First is that all U.S. citizens, regardless of the country they are living, must submit annual income tax forms. One must do this even if no income is earned. The 1040 form can be used in conjunction with a foreign earned income form (2555 I think). One loophole is that gross annual income (wages, interest from investments, etc.) under $80,000 USD will not be taxed by Uncle Sam. So I should be safe from paying U.S. taxes while working in the U.A.E.
The Canadian Government handles things a bit differently for non resident Canadian citizens. The Federal Government has tax treaties with nations so our accountant printed off the lengthy treaty between Canada and the UAE. It stipulates that the Canadian Government retain 10% from all income earned in Canada. This includes interest from savings accounts, GICs (Guaranteed Investment Certificates), CDs (Certificates of Deposit), etc. Darcy and I are planning to invest our meagre savings in Bank of Montreal GICs. We're thinking of staggering our money in a couple of GICs: a one year and another for three or five years. I also opened a U.S. dollar savings account at my bank. This will allow me to easily wire money from my new bank in Abu Dhabi (National Bank of Abu Dhabi). I will be paid in U.S. dollars. My mother has power of attorney for my Bank of Montreal accounts so this allows her to deposit, withdraw and invest money for me back in Canada. I will have to change my bank account address to my new address in Abu Dhabi. Then the bank will know to automatically give the government 10% of my investment interest. Luckily I won't have to file paperwork for the Canadian Government annually like I will have to for the American Government.
To make a long story short, Darcy is on track to receive her full Alberta Driver's Licence. She was able to get documentation from DMV in Florida that stated her five year driving record. So she will be able to get the International Driver's Permit in Abu Dhabi. Darcy also received her vacation and sick time payout from Broward County Libraries. We'd like to take that money with us overseas to help get us settled for the first month. However, all banks here now hold foreign cheques for up to one month. This is a fairly new policy and indicative of 9/11. However, Darcy has enough money in her account to cover cashing in the USD cheque so we'll have to be firm with the bank teller.
I booked log cabin for May 24 and 25 at Beckers Chalets. It's just outside Jasper and a bit south of Alpine Village where we spent our honeymoon. The latter was already booked for those dates so I called Beckers next. Beckers is a bit cheaper but it has no outdoor hot tub like Alpine village. So we'll visit Miette Hot Springs that is about 40 miles outside Jasper.
On Friday, May 26 we'll drive the scenic Banff Jasper Highway 93. It's about 180 miles and it connects Jasper National Park and Banff National Park in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. There are many sites to visit along the way before entering the town of Banff. Then we'll head east on the Trans-Canada Highway (longest highway in North America at almost 4,900 miles). Our destination that day will be the bustling city of Calgary where we'll visit friends. We'll depart for Edmonton on Sunday, May 28 and then fly out from Edmonton to Abu Dhabi a few days after that. That's assuming that my new employer can purchase plane tickets for us fairly quickly. More to come later....
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