Expatica

Why third culture kids need corporate support

  Companies increasingly are realising the importance of Third Culture Kids (TCKs) in the success of their executives’ international moves. If the children experience a difficult transition, life is miserable for the whole family.

The good news is that organisations can provide services that facilitate successful adjustments. The cost of sending an employee and family on international assignment is substantial. For a minimal additional investment, corporations can provide pre- and post-assignment cross-cultural development programmes that reduce the stress of the move and meet the family’s needs.

Specifically, such programmes help the family to understand the leaving process, the new culture(s), how to conduct themselves (socially, in business, and in daily life) more effectively in the new location, and how to manage culture shock and adjustment.

Cross-cultural programmes offer knowledge and support to the third-culture child. Many relocation companies contribute to the family’s international success by offering packages and programmes to the new assignee and family.

It is up to employers to promote the value of this to employees and their families, and to encourage them to make time for the training in the hectic schedule of an overseas move.

The employer’s organisation needs to support all the family members through the adjustment phase, which can take up to 18 months. The follow-through and tracking after the move is very important. Counselling services, coaching, mentoring, and, ultimately, a repatriation programme are other valuable options for third-culture children and their families.

Future of the TCK
As Anne Edelstam wrote in her 2004 global nomad article, “to be like a chameleon is a good tool to adapt to different cultures but it might become a burden when not knowing which culture is one’s own. I don’t think we global nomads can adapt to just one culture and stick to it. It will be a mix of everything.”

So, whether the international child is referred to as a third-culture child, a global nomad, a TCK, an expatriate, or a global soul, his or her shared special feature is the ability to compare international and local issues.

These articulate, adaptable, and well-educated international individuals have the potential to be our future politicians, diplomats, multinational executives, journalists, government employees, and educators.

Thomas Wolfe said, “You can’t go home again.” Well, in many ways, third-culture children carry their many homes with them at all times. This can give them a deeper understanding of international issues, including human rights.

They certainly have a different perspective from their mono-cultural peers. As a global community, we can and should celebrate their cross-cultural insight and find ways to incorporate this invaluable knowledge into our personal and professional lives.

Ingredients for a successful transition
Research has proven that if the spouse (partner) and children are content with the international move, the likelihood of a smooth transition and successful adjustment and assimilation increases by orders of magnitude. Planning and preparation do help—families either can be accidental global citizens or well-prepared sojourners.

Children need to be informed and included in the decision-making process regarding the overseas move. The age of the child is significant. Adolescents are a particularly challenging group. Initially, most teenagers will be very upset, angry, and sad about the impending move. Honest communication and respectful listening to the TCKs’ concerns are of utmost importance.

Stage 1: Saying goodbye. Naturally, parents want their children to be happy, but first they need to support and validate them in the sadness of goodbye. The way you say goodbye fundamentally affects the way you enter your new home. Parents need to assist children to figure out how best to exit their old home. A plan can be constructed to say farewell to friends, family, school, and (do not forget) familiar surroundings. The goodbye is important, but often is overlooked in the frantic activity involved in planning for the new home.

Stage 2: Entry and transition.
The transition stage often is chaos. The known environment has been left behind and the new home is totally strange. Many emotions, ranging from fear to excitement, swirl within the third-culture child. There are many times when he or she will feel the need to put on a brave face, especially when entering a new school. This serves a purpose, but it also masks the true feelings of isolation as the TCK is defining new boundaries, discovering where home is, finding new friends, and trying to understand the new culture. The list of change is endless. Invariably, the global nomad constantly is grappling with the question, “Who am I?”
May 2008

Lesley Lewis is psychologist, coach, and trainer for Culture3Counsel Ltd., Hong Kong, CHINA. She can be reached at +2523 7370 or 2877 7191 or email lewis@culture3counsel.com.
Reprinted with permission of MOBILITY Magazine

Otawa Citizen

All-star plan ensures cushy retirement

Andrew Allentuck  Dec 9, 2011 – 11:58 AM ET | Last Updated: Dec 9, 2011 1:17 PM ET

In Alberta, a couple we’ll call Edward and Wendy, both 60, have lived modestly and raised two children now in their thirties, while struggling to build retirement savings and to manage their taxes. Their frugal ways have paid off.
They will leave the working world with just one debt, deductible at that and readily dischargable if they like. They are in the position of having as much as 60% more spendable income in retirement than they had while working, and they have the enviable satisfaction of having prepared well for years when they can travel and watch grandchildren grow.

