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Greenback Expat Tax Services reports: While extensions are available and often necessary, all expats should aim to file their US expat tax return by April 17th to avoid extra costs.

(PRWEB) February 29, 2012

Although all US expats receive an automatic two-month extension that prolongs the April 17th deadline to June 15th, Greenback Expat Tax Services urges expats to file by April 17th if at all possible. According to Greenback Expat Tax Services President David McKeegan, it literally pays to file by April 17th. Many expats, says Mr. McKeegan, dont realize that even though the deadline for US expats is June 15th, if they owe any taxes interest begins to accrue as of April 17th. Although many expats dont owe tax if they file their taxes correctly and take advantage of all the exclusions and credits, it always pays to be on the safe side.

US expats can also request an extension to October 15th. The IRS understands that sometimes expats are unable to file by the original or automatically extended deadline. Greenback Expat Tax Services understands this as well, but they still advise expats to plan ahead and aim for April 17th. According to Mr. McKeegan, interest charges arent the only things to consider. Its such a great feeling of satisfaction to get your tax obligations fulfilled early in the year. We know that delays are sometimes unavoidable, but filing by April 17th provides relief for expats in that it allows them to get their taxes out of the way. Furthermore, all expats should be advised not to get behind on their taxes. The IRS takes delinquency quite seriously even for expats, and those who make it a habit to file by the original deadline will be much less likely to end up under question by or in trouble with the IRS. Filing a US expat tax return can be a challenging process, but we hate to see anyone suffer the consequences of late filing or delinquency.

Finally, one last consideration that should not be overlooked: the sooner you file your US expat tax return, the sooner you are entitled to a refund (if relevant)!

For more information on US expat tax deadlines and extensions, visit http://www.greenbacktaxservices.com.

About Greenback Expat Tax Services

Greenback Expat Tax Services specializes in the preparation of US expat taxes for Americans living abroad. Greenback offers flat-fee pricing, a simple, hassle-free process, and CPAs with more than 30 years experience in the field of expat tax preparation. For more information and to download a free guide to US expat taxes, visit http://www.greenbacktaxservices.com

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Carrie McKeegan Greenback Expat Tax Services 1-888-362-5032 Email Information

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Greenback Expat Tax Services Explains Why US Expats Should File by April 17th Despite Automatic Extension

DUBAI (Reuters) - The mood in Dubai's Iranian Club was buoyant as fans gathered around the national football team, asking players to pose for pictures under the watchful gaze of Iran's revolutionary leaders whose pictures adorned the wall.

After a friendly match against Jordan, team members were about to board a bus to take them to the airport for the flight back to Tehran and talking about their prospects for the 2014 World Cup.

"There's so much more confidence," said a bystander in an Iranian football shirt who busily snapped photos with his mobile phone. "I really think we can qualify."

As the bus pulled away, the conversation turned to the state of Iranian politics and the forthcoming parliamentary elections and the atmosphere turned distinctly gloomy.

"These elections are a game to control the people," said Sabor, a 17-year-old Iranian physics student who had lived in the United Arab Emirates since he was child. "There is no point in people voting because there is no choice."

Friday's election will be Iran's first since a presidential vote in 2009, when a disputed victory for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad triggered eight months of violent protests.

With leading reformist groups staying away from the vote, the contest is between the hardline backers of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who hope to capitalise on widespread economic discontent to defeat allies of Ahmadinejad.

At home and abroad many Iranians have experienced the difficulties of life under an unbending Islamic government and have long since given up hope that one day political change will come. The crowd outside the Iranian Club was no exception.

"Tell me who I should vote for," pleaded Jalal, a 54-year-old carpet dealer from north-west Iran on a business trip to Dubai. "There is no choice, no freedom. These candidates are self-serving and are in it for themselves."

Many were reluctant to discuss the situation in Iran - unsurprising given that the club is owned and run by the Iranian government as a cultural institution for the estimated 400,000 Iranian nationals living in the United Arab Emirates.

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Iranian expats shrug their shoulders as elections loom

Obama and GOP leaders are in agreement on many corporate tax reform policies. But on the question of how foreign earnings of U.S.-basedmultinationals should be taxed, the gap remains wide.

At first glance, it looked like President Obama and congressional Republicans were miraculously headed in the same direction on corporate tax reform.

