Finally back to American Samoa after almost 4 weeks away. It was a good hiatus from the isolation of this rock here in South Pacific. It was a solid trip full of trainings, knowledge, games, fast driving, drinking, eating, friends and family, thank you all!
I haven't had time to come back to my blog in a while and for that i apologize. I know many of you enjoy the blogs i post and wish that i would be better at it. I will try to keep up with it this time.
Well it's tax time again. For me it really sucks. Not only am i subjected to federal tax but i also have to pay American Samoa tax. Some of you might be saying "come on Nick, all of us have to pay both federal and state taxes." Well that is true for me as well, with 3 key exceptions. Firstly, American Samoan taxes are not withheld from my paycheck like state taxes would be if i were in CONUS (for those of you who aren't versed in the lingo, CONUS stands for Continental United States of America and means the lower 48). This means that at the end of the year, i end up having no state withholding and subsequently end up having to pay a large sum of money to the government here. The second reason taxes suck here is that we are stuck using the 2000 level IRS tax tables. These tax liabilities are much higher than the current IRS tables because of the Bush Tax Cuts. American Samoa was smart and didn't want to lose tax money so they froze the tables at the 2000 levels. Finally, there is a 2% wage tax on your income on top of your tax liability, not your AGI, your total wages. This for me alone was $1500 this year! For those of you who are wondering, i owe American Samoa $8500! Thankfully, they are cool with installments. Last year i went in and paid $50 and told them i would come back and give them the rest once my federal refund was received. It was quite funny because they were incredibly grateful that i even decided to come in and pay. I came back in June and paid the remainder interest and penalty free. Bet you wish the IRS let you do that!
It wouldn't be so bad if i didn't feel like my money was completely wasted. I mean the roads are crap, the education system dismal, public works rarely work and politicians get paid way more than they should. Also i don't get to vote but am required to pay taxes. Now i know what D.C. residents feel like. Anyway enough ranting. Although despite all that, i am still here.
Tomorrow is my first big field day after being back. We'll be hiking, surveying, filling out forms and doing resource inventories. I am sure i will be covered in sweat by 10am and have gone through 3 shirts by 2pm. We have so many people interested in our programs which would be great if we had the staff and time to process all of the inquiries, unfortunately i will just have to do as many as i can before the deadlines, there really isn't anything else i can do. Thankfully Samoans are not are ornery as mainlanders and understand that nothing moves fast on the islands......I mean the speed limit is 25mph for crying out loud.
Well that is all for now. Oh in honor of the upcoming Mustache/Water Slide/Slip-n-slide party coming up Saturday i share this photo of the planned water slide we are renting. It is two stories which effectively makes it taller than most people's houses and only 2 stories shy of being the tallest structure in American Samoa. Should be lots of fun, hopefully there will be minimal injuries. Also a picture of my new hog "Emma" (thanks to Maureen Ulvi for the name), i bought it for $1000 before i left for vacation but am just getting to enjoy it now! Stay toasty everyone and remember the warm waters of the South Pacific are waiting for you!
Till next time.
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