Gummo
Living the dream
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2004
- Posts
- 47
A while before the LOA was made public, I was talking to a pilot with good management connections about the bid and what was happening with the FDA's. Among other things, he told me that the company had worked a deal with the French gov't that the pilots would receive relief from the French income tax, if they stayed less than three years. Any that stayed more than three years would owe the tax going forward and also retroactively for the previous years.
I'm not sure that it is true, but the guy is in the position to know this type of stuff. When I asked him if the company was going to allow for moves of less than 3 years, he said he didn't know what was in the works. Of course now we have the LOA with the option of a 2-year move.
It dawned on me after reading the info on tax equalization, that this relief from the French for stays of less than 3 years might be the real deal. Under the equalization plan, the pilots pay the equivalent of what the USG (and states) would tax them if they lived in the US, without consideration to the $82K exclusion. In theory, the cost to the pilots of losing the 82K exclusion is more than offset by the company picking up the tab on all of the French taxes. But if the company didn't have to pay the French the taxes for those that stay less than 3 years, this could actually be a bit of a windfall for FDX. Of course there are other expenses to them including covering taxes on the housing, storage and seed money, but it would be a nice offset for the company.
It would certainly explain the company's inclusion of the 2-year move package in the LOA. None of their public statements about it make a whole lot of sense. "We just want to provide an opportunity for more guys to get out and see the world." Yeah, right. More like just trying to find the cheapest way to do business.
Has anyone else had heard this? Makes you wonder.
I'm not sure that it is true, but the guy is in the position to know this type of stuff. When I asked him if the company was going to allow for moves of less than 3 years, he said he didn't know what was in the works. Of course now we have the LOA with the option of a 2-year move.
It dawned on me after reading the info on tax equalization, that this relief from the French for stays of less than 3 years might be the real deal. Under the equalization plan, the pilots pay the equivalent of what the USG (and states) would tax them if they lived in the US, without consideration to the $82K exclusion. In theory, the cost to the pilots of losing the 82K exclusion is more than offset by the company picking up the tab on all of the French taxes. But if the company didn't have to pay the French the taxes for those that stay less than 3 years, this could actually be a bit of a windfall for FDX. Of course there are other expenses to them including covering taxes on the housing, storage and seed money, but it would be a nice offset for the company.
It would certainly explain the company's inclusion of the 2-year move package in the LOA. None of their public statements about it make a whole lot of sense. "We just want to provide an opportunity for more guys to get out and see the world." Yeah, right. More like just trying to find the cheapest way to do business.
Has anyone else had heard this? Makes you wonder.