Howard Gleckman is a resident fellow at The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, the author of Caring for Our Parents, and former senior correspondent in the Washington bureau of Business Week. (http://taxvox.taxpolicycenter.org)

Reform plans by Obama andGOP leaders such as House Ways & Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) seemedsimpatico. Both sides embraced lower rates. Both endorsed ending business tax subsidies, through neither had much to say about which ones. But on one fundamental issue the gap between Obama and the GOP remains wide.

How would theytax foreign earnings of U.S.-based multinationals? Both sides agree that the current system is the worst of all worlds: It is immensely complicated, wildly distorts economic decisions, and collectslittle revenue.

But when it comes to the solution, Obama and the Republicans seem headeddowndifferent roads. Obama wants to force U.S. companies to pay more tax on their overseas profits.Many Republicans would exempt offshore earnings from U.S. tax liability.

To understand where reformers are headed, think about todays system. Under our current worldwide structure, foreign subsidiaries of U.S.-based firms must pay U.S. tax no matter where they earn their income. To prevent profitsfrom being taxed twice,those firms get a credit against their U.S. tax for the levies they pay to other countries.

Those foreign tax rates are nearly always lower than in the U.S.But because U.S. rates are relatively high, companies game the system to avoid domestic levies on their overseas income, and even to reduce U.S. tax ondomestic income.

Under a practice known as deferral, U.S. firms dont pay U.S. tax until they bring their profits home. This allows them to reinvest earnings in foreign subsidiaries and, in effect, never pay those high U.S.rates.

Firms also use sophisticated accounting gimmicks to shuffle income to low-rate countries while shifting deductible expenses back home, where they can offset domestic profits and lower theiroverall U.S. tax liability. Sometimes, they actually move their productionand their jobsoverseas to avoid U.S. tax (though thats rarely the most commonreason).

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Obama and GOP: What's holding up corporate tax reform?

A little over a month ago, the Democratic National Committee lambasted Mitt Romney for not initially reporting funds in "notorious tax havens" scattered around the world.

It turns out a campaign "bundler" for President Obama is in the business of helping people, like Romney, who are looking to take advantage of offshore tax law.

Marjorie Rawls Roberts, who according to the Obama campaign volunteered to raise between $100,000 and $200,000 for the president's re-election effort, is an attorney in the U.S. Virgin Islands who offers clients guidance on the islands' perk-filled tax system.

According to her bio, she "specializes in the areas of tax, investment, and offshore funds." This includes helping clients on tax planning and "qualification for one of the economic incentives available in the U.S. Virgin Islands."

The Obama campaign has not responded to a request for comment for this story.

The Obama White House, though, has decried the use of "offshore tax havens" to avoid paying higher tax rates.

The U.S. Virgin Islands does not have the same international notoriety as a tax haven as, say, the Cayman Islands -- where Romney was parking some of his investment money, though the Romney campaign has said the money was taxed just as it would be in the U.S.

But the Virgin Islands offer substantial benefits to those who qualify.

Businesses, for instance, that meet certain conditions are legally eligible for a 90 percent tax cut.

It's also the only place under the U.S. flag where a non-American can set up a tax-free company.

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Obama bundler works as Virgin Islands tax adviser

Posted: 12:03 PM Updated: 6:15 PM

The Associated Press

The Nasdaq composite index briefly broke through 3,000 on Wednesday for the first time since the collapse in dot-com stocks more than a decade ago. Stocks ended lower, but it was still the best February on Wall Street in 14 years.

click image to enlarge

Traders Thomas Donato, left, and James Lamb watch the action at the New York Stock Exchange.

AP

The milestone for the Nasdaq, heavy with technology stocks, came a day after the Dow Jones industrial average closed above 13,000 for the first time since May 2008.

Apple, the Nasdaq's biggest component, topped $500 billion in market value, the only company above the half-trillion mark and only the sixth in U.S. corporate history to grow so big. Apple might reveal its next iPad model next week.

The Nasdaq last hit 3,000 on Dec. 13, 2000. Its last close above 3,000 was two days earlier. It was only above 3,000 for seconds on Wednesday before closing down 19.87 points at 2,966.89.

The Dow lost 53.05 to close at 12,952.07. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 6.50 points to close at 1,365.68.

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Stocks finish off best February in 14 years