They raised their children in a 1,000-square-foot home in a working-class neighbourhood. Being careful with money is in Edward’s blood. He came from a family with nine children in which money was tight. “I learned to spend for value and my wife and I have continued that tradition. The result is that we have substantial financial assets. Getting our heads around applying our resources to our retirement plans is the problem.”
They have to be sure that their present net worth of $1.07-million will be sufficient to carry them for what could be three decades.
Edward is heading to the end of his second career. He quit his first job, in transportation, after nearly a quarter-century, taking a defined benefit pension of $3,250 a month before tax. Now working part-time for a high-tech company, he gets $2,675 from his first job’s pension and $1,450 from his present job, in both cases after tax. Wendy, a public servant, brings home $2,200 a month for her part-time work. They have other income that pushes their total take-home pay to $6,405 a month.
They wonder whether they should sell an income property and take a handsome capital gain and whether they can retire as planned at age 63. “We lack the confidence to proceed along a path that will provide appropriate income for us in retirement,” Edward explains.
Family Finance asked Lenore Davis, a financial planner and senior partner at Dixon, Davis & Co. in Victoria, B.C., to work with Edward and Wendy.
Tax Strategy
“There is a foundation for their issues,” Ms. Davis explains. “It’s their tax rate. The lowest tax bracket in Alberta is 25% on income up to $41,500. The next $42,000 is taxed at 32%, so that’s where attention has to be focused.”
Edward’s basic pension, $39,000 a year before tax, brings him close to the top of the first bracket and his employment income pushes him over the top. However, he can split pension income with Wendy and keep more of of their wealth for themselves. He can distribute $19,500 a year to her and save 7%. In retirement, they can split pensions, including CPP, to keep each partner’s taxable income in the lowest Alberta tax bracket.
Taking CPP is a strategic issue, Ms. Davis notes. If Edward were to take CPP before age 65, under new rules that take effect in 2012, he would lose benefits at a rate of about 7.2% a year. If he takes benefits and continues to work (allowed under new rules), he would still have to pay into CPP at a rate of 4.95% on his eligible salary. Reduced benefits would persist every year and he would be taxed on those benefits while employed.
If he waits to 2014 to start CPP benefits when both are 63 and retired, Edward’s CPP benefits would be cut by about 14%. But by waiting to draw benefits in retirement, his tax rate in 2014 on benefits and other income would be only 25%, Ms. Davis says.
Were Edward and Wendy to take money out of their RRSPs, where it is now sheltered, distributions would be taxed at 32%. So it is best to leave the RRSPs to grow at least until full retirement.
The condo
Edward asks what he and Wendy should do with their investment condo.
Purchased for $164,000 and with a present estimated market value of $305,000, it has a potential capital gain of $141,000. It is rented for $975 a month to one of their children, who plans to leave in a few months. Outlays, including mortgage costs, fees and taxes, are $1,220 a month. The mortgage and line of credit for the property, which total $128,000, could be paid out of $247,000 of cash in their bank accounts that earns a crummy 1% a year.
That would save $810 a month in finance costs and leave them with positive cash flow from the property. It seems so easy to do that the only reason not to would be waiting for a time to reap a larger profit than the $70,500 estimated taxable gain —only half of capital gains are taxable — that they have yet to realize. They could wait for the market to rise, though it could also fall. But in the meantime, they have a negative rental return on the condo and a pittance on the cash. The obvious course is to fix both with the low-yield cash paying off the mortgage.
The couple will eventually sell the rental property. If they do it when they are over 65, the capital gain, $70,500 a person before selling costs, could push them over the OAS clawback trigger point, now $67,668. It might be better to sell before they reach 65, perhaps in the year following Edward’s retirement, Ms. Davis says. That way their OAS will no be impaired.
At retirement at age 63, the couple will have Edward’s indexed $39,000 pension, Wendy’s indexed civil-service pension of $6,000 a year, CPP benefits of $11,520 for Edward and $6,500 for Wendy, less penalties of 7.2% a year for each year of early retirement, for a net CPP benefit of $15,425 and a 3% after-inflation return on 2014 financial assets of $653,808, or $19,614 a year, for total retirement income of $80,040 a year before tax. At 65, Old Age Security benefits will begin and add $6,456 a person to income, raising it to $92,950 in 2011 dollars.
If pension income, including RRIF distributions, is carefully split, the couple will not be affected by the OAS clawback. If their total income is taxed at a 30% average rate, they will have $56,025 a year to spend to age 65 and $65,065 a year thereafter. That’s far more than their current spending net of savings of $40,992 a year.
“With indexed pensions and potential for adding to savings even in retirement, the couple can make generous bequests to their children and good causes,” Ms. Davis says. “This is a case in which being frugal will produce many decades of financial rewards.”
Need help getting out of a financial fix? E-mail andrewallentuck@mts.net for a free Family Finance analysis.

