Recent news for Travelers
Americans Can Vote From Almost Anywhere.
“It's not unusual for folks to cast absentee ballots when they're out-of-town on election day -- some do it even if they are out of this world. Clay Anderson was about 215 miles above the earth when he cast his ballot last year for a series of proposition measures in his home town of League City, Tex. An astronaut and spacewalker, Anderson was on the international space station with a couple of Russian astronauts when he received his ballot via computer uplink. He filled it out and sent it back through cyberspace.” Here is the link to the washingtonpost article
Sending Money To Someone in a Pinch Abroad. “As more people travel, live and conduct business abroad, sending money across borders has become a huge industry. But figuring out the ins and outs of using money-transfer services can be a daunting journey of its own.”
Surgery and sightseeing, in one trip.
“From a spare bedroom in his Calabasas home, Rudy Rupak keeps track of kidney transplants in the Philippines and tummy tucks in Costa Rica, sex changes in Thailand and eyelid surgery in Panama.”
Stars and Stripes, Wrapped in the Same Old Blue.
“When I went to collect my newly minted American passport, I discovered that it came with a radically altered design that included sheaves of wheat, the rather large head of a bald eagle plus the flag wrapped around my picture. And that was just one page.”
World's Most Dangerous Destinations.
”In the 1970s, a traveler's worst nightmare might have been a hijacked plane or hostage crisis. Today, the threats are equally perilous but reflect the changing times. Now, a tourist or business traveler might worry more about terrorist attacks on mass transit, getting caught in a spontaneous uprising or a bombing of a nightclub or hotel.”
Add blank pages to your passport to be on the safe side.
“Question: My adult son, traveling with his wife and child, was recently refused permission to board a flight from England to South Africa because he had only one blank page in his passport. How do you know which country wants more than one blank page?”
New Law Makes Escape Tougher For Tax Exiles.
“It's been called ‘the ultimate estate plan’: moving to a desert island or other far-off locale to escape the clutches of the Internal Revenue Service. Indeed, hundreds of Americans do formally renounce their U.S. citizenship every year, many in order to protect their wealth from income, estate and gift taxes. But last week, Congress may have made life less rewarding for tax exiles.“