Suz
Member
Posts: 44
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Post by Suz on Dec 30, 2014 1:25:53 GMT
I've read about the different compound options. Do any Americans opt to live off the main compounds and in other local compounds? I didn't know if that was an option or not.
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Post by fsaeed81 on Dec 30, 2014 7:50:14 GMT
Due to security reasons American perm employees dont have the options to live off camp. Thats my understanding but VPainter can confirm this.
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Post by crazycatlady on Dec 30, 2014 17:03:44 GMT
Can you explain why it is safer for employees from countries other than America to live off-camp, then?
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Post by bamaster on Dec 31, 2014 6:17:07 GMT
As I understand it, it isn't a safety thing, not directly. It is more about insurance and taxes. In fact, Americans are being quickly relocated off the leased compounds (i.e. Rakah) an into Aramco-owned properties for this very reason.
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Wutz
Senior Member
Posts: 143
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Post by Wutz on Dec 31, 2014 10:40:52 GMT
bamaster,
Exactly - it's the taxes. If an expat American lives off camp, but pays a rent that is less than the going rate, the difference is counted as income and is taxable. Since Aramco is committed to covering the tax, it would cost them quite a bit (since the rent we pay is a lot less than the market rate here in Kingdom). But if Americans are required to live on camp for security reasons, the difference is not taxable. Hence our current policy. If the U.S. did not impose income taxes on nationals living overseas (as is the policy for all other countrys that I know of), the policy would not exist.
Wutz
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stmayo11
Senior Member
ExPats Community Moderator
Posts: 159
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Post by stmayo11 on Dec 31, 2014 14:24:17 GMT
Wutz's post above is about the best description I've seen posted about the residency/tax situation facing Americans here.
It has nothing to do with the company trying to protect Americans more than other nationalities working for the company. :roll:
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Post by GroveWanderer on Jan 6, 2015 3:11:07 GMT
According to a US employee I worked with and who was renting a place off-camp, it is not considered "in policy" for US employees to take rental assistance and live off-camp (possibly because of the tax/insurance issues mentioned earlier). So he had to request out of policy (OOP) approval to be able to do this.
So it's not that US employees are not permitted to live off-camp, but it isn't exactly encoued either.
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