美国绿卡对中国富人可能弊大于利

China's super rich should rethink the value of the once-coveted U.S. green card.

中国有钱人应该重新思考，曾经让人羡慕的美国绿卡究竟是否值得拥有。中国首富、娃哈哈集团创始人宗庆后近日宣布，他已经去美国领事馆还掉了他的美国绿卡。

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.

中国人还是想要出去。根据贝恩咨询的一项调查，教育、资产安全和准备退休是最主要的原因。年初北京的雾霾和现在黄浦江里浮着的几千头死猪，都给人以寻找“退出机制”的动力。

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.

美国是中国富豪最喜欢的移民目的地。上个财政年度美国批准的7，600个投资移民的签证中，有八成给了中国人。

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 2017 taken up by Chinese.

尽管中国富豪正在把家庭和财产转移海外，但波士顿咨询的一项调查显示，只有6%的高净值人士自己拿了外国护照。他们国内的生意还在增长，他们还没有到打包离开的时候。

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.

但一本美国护照的成本也很高，尤其对于那些没有意识到拿了美国护照就要交美国税的中国富人。和其他国家不同的是，美国对其永久居民和公民的海外收入和资本利得也都要征税。所有在拿到美国身份之后获得的收入，都必须缴纳美国税。普通收入的最高税率为39.6%，高收入者的长期资本利得要交20%的税。

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.

“有钱人一般只给他们的家人和亲戚申请美国投资移民，因为这对他们自己来说会有很大的税务影响，”以伦敦为总部的国际律师事务所Withers的美国移民主管Reaz Jafri说。

'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.

美国护照可能是一个成本高昂的附属品──在享受美国公民权利的同时也得承担美国赋税。 《华尔街日报》的顾蔚解释了为什么一些中国富人放弃美国绿卡，转而考虑在一些债务缠身的欧洲国家和一些富裕的亚洲城市入籍，以享受更优惠的待遇。

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.

外国身份在中国国内也可能是个政治包袱。宗庆后绿卡被曝光后，有些中国人开始抱怨一个“美国人”是否适合作为人大代表。宗庆后之所以放弃美国身份，是因为“中国变得越来越好而且一定会比美国强” ，他的发言人如此说到，并补充说现在宗庆后全家都是中国身份，没有人持有美国绿卡。

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.

之前拿外国身份还有一个好处是可以在中国享受特殊待遇，中国过去对外商有税务优惠政策。要在香港以“红筹”身份上市，企业主也需要一本外国护照。但现在外商投资企业和本地企业的税率已经拉平，而且香港提高了上市审查标准后，海外上市也不那么容易了。

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.

中国人对美国投资移民的庞大需求本身也使得美国绿卡更难拿了。现在中国已经是世界上最大的人口出口国。根据智库中国和全球化研究中心的数据，仅2011年，就有15万中国人获得了海外移民身份。

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.

根据美国国务院预测，今年开始，投资移民签证会开始受国家配额限制，这意味着未来中国申请人把钱投到美国后，可能要等好几年才能拿到移民签证。

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.

美国绿卡也很容易失去，但绿卡拥有者可能还要继续给美国税。一般来说，美国永久居民如果有一年没有踏上美国土地就被认为自动放弃了绿卡。这对还积极忙于打造他们的商业帝国的中国第一代富豪来说，这也是个不小的时间负担。

'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.'

“人们应该问问自己，是否美国绿卡真是他们想要的，”Withers的香港律师Erik Wallace说，“如果不是，他们还有其他选择。”

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.

对于想要把自己的生意扩张到美国的中国商人，他们可以申请L-1签证。该签证帮助国际公司的外国雇员在其美国公司工作。L-1签证可以一共延期到七年，也可以合法地作为申请绿卡的一个踏脚石。

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.

和美国投资移民不同， L-1签证对于在美国的投资金额，以及在美国创造的工作都没有特别要求。一般来说，几个星期就可以批下来。Wallace说，成功的申请人需要为他们的美国收入交税，但只要每年在美国呆的时间不超过122天，一般就不需要为海外收入交美国税。

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.

很多中国人相信一本外国护照，尤其是来自世界第一超级大国的护照，能够保护他们不受中国政府的惩罚。万一中国乱了，还可以坐上一架特别飞机离开中国，他们有必要更现实和理智地看待这个问题。给自己找一个备用方案是个好主意，但中国富人也没必要为其付出太高昂的代价。