美國綠卡對中國富人可能弊大於利大綱

China's super rich should rethink the value of the once-coveted U.S. green card.
中國有錢人應該重新思考，曾經讓人羨慕的美國綠卡究竟是否值得擁有。中國首富、娃哈哈集團創始人宗慶後近日宣佈，他已經去美國領事館還掉了他的美國綠卡。

Take beverage billionaire Zong Qinghou, one of China's wealthiest people, who recently gave up his permanent-resident status because 'China is getting better and stronger than America, ' his spokesman said.
中國人還是想要出去。根據貝恩諮詢的一項調查，教育、資產安全和準備退休是最主要的原因。年初北京的霧霾和現在黃浦江裏浮着的幾千頭死豬，都給人以尋找“退出機制”的動力。

The Chinese do still want to go abroad, with education, safety of assets, and retirement preparation the top reasons cited in a Bain & Co. survey. Other concerns∪such as thick Beijing smog and the recent scandal of dead pigs floating in a river that supplies water to Shanghai∪add new incentives to look for an exit strategy.
美國是中國富豪最喜歡的移民目的地。上個財政年度美國批准的7，600個投資移民的簽證中，有八成給了中國人。

The U.S. is the most popular destination, with as many as 80% of the 7, 641 investor immigrant visas approved in the U.S. in fiscal 2012 taken up by Chinese.
儘管中國富豪正在把家庭和財產轉移海外，但波士頓諮詢的一項調查顯示，只有6%的高淨值人士自己拿了外國護照。他們國內的生意還在增長，他們還沒有到打包離開的時候。

But while the rich are sending their families and assets overseas, only 6% of the Chinese high-net-worth individuals have taken up foreign citizenship, according to Boston Consulting Group. Their businesses are still growing in China, so they aren't ready to just pack up and leave.
但一本美國護照的成本也很高，尤其對於那些沒有意識到拿了美國護照就要交美國稅的中國富人。和其他國家不同的是，美國對其永久居民和公民的海外收入和資本利得也都要徵稅。所有在拿到美國身份之後獲得的收入，都必須繳納美國稅。普通收入的最高稅率爲39.6%，高收入者的長期資本利得要交20%的稅。

A U.S. passport can be costly, especially to the wealthy who often don't realize that with U.S. citizenship come U.S. taxes. Unlike other countries, the U.S. taxes its citizens no matter where they live or where they earn their income. All gains realized after becoming a U.S. citizen will be subject to U.S. taxation. Ordinary income is taxed at rates up to 39.6% and long-term capital gains are taxed at 20% for wealthier taxpayers.
“有錢人一般只給他們的家人和親戚申請美國投資移民，因爲這對他們自己來說會有很大的稅務影響，”以倫敦爲總部的國際律師事務所Withers的美國移民主管Reaz Jafri說。

'Wealthy people often just send their relatives through the U.S. investor program because it has significant tax implications for themselves, ' said Reaz Jafri, head of U.S. immigration for London-based international law firm Withers.
美國護照可能是一個成本高昂的附屬品──在享受美國公民權利的同時也得承擔美國賦稅。 《華爾街日報》的顧蔚解釋了爲什麼一些中國富人放棄美國綠卡，轉而考慮在一些債務纏身的歐洲國家和一些富裕的亞洲城市入籍，以享受更優惠的待遇。

A foreign residency can become a political liability at home. Revelation of Mr. Zong's green card has led some Chinese to question whether they should be represented by an 'American' at the National People's Congress. Mr. Zong and his family members no longer carry U.S. green cards.
外國身份在中國國內也可能是個政治包袱。宗慶後綠卡被曝光後，有些中國人開始抱怨一個“美國人”是否適合作爲人大代表。宗慶後之所以放棄美國身份，是因爲“中國變得越來越好而且一定會比美國強” ，他的發言人如此說到，並補充說現在宗慶後全家都是中國身份，沒有人持有美國綠卡。