EU News

Serbia to allow freedom of movement to Kosovo citizens

22 December 2011, 18:57 CET

— filed under: Serbia, Kosovo

(BELGRADE) - Serbia on Thursday moved to allow freedom of movement to all citizens of Kosovo, blocked since the breakaway territory's Albanian majority unilaterally declared independence in 2008.
The government in Belgrade passed a decree on freedom of movement, enabling Kosovo citizens to cross into Serbia and move freely across the country with personal documents issued by Pristina authorities for the first time since the independence was proclaimed, spokesman Milivoje Mihajlovic said.
Mihajlovic said the measure would be implemented by early next week.
"Freedom of movement is a democratic and civilised act and this decree is a follow-up to the agreement" reached during the EU-sponsored talks in Bruselles between Belgrade and Pristina, Mihailovic told AFP.
Kosovo citizens holding identity papers issued by Pristina -- which Belgrade does not recognise -- would be getting documents at the border allowing them to pass through the territory of Serbia.
According to the decree, Serbia will also issue temporary car plates for vehicles registered in Kosovo.
Belgrade has considered Kosovan vehicle number-plates and IDs invalid, preventing Kosovars from using the shortest route to Europe and causing headaches for the 150,000-strong ethnic Albanian diaspora in EU countries, many of whom only hold documents issued by Pristina.
The move represents the implementation of a crucial accord reached so far in Belgrade-Pristina dialogue that opened in March in Brussels under EU auspices and that is a key condition for Serbia's EU bid.
On Tuesday, the European Union's rule of law mission, EULEX, handed over to Pristina authorities certified copies of Kosovo civil registries, which were moved to Belgrade after the 1998-99 war.
Earlier this month European leaders decided to delay to March a decision on whether Serbia could be a candidate for EU membership, calling for Belgrade to improve its relations with Kosovo, including implementing accords already reached.
Serbia has never accepted Kosovo's declaration of independence -- recognised by the United States and most, but not all, European Union countries -- and still considers the territory officially its southern province.

