OMG made a fabulous find in Miami Herald about the “destructive” impact of requiring US banks to report on assets held by citizens of other countries.
Well, isn’t this interesting?!? Surprise, surprise. Congressmen are crying about the “disastrous consequences” of such a move.
The Congressmen write:
For more than 90 years, Congress has encouraged foreigners to invest their money in U.S. banks by exempting these deposits from taxes and reporting. This policy has led to hundreds of billions of foreign deposits in U.S. banks, particularly in Florida, creating good-paying jobs and credit for communities and small businesses. In fact, each $1 deposit results in $7 to $9 in sorely-needed economic activity.
What?!? For 90 years, Congress has encouraged investment in US banks by exempting those deposits from taxes and reporting!. Does that sound like a tax haven for tax cheats and tax evaders to anyone else?!? Does that sound like the US economy benefits from being a tax haven?!?
What will happen to IRS highly touted “reciprocity” if US banks don’t have to report on foreign investments? We need to stay tuned!
@Tim
Regarding your comment “Third is the IRS has no specific legislative authority to implement DATCA”
I think you know this, but just for clarity…..the IRS doesn’t think it needs legislative authority to do this, and can just implement DATCA under the regulatory authority that it has. And there in lies the dispute with some in Congress. Unless they can again, pass legislation to stop the IRS,(which they have done in the past) the IRS will just precede “full steam ahead”.
@Blaze: I think DATCA will never be implemented. The costs are too high for the US economy and US banks and can’t afford loosing tax heaven status for non-US citizen tax cheats. So they are bringing fictitious and frivolous excuses like kidnappings in Venezuela or dictators in Africa, as if multi-millionaires who can afford to stash away millions in the USA can’t protect themselves. If that is the case, the USA or many other safe countries more than happy to give green card if they invest half-a-million in the USA. Most of them are not doing that because they have been making millions in their countries and investing undocumented or illegal profits in tax-heavens like the USA.
Obama looses election if he looses Florida or Hispanic votes. Implementing DATCA will severely hurts many banks in Florida and it will become headline news before elections, if IRS insists on DATCA. So they will dance around DATCA until elections.
Please see article on how Obama won Florida narrowly: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/20/early-florida-voting-drov_n_145316.html
Please read one of the comments by LBJ1977 says:
I met one person who left her job in England – she was an American, came and lived with a family who took her in – all just for the campaign. It was an amazing effort by all – and thank you to the early voters!!!!
I wish to know, how does she feel now about Obama and persecution of dual-citizens by Obama administration?
This looks interesting considering Marco Rubio wrote that article in the Miami Herald opposing DATCA.
Jeb Bush Backs Rubio for VP Nominee
@justme, and anyone else interested;
I’m posting this here because I can’t figure out what else to connect it to – but it might be an avenue for commenting on the DATCA/FATCA issue, or on the plight of international taxpayers (ex. IRS use of hammer-compliance, while skimping on any real ‘education’). Just happened to notice this during a Google search: http://www.irs.gov/foia/article/0,,id=181687,00.html “Priority Guidance Plan
The Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy and IRS use the Guidance Priority List each year to identify and prioritize the tax issues that should be addressed through regulations, revenue rulings, revenue procedures, notices, and other published administrative guidance. The Guidance Priority List focuses resources on guidance items that are most important to taxpayers and tax administration. Published guidance plays an important role in increasing voluntary compliance by helping to clarify ambiguous areas of the tax law.” You can look at the submissions from previous years (although I couldn’t use the ‘find’ function to search – didn’t work on the scanned submissions). Some of us may not feel comfortable submitting anything, but for anyone who thinks it is worth a try ….? I don’t know if they really take this seriously – as they don’t respond to the Taxpayer Advocate, but thought I’d just offer it up.