Minute to Lose It

I've been seeing ads all over recently for a new New York Lottery game called Minute To Win It.  But I really don't like these ads...  They just seem so wrong...

First off...  It's just like the game show?  I looked up the game show, Minute To Win It, since I'd never heard of it (not a surprise as I don't have a TV).  A scratch-off lottery ticket doesn't sound even remotely like the game show.

"But a whole lot easier?"  Isn't that pretty much contradicting that it's "just like the the game show?"  If it's really a whole lot easier, it can't be a challenge like the game show...  Every card is predetermined to be a winner or a loser, with no skill involved what-so-ever, it's all plain luck...

"No Time Limit..." Hmmm...  That bugs me, too, for two reasons...  First of all the name says "minute" in it, and that it's just like the game show, in which contestants have a time limit of one minute.  Plus, the graphic by it shows what appears to be a countdown, sort of making it seem like there's a time limit, you have to what, scratch off the whole card in a minute?

The name having "Win It" makes it sound like it's already a winner...  Never mind the odds of actually winning, especially the $1 million they fuss over, is so low, it's more realistically like "A Minute to Lose 5 Bucks".  And raising hopes of winning up can't be good, considering the majority of people buying losing lottery tickets are the lower income people who can least afford it.  There's a reason it's jokingly called "a tax on people who can't do math."

Foreign Earned Income Exclusion

Hmmm... I asked a coworker here in India, another U.S. citizen if he knew what a foreign earned income exclusion was, since he's also had to file taxes with the IRS while working here, and he said he did and would drop by my desk later on.

But then in order to come up with a decent enough question I started digging into the IRS publication 54 and now it seems to make more sense.

It looks like my Tax Home is India. And I most certainly meet the "Were you physically present in a foreign country or countries for at least 330 full days during any period of 12 consecutive months?" test for 2006, 2007 and 2008.

And the definition of "foreign income" seems clear enough, it's what I earn here in India, while I'm here in it as my "tax home".

So, it looks like I can exclude up to $87,600 of my income, or my income if it's less than that from being taxed by the U.S. Except that since I earn less than that, it's all of my income.

Seems too easy, though.

IRS Publication 54 - "Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad"

Wow, I didn't even get through page 5 of this 44 page form without getting confused and lost...

What is a Qualified Business Unit?

I don't have "business books and records"

I hardly have a clue how to handle the currency thing... I assume I have to use U.S. dollars... But then somewhere should be more information on what to do with my rupees...

The spouse stuff doesn't look too bad. I'll report that I'm married and filing separately, since Leena doesn't have a social security number or taxpayer identification number.

Early Preparations for U.S. Move - Taxes

Ok, so now that I'm serious about leaving India sometime next year, it's time to begin preparing how to get out of here...

1. Job search. I need to find a job in the U.S. of course. Easiest would be if Tieto US was hiring in Seattle, but at the moment they're not.

2. Green card application for Leena...

That's the tough one.

Some parts I've made tougher on myself through my own irresponsibility. Since First Insight made me an employee here in India late in 2005, I haven't really filed any taxes with the IRS because it looks hard. To do that I have to report to the IRS how much I earned in rupees, converted to dollars, how much tax I've paid in rupees, converted to dollars and figure out if I still owe the IRS any above and beyond what I paid in India. The paperwork looks very confusing so I've sort of, well, not done it.

But according to the U.S. Consulate in Mumbai, one of the common mistakes made when applying for a green card for an immediate relative (e.g. a spouse) is:

ALL I-864 AND I-864A forms MUST include the income tax returns (form 1040 and W-2) from the last three years along with an employment verification letter for each person sponsoring the applicant. The petitioner and/or any financial co-sponsor may also wish to submit recent pay slips and a bank statement

So, I know I can do the 1040 forms from here in India if I just study up on the IRS's documentation and send it in. Maybe I'll have to pay late fees or interest, too, I don't know.

But the W-2 forms, that's an interesting thing, since I haven't worked for an American company for a while... At least I have bank statements, but they'd probably look pretty boring, just the two annual gift deposits from my mother (birthday and Chanukah) and some withdrawals for online shopping (Amazon, Victoria's Secret, etc.).

There's more than that, I have to prove a domicile and they say:

If you are not currently living in the United States, you must show that your trip abroad is temporary and that you have maintained ties to the United States. You can show this by providing proof of your voting record in the United States, proof of payment of State and Federal taxes in the United States, proof of property ownership in the United States, proof of current bank or investment accounts in the United States., or evidence of a permanent mailing address in the United States.

But my trip has been over eight years now, which might not exactly be temporary and I don't own any property in the U.S. I have voted, but isn't that anonymous, how would I give them my voting record (at least, in this previous election I voted for the winner, so maybe the gov't would be more friendly that way...)

Anyway, I think the tax thing should come first.

But maybe I'll read the Iron Maiden article on Wikipedia, then I can start. Not that I'm procrastinating or anything, it's really a great article, yeah, that's it...