOH a US citizen living in Canada this whole time would have been required to complete US tax returns along with paying US tax. They would receive a credit for Canadian taxes paid but nevertheless it's a huge hassle.


More and more countries and foreign financial institutions are simply refusing to allow US citizens to open bank accounts. Americans like to think they are free but they actually live in one of the most repressive regimes on earth. I guarantee you that any wall with Mexico will eventually be used to keep US citizens in.

That must be where you are. I remember guys, including myself being offered hugh amounts of money to work in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait tax free. The money at that time was pretty lucrative. But if I wanted to live in a desert, I would move to Arizona!, (and I can drink beer there also!)

[Elexpatriado]

Calipro..we all got that stupid letter..several times..

Just do the same as every single expat I ever met in Colombia do with this crap and send it to the "trash" bin...

But having said this , better to not own any.property and large amounts of cash in bank accounts in Colombia so DIAN, some gold digger or your ex maid who thinks you trested her bad cant "embargo" anything..

[Elexpatriado]

Maybe it's according to the type of work, but I thought the first $100,000, IF earned abroad, is exempt from USA taxes...

your right...maybe it is even higher now..but then you have to follow the tax laws of the country you are resident in..

and like in Canadá , you have to fill.out a bunch of rorms and havevthe tax department confirm.you are a non-resident for tax purpuses..


and Colombia has a tax rate of 33% on much lower than $100,000

[robert angel]

Calipro..we all got that stupid letter..several times..

Just do the same as every single expat I ever met in Colombia do with this crap and send it to the "trash" bin...

But having said this , better to not own any.property and large amounts of cash in bank accounts in Colombia so DIAN, some gold digger or your ex maid who thinks you trested her bad cant "embargo" anything..

Hard call, but I'm inclined to agree. I'm sure they will send you additional ones. If you're in one place long enough, own something big and it's recorded on paper there, same thing if it's on a marriage or birth certificate, once you're in 'the system' they, and apparently their financial friends, the USA, have you in their sights.

My wife saved for years and bought a nice house in her country. Paid for it in full.

It was built by an Australian family, who built it along the lines I probably would've. Then her family fixed it up even nicer, adding an outside kitchen, laying new tile, upgrading bathrooms etc.

Never occurred to me to ask, but later on, she told me: Oh, BTW, Honey, it's in BOTH our names. So I'm on record as a landowner there on the city house--near the new mall and ocean resorts. And also, since her Daddy died, out in the countryside, on a big Ole coconut plantation.She doesn't even know how many hectares big. She's funny that way--doesn't want to think about it, but she knows

I feel a bit lke that rich city slicker turned farmer guy on the old TV series 'Green Acres' - -anybody remember that show? With 'Mr. Wendall Oliver Douglas' singing---"Farm living is the life for me" - - like WTF do I know about growing dem coconuts?, plus it has field hands who do the grunt work in exchange for part of the crop, there's rice fields, a bit of corn for the live stock, and mango tree groves, LOL. "Oh well, maybe Elex can be my 'Mr. Haney' character.... And just like in 'Green Acres', where wealthy Mr. Douglas's wife abhors the country side, singing : "Darling I love, you---but give me Park Avenue"---My wife would LOVE to live 50 stories up in some sky scraper in Buckhead, Atlanta, with the city, Lennox Mall yoga studios, coffee shops, restaurants and 'all that' down below, beckoning...Wayyy, out of our budget....

Feel a little bad because our little house in the white bread homoginized suburbs, which I bought with equity from previous houses before I married her, is my name only, but I'm not gonna complain...

In a few weeks I'm officially retired. I am paying a pretty big amount of money each month to make sure if I die, she's set for life (the 'having a beautiful young wife in the USA penalty' - - monetary fine, I call it. even if self imposed. I didn't HAVE to cut her in, but she's soooo good to this dirty Ole bastard..

But if we divorced, as written, the amount would go back to the original, higher amount.. I am a lot older, so the actuaries (super accountants) made sure I pay more--the pretty wife penalty...

Worst case scenario, again, hate to even think about it---divorce---if I have to pay alimony (unlikely) it might be about the same amount, but even more likely I'd still take home more income---because she wouldn't be a beneficiary and my retirement fund wouldn't be holding money every month in reserve for a wife anymore.

But once they've got your names and numbers, they've got you where they want. Gotta keep moving  to avoid that.

MY life's TOO complicated. Maybe plantation life and letting the field hands do all the work, wouldn't be too bad. Besides, It's not far from a great ocean beach and the fishing's good, they say....

Now if ONLY I could keep my hands off and pants up around all those half Asian, half Spanish morenas, their skin glistening in the sun, eyes like black diamonds--just real hottie, passion filled babes, already running around half dressed and looking my white bones up and down, just a wonderIng what a 'taste of vanilla' might be like, for a change....

"Once in a life'"- - (Talking Heads)
And you may find yourself
Living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself
In another part of the world
And you may find yourself
Behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house
With a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself, well
How did I get here?

[Wildstubby]

Remember: Alimony is when 2 people make a mistake and one person pays for it!

[Calipro]

Calipro..we all got that stupid letter..several times..

Just do the same as every single expat I ever met in Colombia do with this crap and send it to the "trash" bin...

But having said this , better to not own any.property and large amounts of cash in bank accounts in Colombia so DIAN, some gold digger or your ex maid who thinks you trested her bad cant "embargo" anything..

i'm not worried about the form. I now know that they are just trying to conform to IRS regulations. And I have already reported the account to the IRS as it has more than 10k in it.
As it stands now I'm not subject to any Colombian taxes as I make it a point to not spend more than 6 months in country right now.

[robert angel]

I don't know why taking, having 10K in cash abroad is still such benchmark amount of money, forcing you to legally have to report it. I'd think they'd have adjusted it upwards long ago, what with inflation.

It's still a lot of money, but you can blow that kind of jack pretty quickly on vacation--in a minute in a casino.

Although in many parts of the world now, upwards to 80% of all 'day to day' routine transactions for things as little as a cup of coffee, involve NO cash, it's all credit, debit cards/plastic--or using your phone.

Paper and coin money's basically going the way of newspapers, cars that can't drive themselves and phone booths--obsolete. Friend's think it's odd when we go out to eat and I pay with cash.

But, narcotics and arms dealers, to name but two of a number of groups-- still routinely move millions, if not billions, of USD cash all around the globe, without detection..

No wonder a very large amount of USD's -- 90%, as of 2009, has trace amounts of cocaine residue on it. Now, with a lot of old style currency being replaced by the new, colorful bills still rolling out, as of 2017, 'only' 80% of USD's tests positive for cocaine residue. 

USD currency, with the metalic strips and other security measures embedded in the bills, shows up loud and clear on scanners, even if you try to hide them passing thru airports, I do declare....

[buencamino3]

I have been thinking about closing my Banccolombia account anyway. All I use it for is to pay bills online to avoid standing in real lines to pay them. If I get that letter it will hasten my departure.