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From a certain international newspaper:

New Treasury De-
partment guidelines will provide some
tax relief to many Americans abroad,
particularly those living in high-cost lo-
cations like Hong Kong, Singapore and
London, even if many expatriates will
still be facing significantly higher tax
bills.

The guidelines, in the works since
President George W. Bush signed a new
tax bill into law in May, take into ac-
count that living costs vary enormously
around the world. Without the adjust-
ment, the law allowed only $11,536 to be
excluded from income taxes on the first
$24,720 of housing assistance, and noth-
ing above that. Americans and their em-
ployers have to pay far more for housing
in some places.

The new figures, which apply retro-
actively to Jan. 1, alter the excludable
amounts dramatically in some cases,
but in others not at all.

The numbers soar to $72,100 for Lon-
don, $79,300 for Paris, $79,800 for Mi-
lan, $85,700 for Tokyo — and a high of
$114,300 for Hong Kong.

So there. Hong Kong costs 50 percent more to live in that London, which ain't cheap at all, my friends. The housing allowance here is more than I made my first four years out of college. If you would like to defray my costs here, please donate to my paypal account at jeffboda@hotmail.com. Thank you for your support.