The Australian Financial Review

H Norman enters offshore etailing to escape GST

PUBLISHED: 7 hours 15 MINUTES AGO | UPDATE: 5 hours 33 MINUTES AGO

Share Links: emailGerry Harvey’s Harvey Norman is set to shake up the $2.5 billion computer games market by selling games and consoles at prices free of GST and duty through a website based in Ireland.
The website, harveynormandirectimport.com, will go live on Thursday night, selling games for Playstation 3, Xbox and Nintendo consoles for 30 to 40 per cent below prices in Australian stores.
Mr Harvey says the site, which is operated by Harvey Norman’s unit in Ireland, will eventually add other products, enabling consumers to take advantage of the retailer’s global pricing power and the $1000 GST- and tax-free status of goods bought online from overseas.
“This is a case of if you can’t beat them join them,” Mr Harvey said after unveiling the website on Thursday.
He expressed frustration at the government’s response to the Productivity Commission’s report into the retail industry, which found strong grounds for the low-value threshold on imported goods to be reduced, but only when it was cost effective to do so.
The government has established a Low Value Parcel Processing taskforce to review GST rules and parcel processing systems and the taskforce will report back in July 2012.
“The government has just created another body to have another look at it for another six months,” Mr Harvey said.
“We can’t wait forever. The opportunity is here to get certain product we can sell from overseas straight to Australia.”
Ben McIntosh, Harvey Norman’s general manager, computers and communications, said Australian consumers had been paying too much for computer games.
“Retailers and suppliers have been keeping prices high to fund the trade-in market,” he said.
“Harvey Norman will utilise our global network of pricing and stores to bring in games direct to the customer. We strongly urge Australian consumers not to buy Playstation or Xbox or Nintendo games until they have been to our website.
“We’re going to absolutely rip up Australian prices of computer games.”
The site will sell the top-selling Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 for $63 plus $3.95 delivery, compared with prices between $89 and $98 at Australian bricks and mortar and online stores. ProEvolution soccer 2012 on Xbox will sell for $54, compared with $78 and $89 elsewhere.
Mr Harvey declined to reveal his plans to sell other products on the site.
“We've started with games. The question is what will you do next,” he said.
Mr Harvey is a late convert to etailing, launching a Harvey Norman Holdings online store only this month.
Earlier this year a Harvey Norman franchisee launched a daily deals shopping site, Harvey Norman Big Buys, which sells toys, cosmetics and household goods.
Mr Harvey said the new computer games site would cannibalise sales of computer games in Harvey Norman stores but he had no plans to move out of this market, which is worth $2.2 billion to $2.5 billion a year.
“If people want to buy the games in our stores they can. They’ll pay a much higher price for them.”
He said Harvey Norman was selling more products this year but double-digit deflation was eating into sales and margins, while costs continued to rise.
“Whether its TVs or lounges or beds, the prices have come down so much that even though we’re selling more product we’re getting less dollars,” he said.
“The retail sector is under huge pressure at the moment. The number of retailers that have gone out of business in the last 12 months is very high.
“It’s not just online shopping – it’s also the weak conditions out there in the economy.”
Harvey Norman also announced that it had extended the terms of a $610 million syndicated loan facility due to be repaid in December 2012.
Under the new terms of the agreement, up to $370 million of the facility is due to be repaid in December 2014 and up to $240 million in December 2016.

