Do American Liveaboards Have To Be State Residents?

[hellosailor]

Don-
I'm from a small island in the Atlantic, where local tradition kinda trains us not to be surprised, or at least not to be amazed, by all sorts of things. If they gave Congress one "Coliseum Day" where the CongressCritters were allowed to wear skirts and swords and engage in gladiator-style mortal combat without penalty...that still wouldn't surprise me. Although I'd sure watch the CNN live feed.(G)

Until the day that Congress has the honesty (did I just use both those words in the same sentence?!) to call Puerto Rico what it is, i.e. a war prize, I can rest assured that they're just shining me on, whenever they mention it. The situation is a but more complex than the banana republics literally set up to benefit Dole and Chiquita, but that's nothing new either.

[hafa]

Since the thread has drifted back and forth over the issue of US territories and their peculiarities:

Residents of the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) do not pay federal income tax on income that is locally sourced. Locally sourced income is subject to rebate, up to 90%. Residents are required to file a local tax return, but not a federal tax return. Residency is defined as being present in the CNMI for 180 days for a given year (sorry, OP).

Residents of the CNMI are NOT eligible to vote for president and are represented by a House delegate who may vote in committee but not on the House floor. Only individuals of Northern Marianas Descent* may own land in the CNMI.

*Northern Marianas Descent is defined as descended from someone who "was born or domiciled in the Northern Mariana Islands by 1950 and was a citizen of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands before the termination of the Trusteeship with respect to the Commonwealth".

[hellosailor]

The Marianas have their own long history. Claimed and conquered by Spain. Sold to Germany after the Spanish-American War (unlike Guam, which we got as another war prize), given to Japan by the League of Nations, lost after WW2 to a UN Mandate, eventually quagmired into a US "trust" instead, after four times trying to join with Guam, but apparently Guam didn't want any part of them.

Moving to the Mariana's would still make you less than a whole US resident. Who's making the buck off that "trust" relationship? Or do we maintain it simply out of some lingering heartfelt need to fulfill "the white man's burden", as Kipling once said?

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by sarafina

Would an international drivers license be one element of working this out perhaps?

Some military personnel select states with no personal income tax for residency.

Interesting puzzle!

"International Drivers License" is not really a License. It is a document that translates your real license into multiple languages and is only valid in the presence of your real license.

Military is a different ballgame but not really relevant to the OP.

Reality is trying to live without a state residence is more hassle than it's worth the hassle (territories and such exempted). Don't be surprised when your old state comes looking for you when you don't send them a check and a tax return from and you can't prove residency in another state.

[hafa]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

The Marianas have their own long history. Claimed and conquered by Spain. Sold to Germany after the Spanish-American War (unlike Guam, which we got as another war prize), given to Japan by the League of Nations, lost after WW2 to a UN Mandate, eventually quagmired into a US "trust" instead, after four times trying to join with Guam, but apparently Guam didn't want any part of them.

Moving to the Mariana's would still make you less than a whole US resident. Who's making the buck off that "trust" relationship? Or do we maintain it simply out of some lingering heartfelt need to fulfill "the white man's burden", as Kipling once said?

Not quite:

After WWII, The US administered the islands under the department of the Navy (later the Department of the Interior) and was an active participant in the creation of the Trust Territory. The US had full control over the islands throughout the TT times, using Saipan for covert training of anti-Maoist insurgents by the CIA and building a tracking station for the NIKE missile program.

In a strategic political move in the early 1970s, the people of the Northern Marianas sought to ally themselves more closely with the US and avoid becoming part of a larger political entity with other regions of Micronesia. It was at this time that reunification of the Northern Marianas with Guam was suggested and eventually, rejected.

"The Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America was negotiated over the course of twenty-seven months (December 1972 to February 1975)...and was subsequently approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 21, 1975, and by the U.S. Senate on February 24, 1976. On March 24, 1976, President Gerald Ford signed Public Law 94-241, enacting the Covenant."

Although the emergence of the Commonwealth was not without controversy and strife, its creation and adoption is a true tale of self-determination, executed with exceptional vision and foresight.

The CNMI currently has more individuals per capita serving in the US military than any state or territory.

BTW, I prefer to be "less than a whole" US resident; the ROI, so to speak, is excellent, IMHO.