IRS attaches no deadline to amnesty program
Apparently, Mr. McKenna did not see our press release or chose to ignore it. I have pasted most of it with a link in the comments.
Apparently, Mr. McKenna did not see our press release or chose to ignore it. I have pasted most of it with a link in the comments.
Three moderators on in the new discussion thread and some folks are contending with them: it is really amusing. A couple of the moderators who are neither American nor in the US are arguing on the basis of total ignorance, and one of them was the one that told jimmyjam that he had to have “official sources”. They are concerned that the Expat Forum is being overrun by this issue of taxes. And yet, none of them apparently have ever dealt with the deep anger and frustration of the Indian Expat community in the United States over the FBAR issues. Amazing.
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/expat-tax/99532-help-warn-people-who-want-move-us-about-these-problems.html
And this:
So we can ignore the Expat tax issues because, well we want to have light and fluffy conversations about what it’s like to move to the United States. “Nothing to see here. Move along!”
Let’s ask the really big questions like: Where can I rent a car? And, “How much are pampers in the various states?”
geeez. I see this very differently. There are dual citizens in Canada who do not want to renounce. They are looking for information to help them decide what to do and how to remain compliant if they choose to keep their US citizenship. If all they hear is “renounce”, they will go elsewhere for their answers.
This information is useful because it is all in one place. I think we need to have that information here as well.
Ok foxyladyhawk.. agree to disagree. I have been thinking about this all day long, and I really think the IRS is funding these types of articles. It’s a very cheap and lucrative investment for them.
Step #1) Put article in areas of large concentration of US citizens
Step #2) Intimindate and scare to extract more money
Step #3) Extract money
Step#2 was actually intensified this time around by increasing 2 more years and calling everyone tax cheats.
Actually, if someone wants to be compliant, Google is very convenient to use. Even the IRS website is quite easy. IF someone is very wealthy and has businesses and it gets more complicate, but not even this article goes into that territory. This article was paid for by the IRS.
Even if it were true, and I do not see how you could be sure of that, the point is that the article provides accurate information on how to find information and tax forms that people who wish to comply will need in order to become compliant. Even those who wish to renounce need to go through this process. So the information provides a useful service to those categories of US duals who for whatever reason intend to backfile.
foxladyhawk,
I understand your point about needing information. But you have never find it just a little odd that almost every article has the type of IRS language (coming clean, tax cheats, penalty, etc..), as if the IRS wrote it themselves? Looks like “fishing” or “phishing” to me. If ordinary people do it, we go to jail.
My .02 here – we have an image problem. People in the U.S. know so little about us (hell they don’t know many of us there are) we are pathetically vulnerable to gross mischaracterizations and stereotypes. This is the point of departure for many people and this influences the debate and how it’s framed. I’ve been working on this on the Flophouse blog in a quiet way for some time now. I just get very tired of people telling me, “You live in Paris (actually I don’t). Stop whining. We in the U.S. have REAL problems.” Merci, mesdames et messieurs for your support. 🙂
Of anyone has ideas about how to “rightsize” us and get the word out so we can reframe the debate, I am all ears.
Victoria, I think that’s a very noble idea, but my theory is that the IRS is intentionally doing this. So the spouse issues with the IRS may be dropped, but I highly doubt they will drop the issue of foreign bank account until they think they have “extracted” enough money from the US Citizen abroad.
* Technically what you are saying is the job of the ACA *. They have done some things, but their work is very limited. About my claim as to what the IRS is doing, ask the ACA -WHY- they don’t get more articles on major news outlets? I would be very curious to hear the response.
At the end of the day, I think the majority of America think “You’re either with us or against us.” I just don’t think that they can really fathom life abroad, speaking other languages, dealing with foreign life, etc.. It’s just not part of the American character. I don’t think it ever was really.
We have to admit it, even excluding the FACTA, we ALL probably have some views that differ greatly from the American perspective. That’s why, for me, I was born there, but I don’t feel like one of them anymore. The FACTA just alienated me even more. This is why I have no issue about renouncing.
I just wanted to post another somewhat related article on the extraterritoriality of something called the “Volcker Rule” to Canadian banks. While some might prefer the Department of Finance in Canada focus more on FATCA I should note that the deadline of Volcker to be implemented is coming up on July 12th of this year so to some degree Ottawa has to take more immediate action which according to the quote by Finance Canada’s spokesperson seems to be underway. What I really find interesting is degree of deference the reporter takes the US position on this issues which the more I think about seems to be pattern in the Canadian media going back to even the Bush/Martin years.
http://www.ctv.ca/generic/generated/static/business/article2299505.html
Thanks Tim. I also posted on that here:
http://isaacbrocksociety.com/2012/01/05/financial-post-covers-the-volcker-rule/