I bolded both of these statements because they are incorrect..
Even people who ARE NOT U.S. Citizens pay U.S. Income taxes if they work & get paid in the United States.. We had many NON U.S. Citizens working in our company who were paid here & lived here.. They all paid U. S. Income Taxes..
We deducted a percentage of their pay (payroll tax) & sent it to the Treasury Department, a branch of the U.S. Government on a quarterly basis.. At the end of the year each employee received a W2 form from our company...When they paid their U.S. Income taxes in April every year they sent this form with their tax return & paid any additional taxes which may be due depending on what their Income Bracket was..
Being a citizen does not make one bit of a difference..
For those said that HAL does not permit you to pre-pay your Gratuities that too is incorrect.. Anyone can purchase OBC in advance of your cruise & it will be put into your on board account.. Gratuities can be deducted from any OBC you purchase...
Quite correct, I worked in the USA as an alien,for several years on an H1B visa. I had no representation, could not vote, but got to pay taxes !! OK; the dual taxation agreement made sure I only paid one lot of "federal taxes" BUT, I got to pay dual taxes on State taxes, and I had to pay SS and Medicare, and am prohibited from ever receiving 1 cent of those. So' I'm a little tetchy about this and generally do NOT tip, unless there's exceptional service. I lost many thousands of dollars on this deal (to the exclusive benefit of the US taxpayer), and figure that the state bureaucrats could craft a way to get some of this money into the hands of the workers in the approximately 10 restaurants I visited and "stiffed" the wait staff. After all these bureaucrats give themselves great salaries, grand titles and lots of holidays!
And lets just add it into the fare and pay them a decent wage! Oh yes, I've read all the reasons why this "can't work" and its all horse manure. Gee, the world financial mandarins, can bring the world almost to a financial meltdown, and still walk away with obscene bonuses!!!!! Surely one of them could produce a workable system?
But anyway, I've sailed on several lines, and usually halve the tip/HSC/whatever, after 35 years in the miltary, I don't need my bed turned down with a chocolate, I keep my own bathroom clean, and usually eat at the buffet (just like the mess-hall) never buy drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, and don't need pampering.
If there was a choice, I'd cruise on a ultra basic line, Like the EasyCruise one, but I'm not aware of these anymore.
SINGLE HSC/TIPPING THREAD (Previously "Why are gratuities not included in Fares?")
in Holland America Line
Posted
Quite correct, I worked in the USA as an alien,for several years on an H1B visa. I had no representation, could not vote, but got to pay taxes !! OK; the dual taxation agreement made sure I only paid one lot of "federal taxes" BUT, I got to pay dual taxes on State taxes, and I had to pay SS and Medicare, and am prohibited from ever receiving 1 cent of those. So' I'm a little tetchy about this and generally do NOT tip, unless there's exceptional service. I lost many thousands of dollars on this deal (to the exclusive benefit of the US taxpayer), and figure that the state bureaucrats could craft a way to get some of this money into the hands of the workers in the approximately 10 restaurants I visited and "stiffed" the wait staff. After all these bureaucrats give themselves great salaries, grand titles and lots of holidays!
And lets just add it into the fare and pay them a decent wage! Oh yes, I've read all the reasons why this "can't work" and its all horse manure. Gee, the world financial mandarins, can bring the world almost to a financial meltdown, and still walk away with obscene bonuses!!!!! Surely one of them could produce a workable system?
But anyway, I've sailed on several lines, and usually halve the tip/HSC/whatever, after 35 years in the miltary, I don't need my bed turned down with a chocolate, I keep my own bathroom clean, and usually eat at the buffet (just like the mess-hall) never buy drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, and don't need pampering.
If there was a choice, I'd cruise on a ultra basic line, Like the EasyCruise one, but I'm not aware of these anymore.