My Real Problem

I have a problem. A problem that gives me a disadvantage compared to every other internet marketer out there. You see, I am a Canadian, but I was born in the U.S. This means that at any time I can claim my U.S. Citizenship too. I have done nothing to persue my U.S. Citizenship - ever. Why is this a problem? Because a lot of the internet marketing opportunities involve a company from the States paying you money. People who are citizens simply give thier SSN's and they pay tax on it like usual. People who are not citizens (or residents) fill out a form to indicate that they are not citizens. I, on the other hand, am in limbo. I can't fill out the form to say I am not a US citizen because that may be construed later on as a denouncing my US Citizenship and I also have no SSN. Soooo..... Why don't I just apply for a SSN? I could, but once I do this, the IRS will be asking for the past 7 years of my taxes. I don' t have a problem here because I'm pretty sure it will all come out to be $0 owed, but this is not a small undertaking. The tax laws and procedures in the States are VERY different than the ones in Canada. Plus, when I do my Canadian ones, the form is very obvious (insert Box 17 of your T4 form, etc.) When you're filling out US taxes with Canadian forms, there is no Box 17. You have to figure out where EVERY SINGLE piece of data goes. Not very easy. But I have come to the conclusion that in order to be competitive in the world of internet marketing I am going to have to sort out this area of my life. There have been several opportunties missed because of this. The main reason why I got a refund (after a LONG time) on that Google Cash Detective software is because most of the products I could track were from companies I couldn't accept money from. So - I've decided to get myself in order, learn how to fill in the forms from the past 7 years of US Taxes, fill them out and apply for my SSN. I am hoping to get this done by August 1, 2008. My balance may not change much until then, but at least I will get this off my back once and for all.

Flip