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What Obama's re-election means to China
Across the world in China, American expats spent this morning watching election returns at an event hosted by the Shanghai chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce.
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Hundreds of American businessmen and women watched the returns in at the Shanghai chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce on CNN, cheering each time a state was called for Obama. A straw poll taken by the chamber showed that most of its members who showed up to watch favored the president.
"We need the continuity, he's a known entity here in China," says Mike Crotty, who's from Ohio and runs a textile business in Shanghai.
Crotty says the Chinese prefer continuity and four more years for President Obama means a smoother trade relationship between the U.S. and China.
"Especially in the light of the fact that we've got the change in leadership going on here, by having a known entity in the United States, I think it'll be beneficial for both countries," says Crotty.
Governor Romney's pledge to declare China a currency manipulator on Day One wasn't popular with many in the business community here. But, Crotty says, neither are the sanctions Obama has placed on Chinese products. Crotty and many others here are hoping for an ease in trade restrictions on both sides of the Pacific.
Rob,
Interesting story, and could feel the Chinese and Expat excitement at voting, but I did have to wonder. Do these Chinese and other Expats know that they now are considered US tax resident, even though they actually live (reside) and work in China?
With voting rights comes a responsibility / requirement that no other country places on them. What do they think about these issues?
They have to file income tax forms, and FBAR reports yearly, with serious penalties for failure. Are they compliant, or do they not know about these requriements?
This year, with FATCA, (which the Obama administration signed into law in 2010 Hire Act), they had to submit a new FATCA form reporting their bank records and assets in China? Do they know about this?
Also, starting soon, all banks in China are supposed to report their tax and income data to the IRS? I wonder if they know that, and what impact that has on their voting excitement?
These unique requirements are ones that a Chinese living in America does NOT have to report back to China when they are resident in the US.
So, if they are totally knowledgeable about the requirements, I wonder how this impacts them? If they are not knowledgeable, then I am concerned they may be in for a rude awakening.
Rob, It would be an interesting topic for future stories to dig into the impacts of FATCA legislation and the current IRS offshore focus which is impacting Expats around the world. What do the Chinese think?
Check out the Huffington Post story by a journalist out of Hong Kong. Title: FATCA: The U.S. Flexes Its Waning Economic Muscle Abroad by Giles Gibson. Date: November 6th. There is only one thing about this story that is not exactly correct, and that is the FATCA focus is NOT just the wealthy, but average middle class Americans living abroad like in China.
