·:[ Arik’s blog ]:·
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Hm… let’s see.

I got an official proposal from the US company.

It’s okay. The pay is good, except for the following hitch: It is
highly possible that I still need to pay my taxes in Israel. Taxes in
Israel are around 50%, while in the states they are around 20% (for my salary level).

I was told I’ll get to talk to a tax consultant before I sign anything, so I’m not worried in that respect.

In unrelated news, my relocation plan has changed. I’m still going to
Boston, but only for a few months, in which I’ll be working with a
sales person, and hire a person to replace me. After this period, I’ll
move to San Francisco, where I’ll eventually stay.

In yet unrelated news, I’ll go around April 1st.

It’s all so fluid.

– Arik

I had a talk with our CEO regarding my relocation. Basically it breaks down to two phases:

• In phase one I will be living in a ‘corporate apartment’ or a hotel,
  let’s call it the trial period. During this period I will have to
  decide if I want to go through with the relocation and whether I want
  to stay in Boston. This phase will take a ‘month or two’.
• In phase two I will get a ‘relocation budget’, out of which I will get
  myself settled and buy essentials for the prolonged stay in Boston.

So I guess that’s it. Not the rough landing I supposed it to be - I’ll
have some time to get to know Boston before I decide on anything. Which
is a good thing, right?

This whole thing goes way out of my comfort zone, which makes me a bit anxious and excited.

– Arik

Things I would like to get:

• Maintain my current number of annual vacation days
• Transfer my current (>30) vacation days to the US or get reimbursed for them
• Get to travel to Israel once every quarter on avarage to visit family / friends
• Get my parents to Fedex me my snail-mail at the company’s expense every 2-3 weeks
• Get a car for the periods of time I am in Israel
• Get to consult an int’l tax professional before I go and after I come back

Fair? Did I miss anything?

– Arik

Before relocating:

• National insurance - precentage of the salary
• Health insurance - precentage of the salary
• Pension plan - employer and me pay for it
• Insurance - employer and me pay for it
• Income tax - I pay a lot

Before geting work visa, employee of the Israeli company:

• National insurance - precentage of the salary
• Health insurance - precentage of the salary
• Pension plan - employer and me pay for it
• Insurance - employer and me pay for it
• Income tax - I pay a lot (some people told me I can get some tax break for working abroad?)

During the relocation period in Israel:

• National insurance - ?
• Health insurance - ?
• Pension plan - ? (I need to keep it somehow)
• Insurance - ? (I need to keep it somehow)
• Income tax - 0

while in the US:

• National insurance - ?
• Health insurance - ? (I definitely need one)
• Pension plan - ? (Do I even need one?)
• Insurance - ? (I definitely need one)
• Income tax - I pay

After returning:

• National insurance - precentage of the salary
• Health insurance - precentage of the salary (am I covered again right away?)
• Pension plan - employer and me pay for it (how do I continue with the current program?)
• Insurance - employer and me pay for it (how do I continue with the current program?)
• Income tax - I pay a lot (do I need to pay for the time I was in the US?

I'll update this entry as I fill in these details.

This is all very confusing. A good resource I’ve found (in Hebrew).

Feel free to comment if you KNOW about any of these.

– Arik

My car is worth 36K NIS. When I sell it, I will get a temp one from my company, so I can start right away.

Does anyone want a 98′ Opel Corsa 1.4L, 150,000km on the odometer, handles pretty well, annual checkup in October? Leave a comment if you’re interested.

– Arik