[unmole]

> 3.5% remittance fees on sending money out of the US:

The version of the bill that passed a 1% excise is applicable "only to any remittance transfer for which the sender provides cash, a money order, a cashier’s check, or any other similar physical instrument".

[zhivota]

Ok thank you I was really worried for a second. Capital controls are on the bingo card but I was hoping it wouldn't come yet.

[ndiddy]

For comparison, India taxes remittances at 20%.

[kondu]

This is not true. There's a TCS of 20%, which is an advance tax payment that you can claim back in your income tax returns at the end of the year, and it not an additional tax. This is just a (bad) mechanism to stop black money from leaving the country.

[ndiddy]

Thanks I didn't realize that it was refundable, I guess "India makes people loan 20% of their foreign remittances to the government interest-free" would be more accurate.

[unmole]

> "India makes people loan 20% of their foreign remittances to the government interest-free" would be more accurate.

It wouldn't. The TCS can be offset against other tax liabilities. The government pays out 6% interest on excess tax payments. For reference, 364 day T-bills are currently yielding ~5.5%.

The idea is to force reporting and add friction. Not raise revenue.