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Comment by digitalzombie | Hacker News Reader

I'm just curious but doesn't US citizen have to pay tax regardless of where they work?

People from SF moving to SG to work would be double tax no? That would also be a big hindrance imo.

Plus there are more than enough decent tech job in USA than risk working in another country with laws you don't know or understand. SG seems like a country with very harsh laws, not entirely sure I want to risk accidentally break something law (like chewing gum?).

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On taxes, I'm sure somebody on HN knows better than me, but you are rarely 'double-taxed' under 200k as you say. The first 90k or so is exempt, plus any foreign tax you pay you can claim as a non-refundable deduction on your US return.

Singapore is an amazing country that is really geared towards making things easy for expats. The chewing gum thing is a bit of a red-herring. Ending up in jail for a minor offence is not something you generally have to worry about.

Yes, US citizens have to pay tax no matter where they live. You may be eligible for the Foreign Tax Credit[1] or, even better, the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion[2], though. For 2015, you can exclude up to $100,800 of your earnings with the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, which will cover most if not all of your salary (for the majority of people).

[1] http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Forei... [2] http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Forei...

Any income taxes paid to SG would quality for a Foreign Tax Credit so you wouldn't be double taxed.

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