The Australian Financial Review

Financial Express

Parties feel Lokpal Bill tabled in haste, oppose PM provision

Posted: Dec 22, 2011 at 1847 hrs IST

New Delhi A historic bill for the creation of an anti-graft ombudsman with Constitutional status was introduced in the Lok Sabha today amid objections by various parties for bringing the Prime Minister under its purview and making it mandatory for states to form Lokayuktas. The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011 was introduced along with a Constitutional (116th Amendment) Bill, even as several parties questioned the “haste” and asserted that Parliament should not allow itself to “succumb” to some individual threatening agitation, a reference to Anna Hazare.
At the same time, the previous Lokpal Bill, 2011, introduced in August, was withdrawn.
Rejecting the contention of “undue haste”, the government declared that it was under “no duress” on the issue and it was for Parliamentarians to decide the fate of the Bill.
“If you feel it is not necessary, we will not have it. Legislation is the domain of Parliament. It is not made on the 'dharna manch' or on the streets,” Finance Minister and Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee said.
Various parties, including BJP, Shiv Sena, RJD, AIMIM and AIADMK, opposed introduction of the Bill in the current form and wanted the government to revise it.
Parties like RJD, Samajwadi Party, AIMIM, AIADMK opposed bringing the Prime Minister under the purview of a body which would be “accountable to nobody”.
BJP, JD(U), BJD, AIADMK, DMK and CPI(M) objected to a provision in the Lokpal Bill, claiming that it made it “mandatory” for states to set up Lokayuktas and was an
“attack” on the federal structure.
Several members also objected to the circulation of Corrigenda and the Supplementary List of Business at the last minute, contending that this “monumental inefficiency” and “Parliamentary mismanagement” left no time for them to study the legislation which will affect the country's future.
BJP leader Sushma Swaraj objected to the provision for “not less than 50 per cent” reservation for minorities in the proposed Lokpal bench, saying it would mean five in nine-member bench which was “patently unconstitutional” as there was no provision for quota on the basis of religion.
She noted there were dozens of Supreme Court orders which said there should be no reservation beyond 50 per cent. She did not want the judiciary to strike it down.
Swaraj said this Bill should not be introduced and the government should bring a revised one.
To this, Mukherjee said the “legislative competence” should be left to the House and objected to any discussion on the merits of the Bill at its introduction stage.
“It is the Constitutional responsibility of the House to pass a law. It is for the judiciary to pick holes. Let this House not assume the role of judiciary,” he retorted.
“Whether to pass a Bill or not, depends on the numbers,” he said, noting that the Lokpal Bill was “not an ordinary piece of legislation” but something for which the country has been waiting for 40 years.
Giving the context of the move, Mukherjee reminded the House that there had been an “agitation” (by Anna Hazare) and another one was impending. He also referred to the other developments like the meetings of Joint Drafting Committee involving civil society and all-party meetings.
“Current events are the efforts since April...Where is the question of duress? There is no undue haste,” he said.
“Nothing is being dictated. 543 members of this House (Lok Sabha) will finally decide the fate of Lokpal,” Mukherjee said, adding if “any deficiencies” were found, these could be addressed through amendments. “Don't blame the government for
what it is not responsible.”
On the controversy over provision for Lokayuktas, he said the concerns would be addressed when the act is notified. At the same time, he admitted that there could have been a “mismatch in legislative business” but was not unusual.
Referring to the flip-flop with regard to reference to minorities in the new bill, he said originally it was included but after discussions with political parties, questions were
raised about its Constitutional validity and it was deleted.
Later it was decided to let the judiciary decide whether it is constitutionally valid or not, Mukherjee said.
He noted that decisions had been taken earlier which were later declared as ultra vires by the courts.
The 64-page Bill brings the PM under the purview of Lokpal with certain conditions but keeps out CBI from its control. However, the Lokpal will have superintendence over CBI in corruption cases referred by it to the investigation agency.
It has been proposed that the CBI Director will be selected by a three-member committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court Judge nominated by him.
The changes in the appointment process will be made by amending the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, according to the Bill.
Opposing introduction of the Bill, SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav said it was unconstitutional to make the Prime Minister answerable to Lokpal instead of Parliament.
“It is being assumed that all members of the Lokpal would be honest. Is it correct? Will Lokpal not misuse powers and blackmail the government?.. This bill should not be allowed to be introduced,” he said.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad strongly asked the government not to take any “wrong step” under the “fear” of agitation.
“We want Lokpal Bill. Everybody wants to fight corruption. But the Bill should be strong. This is not strong and is full of limitations,” he said, asking, “Will corruption end in this manner?”
Hitting out at Anna Hazare and his team, Prasad said, “If someone goes on fast for the benefit of his health, what do we have to do with it?... Three-four people cannot dictate to Parliament. We are the lawmakers.”
Attacking the government for bringing the Bill in “utter haste”, he underlined that “this was not a minor issue” and warned that the nation would “never forgive us” if any wrong measure was put in place.
He said there were some provisions in the Bill which even Hazare had not demanded.
He also had a piece of advice for Hazare, saying he should pay attention to his health and praised Bal Thackeray for opposing the Bill.
At the same time, he argued in favour of more than 50 per cent reservation in the Lokpal bench, saying it was not government service where there was a cap of 50 per cent.

