The Hill has an article about the Dutch American relations, specifically around Afghanistan:
"President Barack Obama is weighing a difficult decision to send more American troops to Afghanistan at a time when the Netherlands is preparing to pull its own soldiers from the war-torn country next year. "
The passage of the resolution by the Senate and the corresponding House Resolution (H.Con.Res.178) caps off the 8 month celebration of NY400 events in New York and the Netherlands to mark the shared history and shared values between the United States and the Netherlands.
The Internal Revenue Service today announced a one-time extension of the deadline for special voluntary disclosures by taxpayers with unreported income from hidden offshore (foreign) accounts. These taxpayers now have until Oct. 15, 2009.
This is important for those with bank accounts in the Netherlands or elsewhere. US law states that all US persons (citizens, green card holders, visa holders) must pay tax on their worldwide income. In addition to reporting the interest income earned to the IRS, tax payers are required to file form TD F 90-22.1 if the total balance of foreign accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the year. In many cases there is tax credit for tax paid on earned interest in a foreign country.
According to the WSJ today: 'most of those accepted into the IRS's disclosure program will owe back taxes, interest and a special penalty that will work out to 40% to 60% of the account balance, plus legal and accounting fees, attorneys say. But the agency has said it is unlikely to bring criminal charges against anyone who steps forward'.
Form TD F 90-22.1:
"Who needs to file? Each United States person who has a financial interest in or signature or other authority over any foreign financial accounts, including bank, securities, or other types of financial accounts, in a foreign country, if the aggregate value of these financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year, must report that relationship each calendar year by filing this report with the Department of the Treasury on or before June 30, of the succeeding year."
Today Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima watched a parade of boats in the New York harbor. In the afternoon they visited New Amsterdam Village, an imitation Dutch village that was temporarily set up at Bowling Green Park for a week.
The Dutch royal couple visited New York for NY 400 week, which commemorates the journey to what is now New York 400 years ago by Captain Henry Hudson. Earlier this week they opened a (permanent) Dutch pavilion in Manhattan and visited President Obama in the White House.
The New York website Gothamist has nice pictures of the Dutch pavilion, earlier this week.
Resolution S.Res.254 was introduced in the U.S. Senate last week to commemorate and celebrate the historic ties of the United States and the Netherlands.
A resolution like this is of symbolic value. The bill refers to the long history of the ties between the two countries, but also touches on recent examples such as the help provided by the Netherlands after Hurricane Katrina, and the fact that Holland is among the top 4 foreign investors in the United States. (Read the whole text here).
The corresponding House Resolution (H.Con.Res.178) was introduced by Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen this summer. Mr. Van Hollen is of Dutch descent and he is one of the members of the Congressional Caucus on the Netherlands.
The Senate Resolution was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations; they will decide on the resolution before is it officially passed.
During a parade in honor of Queensday, a crazy guy drove a car through a crowd of people, killing five and wounding many others, in an apparent attack on the Dutch royal family.
The Geen Stijl weblog had the most update information, both factual and rumored (viewer discretion advised).
Today was the Inauguration of President Obama, a beautiful day. Over lunch we saw the swearing-in ceremony and the Inauguration speech. The crowds were amazing, and at the same time I was very happy we were in the warm environment of our home and not on the street since 4 am. CNN estimated that there were about 1.5 million people on the Mall today.
Here at Guus Bosman.nl we had the first article on this candidate back in January 2007. In September I saw then Senator Obama and Senator Biden in Greensboro, and it was great night when he was elected President in November.
It was nice to see the new first family at the balls tonight; dancing like must feel somewhat awkward but it's a nice tradition. The Obama's are such a young family compared to many of the politicians in DC -- truly a new generation.
The snow today impacted a lot of traffic, and I worked from home today. In the afternoon the Governor declared a state of emergency for North Carolina due to the snow. I hope that I can get to work tomorrow because I have meetings from 10.00 am through 5.00 pm.
Tomorrow, after a long campaign that we have thoroughly enjoyed, is Election Day 2008 and tomorrow night we'll know who'll be President for the next four years.
The first results will come in in about 20 minutes, when a small village in New Hampshire with 20 registered voters will be the first in the nation to open the polls, and quickly after that to pronounce the results.
Of course, the real interesting results will come in tomorrow evening, starting at 7.00 pm EST (1.00 am Dutch time, 2.00 am Bulgarian time) when the first states, including Virginia, will close the polls. North Carolina's polls will close at 7.30 pm and around 8.00 pm a large group of states will complete their voting.
It's been a wonderful experience to see over the last two years, up close, a great democracy in action.
Governor Sarah Palin was in Raleigh today for a campaign event. I went to the State Fairs grounds to see her in person and experience an GOP event. It was an interesting afternoon.
The doors were supposed to open at 4.00 pm, with Ms. Palin speaking at 7.00 pm. I was there around 3.00 pm, and there was a big line already.
Nobama signs.
The stage. On the left and against the back wall are the camera's. I was pretty close to the stage.
No camera angle is left uncovered.
The campaign team was throwing T-shirts, signs and other attributes into the crowd.
A local plumber from Cary who gave a rousing, red-meat speech.
Signs in the crowd, many about Joe the Plumber, or 'regular joes'.
Bob Dole, who ran for President in 1996.
After the rally. Like in Obama's rally's, it's not allowed to bring your own signs. All signs you see in the crowd are made by campaign volunteers and are aligned with the campaign message.
The Internal Revenue Service 
Today Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima watched a parade of boats in the New York harbor. In the afternoon they visited 
When we were in South Carolina last week the political and personal problems of Governor Sanford got plenty of attention.
Today was the Inauguration of President Obama, a beautiful day. Over lunch we saw the swearing-in ceremony and the Inauguration speech. The crowds were amazing, and at the same time I was very happy we were in the warm environment of our home and not on the street since 4 am. CNN estimated that there were about 1.5 million people on the Mall today. 
Tomorrow, after a long campaign that we have thoroughly enjoyed, is Election Day 2008 and tomorrow night we'll know who'll be President for the next four years.
Governor Sarah Palin was in Raleigh today for a campaign event. I went to the State Fairs grounds to see her in person and experience an GOP event. It was an interesting afternoon.
