The Foreign Service Journal, April 2007

68 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / A P R I L 2 0 0 7 A F S A N E W S CLASSIFIEDS LEGAL SERVICES TAX & FINANCIAL SERVICES LEGAL SERVICES ATTORNEY WITH 27 years’ successful experience SPECIALIZING FULL-TIME IN FS GRIEVANCES will more than double your chance of winning: 30% of grievants win before the Grievance Board; 85% of my clients win. Only a private attorney can ade- quately develop and present your case, including necessary regs, arcane legal doc- trines, precedents and rules. Call Bridget R. Mugane at Tel: (301) 596-0175. E-mail: fsatty@comcast.net Free initial consultation. EXPERIENCED ATTORNEYS REPRE- SENTING FS officers in grievances, perfor- mance, promotion and tenure, financial claims, discrimination and disciplinary actions. We represent FS officers at all stages of the proceedings from an investigation, issuance of proposed discipline or the initiation of a grievance, through to a hearing before the FSGB. We provide experienced, timely and knowledgeable advice to employees from junior untenured officers through the Senior FS, and often work closely with AFSA. Kalijarvi, Chuzi & Newman. Tel: (202) 331-9260. E-mail: attorneys@kcnlaw.com WILLS/ESTATE PLANNING by attorney who is a former FSO. Have your will reviewed and updated, or newone prepared: No charge for initial consultation. M. Bruce Hirshorn, Boring & Pilger, P.C. 307Maple Ave. W, Suite D, Vienna, VA 22180. Tel: (703) 281-2161. Fax: (703) 281-9464. E-mail: mbhirshorn@boringandpilger.com TAX & FINANCIAL SERVICES PROFESSIONAL TAXRETURNPREPA- RATION: Thirty-five years in public tax prac- tice. Arthur A. Granberg, EA, ATA, ATP. Our charges are $85 per hour. Most FS returns take 3 to 4 hours. Our office is 100 feet from Virginia Square Metro Station, Tax Matters Associates PC, 3601 North Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22201. Tel: (703) 522-3828. Fax: (703) 522-5726. E-mail: aag8686@aol.com F I NANC I AL CONSULTANTS : Kirkpatrick and Eisen Group, RBC Dain Rauscher, Washington, D.C. For information, please contact teammember and retired FSO Stephen Thompson at (202) 408-4563, or stephen.thompson@rbcdain.com, RBC Dain Rauscher, Member NYSE/SIPC. ROLAND S. HEARD, CPA 1091 Chaddwyck Dr. Athens, GA 30606 Tel/Fax: (706) 769-8976 E-mail: RSHEARDCPA@bellsouth.net • U.S. income tax services • Practiced before the IRS F IRST C ONSULTATION F REE WWW . ROLANDSHEARDCPA . COM VIRGINIA M. TEST, CPA: Tax service specializing in Foreign Service/overseas con- tractors. Contact info: Tel : (804) 695-2939. Fax: (804) 695-2958. E-mail: vtest@aol.com ATTORNEY, FORMER FOREIGN SER- VICE OFFICER: Extensive experience with tax problems unique to the Foreign Service. Available for consultation, tax planning and preparation of returns: M. Bruce Hirshorn, Boring & Pilger, P.C. 307Maple Ave. W, Suite D, Vienna, VA 22180. Tel: (703) 281-2161. Fax: (703) 281-9464. E-mail: mbhirshorn@boringandpilger.com T he Foreign Earned Income Exclusion allows U.S. citizens, who are not government employees and are living outside the U.S., to exclude up to $82,400 of their 2006 foreign-source income if they meet certain requirements. However, for 2006 there has been a change in the way the IRS requires the excluded amount to be calculat- ed. This affects the tax liability for couples with one member employed on the local economy overseas. Previously, you took your total income and then removed your excluded income and paid tax on the remainder. The change now requires that you take your total income and figure what your tax would be, then deduct the tax that you would have paid on the excludable income. For example: FS employee earns $80,000 Teacher spouse earns $30,000 Before: Tax on ($110,000 minus $30,000) = Tax on $80,000 = Tax Bill of $13,121 Now: Tax on $110,000 = $20,615; Tax on $30,000 = $3,749; Total tax = $20,615 minus $3,749 = Tax Bill of $16,866 Increase in tax bill = $3,745 If you have questions about the implementation of this new regula- tion, please consult a financial pro- fessional. AFSA NEWS BRIEFS Foreign Earned Income — Important Change in IRS Rules Correction In theMarch issue, “FSOReunion” on page 81 incorrectly refers to Jack Davison as deceased, yet he is very much still with us. The item listing the four ambassadors from the A-100 class of 1961 should have read: John Black- en, Stephen Bosworth, Jack Davison and the late Peter Sutherland. We regret the error.