Some Chinese businessmen have applied for foreign passports so they can enjoy preferential policies at home. Those policies include China's tax breaks for foreign investors. Some business owners got foreign passports so they could list their companies in Hong Kong as 'red chip' stocks. But foreign investors are now subject to the same tax rates as locals, and Hong Kong has tightened listing requirements.
之前拿外國身份還有一個好處是可以在中國享受特殊待遇，中國過去對外商有稅務優惠政策。要在香港以“紅籌”身份上市，企業主也需要一本外國護照。但現在外商投資企業和本地企業的稅率已經拉平，而且香港提高了上市審查標準後，海外上市也不那麼容易了。

The sheer demand for visas to the U.S. and elsewhere by Chinese is making them harder to get, with China now the world's biggest exporter of its people. In 2011 alone, 150, 000 Chinese got immigration visas from foreign countries, according to the Center for China and Globalization, a Chinese think tank.
中國人對美國投資移民的龐大需求本身也使得美國綠卡更難拿了。現在中國已經是世界上最大的人口出口國。根據智庫中國和全球化研究中心的數據，僅2011年，就有15萬中國人獲得了海外移民身份。For the U.S. investor visa program known as EB-5, an individual-country quota is likely to kick in later this year, according to the U.S. State Department. That means some Chinese investors will need to wait for several years after their money has been invested in the U.S., Mr. Jafri said.
根據美國國務院預測，今年開始，投資移民簽證會開始受國家配額限制，這意味着未來中國申請人把錢投到美國後，可能要等好幾年才能拿到移民簽證。

A U.S. green card can be lost just by doing nothing, yet the applicant may still be on the hook for U.S. taxes. In general, permanent residents who fail to enter the U.S. for more than a year will be treated as if they abandoned their green cards. This is a time burden for first-generation rich in China who are still deeply involved in their businesses at home.
美國綠卡也很容易失去，但綠卡擁有者可能還要繼續給美國稅。一般來說，美國永久居民如果有一年沒有踏上美國土地就被認爲自動放棄了綠卡。這對還積極忙於打造他們的商業帝國的中國第一代富豪來說，這也是個不小的時間負擔。

'People should ask themselves if a U.S. green card is what they really want, ' said Erik Wallace, a Hong Kong-based lawyer at Withers. 'If not, there are other options available.'
“人們應該問問自己，是否美國綠卡真是他們想要的，”Withers的香港律師Erik Wallace說，“如果不是，他們還有其他選擇。”

For Chinese businessmen who want to spread their empires to America, they can apply for an L-1 visa, which allows foreign employees of international companies to relocate to the corporation's U.S. office. The L-1 visa, which can be extended to up to seven years, may legally be used as a steppingstone to a green card.
對於想要把自己的生意擴張到美國的中國商人，他們可以申請L-1簽證。該簽證幫助國際公司的外國僱員在其美國公司工作。L-1簽證可以一共延期到七年，也可以合法地作爲申請綠卡的一個踏腳石。

The L-1 visa has no investment or job-creation requirements, while the U.S. investor visa program does, and L-1 visas can usually be approved in a matter of weeks. People on L-1 visas are subject to U.S. taxes on their U.S. income, but not on their overseas income and capital gains if they spend fewer than 122 days each year in the U.S., according to Mr. Wallace.
和美國投資移民不同， L-1簽證對於在美國的投資金額，以及在美國創造的工作都沒有特別要求。一般來說，幾個星期就可以批下來。Wallace說，成功的申請人需要爲他們的美國收入交稅，但只要每年在美國呆的時間不超過122天，一般就不需要爲海外收入交美國稅。

Many Chinese believe a foreign passport, especially if it is from the world's No. 1 superpower, can protect them from being targeted by Chinese authorities, or get them on a plane out of China if the country sinks into turmoil. Those are unlikely scenarios and people need to be realistic about the costs and benefits of foreign passports. It is always good to have a backup plan, but rich Chinese also need to make sure that they aren't overpaying for it.
很多中國人相信一本外國護照，尤其是來自世界第一超級大國的護照，能夠保護他們不受中國政府的懲罰。萬一中國亂了，還可以坐上一架特別飛機離開中國，他們有必要更現實和理智地看待這個問題。給自己找一個備用方案是個好主意，但中國富人也沒必要爲其付出太高昂的代價。