World Bank

World Bank to Finance Better Health Services for up to 8 Million Tanzanians a Year

Press Release No:2012/227/AFR

Country on track to meet 2015 Millennium Development Goal on reducing infant and child mortality WASHINGTON, December 20, 2011 – Up to 8 million Tanzanians should have access to better health services each year from now until 2015 following World Bank approval of US$100 million for the Basic Health Services Project. The new project is designed to build on Tanzania’s success in improving access to health services, which has helped to cut infant and child mortality rates by nearly half over the past decade. The 2015 Millennium Development Goal on reducing child mortality is now within Tanzania’s reach. “Children in Tanzania stand a much better chance of survival today than they did 20 years ago, or even 5 years ago, thanks to investments that made vaccinations, mosquito nets, vitamin supplements and other basic health services available,” said Mercy Tembon, World Bank Acting Country Director for Tanzania, “However, more needs to be done to improve the quality of services at public health facilities so that faster progress is made towards other health-related goals such as reducing maternal mortality.” The project—expected to contribute about a fifth of the total Health Basket Fund (Tanzania’s main vehicle for donor financing for health)—will further support the Government’s efforts to focus on quality and to bring in new financing mechanisms that strengthen management of health services at the local level. Access to quality health services is expected to benefit millions of women, including in remote areas such as Tabora District where the share of women giving birth in health facilities was just 28 percent in 2009. “The project aims to improve health results by helping to change the way that funds are allocated to district and frontline health facilities—from the current unconditional grants to a greater emphasis on equity and the efficient and effective use of these funds,” said Dominic Haazen, the project’s Task Team Leader.  Component 1 (Support to Local Government Service Delivery) of the project will finance annual per capita grants to Local Government Authorities of approximately US$0.30 per person per year to support district-level service delivery, as well as medical supplies, medicines, vaccines and contraceptives. Component 2 (Capacity Building in Local Governments) provides funding to improve the capacity of local governments to manage health services. It will finance technical assistance, training, and systems strengthening interventions, with a focus on improved public financial management (PFM), monitoring and evaluation (M&E), facility management, human resources management, procurement, and governance and accountability mechanisms. Component 3 (Central Programs to Support Local Service Delivery) provides funding and technical assistance for central level training, PFM and M&E initiatives; management guidance through the Prime Minister’s Office; initiatives to support the performance management process at the central and regional levels, and strengthening of central level oversight structures. The World Bank’s support to Tanzania is consistent with its overarching objectives in Africa, which include reducing vulnerability while enhancing governance and public sector capacity so that public funds deliver better education, health and infrastructure for citizens. Contacts: In Dar es Salaam: Evelyne Kapya (255-22) 2163288, ekapya@worldbank.org In Washington: Kavita Watsa, +1 202 458 8810, kwatsa@worldbank.org

BBC

Goldman Sachs tax deal faces UK legal challenge

Big Banking

UK Uncut has begun legal proceedings to force banking giant Goldman Sachs to pay more to the UK tax authorities.

The pressure group requested a judicial review into a decision by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) that let the bank off paying interest on its tax bill.
The shortfall, which HMRC told MPs this week was an error, was estimated by the National Audit Office to be £5m-8m.
However, a whistleblower who worked for HMRC estimated the cost at £20m - a claim that has been rejected by HMRC.
UK Uncut has called for the government to crack down on tax avoidance by large corporations and the super-rich rather than pursue its "unnecessary austerity programme".
Legal firm Leigh Day & Co are taking on the case on a "no win, no fee" basis.
"We wrote to the HMRC in October asking them to quash the deal and reclaim the millions unpaid in taxes from one of the world's richest banks, but received no response," said Richard Stein, human rights partner at the law firm.
"We chased again in November and they claimed they needed more time."
HMRC and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.