Sending funds to loved ones in Ukraine under the new rules

[alex330]

I realize there are probably many threads on this subject already, but the laws in Ukraine have changed and we just experienced an issue so wanted to give members fair warning on what is currently occurring.

Every once in a while we send family back home in Ukraine funds via Western Union. They go to the local office, flash their passport and retrieve the funds. The other day MIL was contacted by the authorities informing her that all the money she had picked up from the Western Union location was to be considered income and she now owed taxes on it.

Just a thought for those with good intentions helping loved ones back home in Ukraine. Choose an alternate method of sending funds so they are not hit with taxes. We will be mailing over an international prepaid gift card, which we can reload here locally for her.

[tfcrew]

Outrage.
Already costs too much for Westrn Union moneygrams.
Poroshenko helped himself just like the other 4.

[2tallbill]

We will be mailing over an international prepaid gift card, which we can reload here locally for her.

Mail them a book and put the card inside it somewhere

[Muzh]

Mail them a book and put the card inside it somewhere

GONE!!!

[Anathema]

Why not use something like PayPal?

[Noch1]

You mean those poor scammers are going to have to pay taxes???
Poor buggers are going to have to insist on more, just to get by

[jone]

How do you think this came to the attention of the tax collectors?  It wasn't grandpa and grandma who were getting subsistence money!

When you have a 19 year old hottie getting $50,000 a year from overseas, it becomes a big issue if repeated again and again over time.

[Boethius]

LOL, jone. 


We have sent money to Ukraine recently.  No tax authorities came into the picture, at least, not yet, nor in the past.


I asked hubby about this as well, and he said as far as he knows, the law to tax these amounts was not passed.  But, he hasn't checked recently.  He asked if this occurred in Odessa.

[TagUrIt898]

I hate to be too intrusive, but how much money are we talking about here?  I just recently sent P a small amount via MoneyGram and she had no issues. I'll be very curious to see the responses in this thread.

Tag

[Boethius]

Small amounts.

[alex330]

Yes, it occurred in Odessa. They are using your passport to track incoming funds as well as monitor bank accounts from my understanding. Paypal would deposit into her bank account, so same issue. We send a couple hundred dollars every few months to help out, not a lot of money for us here in the West, but a decent chunk for those struggling in Ukraine.

[alex330]

I just recently sent P a small amount via MoneyGram and she had no issues. I'll be very curious to see the responses in this thread.

We have been doing so for years without issue.  They finally approached her for back taxes on the funds we have been sending. Not sure how far back they went.

[calmissile]

We have been doing so for years without issue.  They finally approached her for back taxes on the funds we have been sending. Not sure how far back they went.

Try getting a duplicate debit card on your US Bank (cannot get one in her name unless she can physically go into the US bank).  You can set the pin differently for each of your cards.  Send her the card.  As long as she uses the ATM's, she won't have to go into the bank.  Works for relatively small amounts of money at a time.

[BillyB]

I realize there are probably many threads on this subject already, but the laws in Ukraine have changed and we just experienced an issue so wanted to give members fair warning on what is currently occurring.

Maybe your in laws are one of the unlucky ones while the majority slip through the cracks.  The teller they picked up from may get a cut from local tax authorities. Tell your in laws to pick up their money at another location. I Googled to try to find answers and found a thread back in 2003 of a gift tax having to be paid.

http://www.planet-love.com/smf/index.php?topic=14770.0;wap2

[alex330]

Try getting a duplicate debit card on your US Bank (cannot get one in her name unless she can physically go into the US bank).  You can set the pin differently for each of your cards.  Send her the card.  As long as she uses the ATM's, she won't have to go into the bank.  Works for relatively small amounts of money at a time.

Good idea if you open an account in your name just for her and keep limited funds in the account. If added to your main account I would be leery of a lost/stolen card being cloned or a remote RFID reader used to steal your info.

Maybe your in laws are one of the unlucky ones while the majority slip through the cracks.  The teller they picked up from may get a cut from local tax authorities. Tell your in laws to pick up their money at another location. I Googled to try to find answers and found a thread back in 2003 of a gift tax having to be paid.

Quite possible, but this is a new law. We were told about the passport requirement for WU within the last six months or so. Ukraine is trying to recover as much as possible right now due to the economic situation and WU is an easy target many of the black markets use. Like jone mentioned above, think of all the men wiring money to women or scammers, all the programmers/techs that work under the table, steroid trafficking (Ukraine is home to the largest rings) and it gives the government a whole new tax base. The elderly MIL just happens to fall victim as well.

[calmissile]

Slightly off topic but a new rant on Western Union.

A couple years ago Western Union froze my account and returned a transfer for about $1000 being sent to my fiancé in UA.  When I inquired they told me that they are freezing all money transfers to UA that are above a limit due to the money laundering and US government regulations.  They would not tell me the threshold amount.  A subsequent attempt for a small amount also failed because my account was blocked.

Our son is in Israel and needs to buy a plane ticket back to kiev.  He has an appointment in Kiev in a few days and needs the money now.  I went to Western Union and sent him $600.  We carefully copied all the information from his UA passport, checked spelling and did everything we could think of to not have any hiccups.  The fee was $50 to send $600.

He called us and told us that they said there no money waiting for him at the WU office. we confirmed that he had the correct MTCN number, etc.  I checked with WU online and they indicated that the money had not been picked up yet.  The office in Israel would not give him a specific reason as to why the transaction is failing, other than to say there is no money waiting for him.

