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The coronavirus crisis just claimed another cruise line

M

MULTIZ321

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"The line [Birka] operated a single ship, the 1,430-passenger Birka Stockholm."
-- Hardly worth a notice.
.
 
Talent312 said:
"The line [Birka] operated a single ship, the 1,430-passenger Birka Stockholm."
-- Hardly worth a notice.
Click to expand...

I've never heard of that line. Nonetheless, as I'm saying regarding a lot of businesses that are getting hammered by the effects of the pandemic, my heart goes out to the employees on that ship who are now out of jobs.

As a side point, with all these cruise ships being suspended causing their employees to be out of jobs, with which country could the employees file for unemployment benefits? Let's say an employee is form the USA but the ship is registered in Panama, with which country could the employee file for benefits? I'm not too sure how income taxes work in such a case but would the employee pay income tax to the US government in such a case?
 
Interesting question. I found this on cruiseshipjobs.com...

Crew members are responsible for any taxes due to their country of origin. Only United States citizens or employees that reside in the USA will have US federal taxes deducted from their pay. Your employment contract and the country where you are a citizen will determine how you are paid onboard.

Some countries do not require their citizens to pay taxes on employment income if they are a seafarer. On the other hand if you are a citizen of a country that requires you to report your worldwide income on your tax return, you may have to pay taxes when you file your tax return at the end of the year. The bottom line is that taxes will not be deducted from your payroll, but some nationalities will be responsible to remit taxes at the end of the year.

.
 
IMHO, All cruise lines will need to sail by November 2020 or you are going to a see a selloff of all the older cruise lines ships. The newer ships built in the last ten years are safe because they are larger and more energy efficient. IMO.
 
pedro47 said:
IMHO, All cruise lines will need to sail by November 2020 or you are going to a see a selloff of all the older cruise lines ships. The newer ships built in the last ten years are safe because they are larger and more energy efficient. IMO.
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Pedro47, Are you getting on a cruise ship by then? If not, who is??


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Were they paying in anywhere? I do not feel its right gig workers are getting unemployment as they are 1099s and never paid into it. I get these difficult times but after this how many gig workers would offer to pay into unemployment?
 
Talent312 said:
Some countries do not require their citizens to pay taxes on employment income if they are a seafarer. On the other hand if you are a citizen of a country that requires you to report your worldwide income on your tax return, you may have to pay taxes when you file your tax return at the end of the year.
Click to expand...
Fun fact: the US and Eritrea are the only two countries in the world that tax non-resident citizens on their worldwide income. If planned correctly employees of cruise lines can avoid paying tax to the country they are a citizen of.
 
Luvtoride said:
Pedro47, Are you getting on a cruise ship by then? If not, who is??


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Click to expand...

I’ve read a lot of articles that indicate many people are ready to cruise again as soon as the CDC puts safety precautions in place. That won’t be me but I didn’t cruise pre covid.
 
Am1, self-employed folks do pay unemployment taxes in the US, at least. Maybe that’s not true in a Canada, where you are.


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amycurl said:
Am1, self-employed folks do pay unemployment taxes in the US, at least. Maybe that’s not true in a Canada, where you are.

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Click to expand...

In Canada, the employment status of "contract" or "gig" employees (i.e. whether they are considered employees or self-employed) will depend upon the nature of the contract and their employment history, amongst other considerations. If you are truly self-employed in Canada, you must contribute to CPP (Canada Pension Plan), but EI (employment insurance) is voluntary.

The reference by am1 to form 1099, which is an IRS form, has nothing to do with Canada. It applies only to US citizens or US tax residents or those who are considered a US person for tax purposes under IRS rules.

With the CPP, if you are self-employed, you get to pay both the employee and the employer portion!! If you elect to pay EI, then again you get to pay both the employee and employer portion, but you get to claim benefits. If you don't pay into EI, then you cannot claim unemployment insurance benefits.

During the pandemic there are other special support payments for business owners and the self-employed that could be accessed. Unfortunately, for some "gig" workers it may be more difficult to qualify for them, since they may fall through some of the "cracks", especially if they have not contributed to EI.
 
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Unemployment taxes (FUTA) in the United States are pay by employers and not by employees.

We will not be sailing on a cruise ship, until an all clear order is given by the CDC, probably in late 2021 or early 2022.
 
Pullmantur has shut down. The ships were up for sale before the pandemic. Apparently being stripped down in Italy. They had 3 somewhat older ships that offered very affordable cruises. Liquor included and no surcharge restaurants but surcharge upgrades in the main dining room.

We only did one cruise with them and 2 years ago backed out of a second that looking back we should have went on.

I have wanted to do $200 plus some taxes transatlantic cruise but timing never worked out with kids in school. Might be boring for some and maybe I would feel that way after but its how many people crossed to come to the New World under much less desirable conditions.

Still hopefully be able to do a Disney cruise before our kids get too old.
 
pedro47 said:
IMHO, All cruise lines will need to sail by November 2020 or you are going to a see a selloff of all the older cruise lines ships. The newer ships built in the last ten years are safe because they are larger and more energy efficient. IMO.
Click to expand...
I don't see much selling happening unless it is to the scrapyard. There will be no market for cruise ships in the next few years. Who is going to be out there buying. The small cruise lines that usually buy these ships are going out of business.
amycurl said:
Am1, self-employed folks do pay unemployment taxes in the US, at least. Maybe that’s not true in a Canada, where you are.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
As far as I know, self employed individuals do not pay unemployment tax in the US and generally are not eligible for unemployment payments. The self employed pay Self Employment Tax, but that only covers Social Security and Medicare. They may pay unemployment insurance if they treat themselves as an employee within their business and are a W2 employee.
 
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We were planning a Rhine Cruise on AMA this November. We were able to move it to October 2022. If this virus isn’t gone by then, we will cancel . Have two timeshare trips scheduled for October and December both are in driving distance so we plan to go with social distancing. Not leaving Florida until next year for travel.
Silentg
 
silentg said:
We were planning a Rhine Cruise on AMA this November. We were able to move it to October 2022. If this virus isn’t gone by then, we will cancel . Have two timeshare trips scheduled for October and December both are in driving distance so we plan to go with social distancing. Not leaving Florida until next year for travel.
Silentg
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Dd and I moved our Rhine cruise from May 2021 to May 2022. We'll see what happens. Not sure what our options would be if we cancelled.
 
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