I have had it for the last time with Western Union!!!!!

[tfcrew]

One time one WU center didn't give my wife her money because her name was spelled wrong.
We just went to another office and they paid her.

[TagUrIt898]

I've heard both good and bad about WU and Moneygram.  I have no personal story to tell with WU, because I've never used their services before.  My very first time sending money was with Moneygram.  Initially I was a little dissuaded because I attempted to do the transfer online from my checking account.  The transaction was frozen and I was asked to call and speak with a representative.  I called and was asked a series of questions.  Who are you sending the funds to, etc.  What surprised me was that even after I called and underwent their mini-interview/interrogation they STILL declined to make the transfer. They said I would need to go to a physical location and complete the transaction.  I almost decided NOT to used their service, but I looked at the pros and cons of WU vs MG.  If I used WU I was told the recipient would have access to the funds within two hours of sending.  With MoneyGram the funds would be available in 10 minutes or less. Additionally, the fees were less expensive with MG and all you needed for identification was a drivers license.  I sound like a commercial for Moneygram.lol. I'm just sharing my experience.  I would most likely use them again.

Tag

[JayH]

Sending funds via WU is an expensive way to do it-maybe ok in a one-off emergency it is worth the cost. The current situation has been coming and warning issued some time ago about transfers like this- and similar transactions.

To repeat my comments from earlier threads on sending money( is it groundhog day?)
This is by far the simplest -easiest-safest way to do.
In Australia-- you can purchase a visa debit card for  $6.95  ( load & go) at Australia Post.
http://auspost.com.au/money-insurance/load-and-go-reloadable-visa-prepaid-card.html

This can be set up quite easily in recipients name etc I can add funds directly from bank account ( they appear in next working day)
Send card (mail no problem-- as it needs allocated pin to use)  .

This card can be used as a normal Visa Card for purchases--it can draw cash from ATM or over the counter at bank. Basically--it function is identical to your own bank issued card ( Visa debit card that is-- as it requires funds in account to be able to use).

The cost is 3%-- and no charge at other end from some banks.

This type of card is commonly available in UK and EU countries also.

Now- in the US of A--
http://usa.visa.com/personal/personal-cards/prepaid-cards/buy-online.jsp
http://prepaid-debit-cards-review.toptenreviews.com/

The same type of card is available in the US.

[BillyB]

it gives the government a whole new tax base. The elderly MIL just happens to fall victim as well.

The Ukrainian government is going to piss off a lot of foreigners, foreigners they need to help pressure their governments to help Ukraine. I WU my MIL every month some money. She has not had a problem yet with tax authorities. If anybody is collecting money from a certain location and getting notified by tax authorities, they should be collecting their money from a different location next time.

[ML]

I doubt different locations will make any difference.

The tax people are not getting info about money arriving by referring to records kept at any one location.

I am sure that WU for all of Ukraine has to provide a central data base of transactions to the money authorities in Ukraine; same as WU provides for all countries.

[iceshaft07]

Hey y'all!

Last time I sent money, I sent $600 from my checking. It cost $12 to send. Western Union charges a greater amount for credit card transactions. So far, no issues sending Money to Odessa.

[Rick4G]

I use MG because it is cheaper than WU for Ukraine.  I have several that I routinely send money to but usually small amounts like 40 or 50 bucks and i can do it by computer or even from smartphone  app.   Never had any issues although some bank branches are very picky about spelling  and matching passport spelling when it is picked up.

I used to give people pre-paid visa cards that i could fund from home but several of them no longer allow ATM transactions outside of USA.  Green dot, for example.  Yes, fees for MoneyGram are not cheap (5 bucks to send 50 but WU is 9) but using US based
debit cards is not either as there are foreign transaction fees and even ATM fees to consider.

Ukraine is always changing the rules.   First its you cannot take dollars then you can but only 100 maximum per day.  Citizens must have bank account to take MG then dont need... to cite some examples

I will ask my receivers if they know anything about this as i just sent money today.
$40 a week to someone may not seem like much to western people but to a college age student in Ukraine its more than they are going to make in virtually any job they can find, IF they can even find a job.

[TagUrIt898]

The two times I've sent money to Polishka, I used MG as well. The amounts were small and I did the transactions in person at a Moneygram locations.  The second time I sent funds, it was even easier. I used a Moneygram machine at CVS (drug store) and it already had my information from the previous time I used the service. The fees weren't too bad and they give you a reference number to give to the recipient.  When P, went to pick the funds up all she need to provide was the reference number. No passport or even identification. That part concerns me a little, because of someone manages to get the reference number and use it before the intended recipient collects the funds, you're pretty much. S.O.L. 😝

Tag

[Faux Pas]

Western Union vs MoneyGram, IMHO it's MoneyGram hands down. One can walk into WalMart and send money anywhere in the world (up to $999.00, I think) for $10 bucks in just a few minutes with limited info. I haven't sent any money since last Fall but I comparative shopped WU then and while they do seem to be attempting to compete with MG, they're not and it's still a no-brainer. WU is rife with policy and problems online, security and is still more expensive but, better than it use to be. Part of which is trying to send from a phone app or online. MG has those same problems online. I've found it more hassle free to just walk into Wally's, fill out the form and hand over the money.