27 thoughts on “Bank of Israel wants to negotiate tax deal on U.S. citizens with Israeli accounts – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News”
Sorry for going off the thread – but watch about 4 minutes into this YouTube clip about high incarcernation rate in America’s prisons –
The comment on the clip is prisoners have no voice, their rights have been taken away from them (ie: no political power) –
NOW…..which group of people does that sound like…..ex-pats and taxes maybe?
@John: “…which group of people does that sound like…..ex-pats and taxes maybe?”
Even more so than expats, it sounds like immigrants to the US. US expats may have a vote that doesn’t count, but immigrants and green card holders literally have no vote at all, ignored or otherwise, in the US. And yet, are subject to full US taxation.
Of course, you can always say “well then, don’t immigrate into the US if you don’t like it.” Indeed. That’s precisely what many potential immigrants are indeed doing, along with past immigrants to the US who are now quietly leaving for other countries where they will find a warmer welcome.
The really unjust act is the fact that the U.S. doesn’t even tell the immigrant applicant about the leg irons that the IRS will have on him/her once that green card is given. My former pastor who accepted a call to a U.S. church, found this out. It was only my letter to him that informed him of how his Canadian accounts would be treated by the IRS and about the fact that the U.S. applies these rules to him even if he should move back to his country of origin.
It is wrong for the U.S. to lay upon immigrants all of these obligations of citizenship when a person doesn’t formally ask for them through the naturalization process.
Immigration is being used as an additional way of taxing the world.
According to Accounting Today and Kady O’Malley of CBC News as of today Jim Flaherty is continuing to negotiate on FATCA with Tim Geithner as we speak.
@Tim, Flaherty seemed to take an indirect jab at the US government’s dysfunction.
The finance minister extolled the virtues of a parliamentary system to reporters in New York on Tuesday after participating at George W. Bush Institute tax conference….
“One of the advantages that Canada has is we have a government that can make decisions,” he said.
This is more rhetorical, but I’m wondering why AIPAC isn’t lobbying against FATCA and FBARS. They have so much clout on the hill, you’d think they’d be fighting tooth and nail to put some loopholes in the law for Israeli duals.
“IRS ramps up audits of taxpayers in Israel
Accountants warn financial reviews by U.S. authority here are at an all-time high.”
By Mordechai I. Twersky
” Published 03:48 27.04.12
Latest update 03:48 27.04.12
IRS ramps up audits of taxpayers in Israel
Accountants warn financial reviews by U.S. authority here are at an all-time high.
By Mordechai I. Twersky
Americans filing their tax returns from Israel are being audited by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service with a frequency that industry professionals have never seen before, according to several certified public accountants.
While some of the accountants who spoke with Haaretz are not convinced Americans living in Israel are being singled out for audits more than other Americans living abroad, some maintain that the IRS has given indications it will pay more attention to Israel, Hong Kong and Singapore. “……..
@Badger
From the looks of it the people involved were really really stupid. Looks somewhat similar to a lot of that refund fraud stuff some Canadian were getting involved with. Why if you are US Citizens abroad would you do anything to play fast and loose.
The credit was originally intended to relieve families’ tax burden, Shrensky says. Yet Deutsch posits that there seems to have been some “abuse” in the claiming of the credit. “The IRS may be realizing that people, for the most part, applied for citizenship for their children in order to possibly claim a child credit on their tax returns,” he says. “So with the increase in applications for citizenship, there has been an increase in the number of federal audits to make sure that children claimed on the tax returns are being done correctly.” Deutsch says the IRS is “primarily, though not exclusively,” focusing on the child credits.
Another accountant, who asked not to be identified, said an “unscrupulous firm in Israel was preparing fraudulent tax returns to boost the refund amount,” though he did not name the firm in question. “The IRS got wind of this and has audited all of their clients, plus they have started to audit returns prepared by other Israeli firms or by the taxpayers themselves.”
@Tim;
Ironic if true that it was the uptick in registering kids as citizens (which right now seems to be more of a burden than a benefit) that caused the increase in audits.
But I’m curious – if US citizenship is so very very hard to get rid of, and so easy to inherit, why would they need to falsely claim? If they were filing US returns anyway, it was because at least one adult parent would have been American. It would be interesting to hear more. Plus the note mentioning Singapore and Hong Kong getting more attention – if accurate.
This should stir up Aipac! If any organization can shut down the IRS jihad offshore, this would be the one!
An update on extraterritorial taxation – and the IRS, and a response from a Democrats Abroad committee (Israel?) from online article:
“The tax man cometh
Are US citizens in Israel at greater risk of being audited by the IRS?”
By Jessica Steinberg May 6, 2012, 6:36 pm
“According to Professor Stanley Grossman, a member of Democrats Abroad-UK and the Democratic National Committee, the increased incidence of IRS investigation into expatriate income tax could be the result of two tax bills, one old and one new……”
(referring to FBARs and FATCA)
“Applying that to everybody [living outside the US] is killing the mouse with a tractor, because the assumption is that all Americans living overseas are criminals, laundering money,” said Grossman, speaking from his office in London. “It has enormous consequences for American citizens living outside the country.”………………..
“A solution afoot”
“For now, the Democrats Abroad committee is speaking to the US Senate, concerned senators and the US Treasury, with the goal of incorporating FBAR into FATCA. They want to raise the reporting threshold, as well as change the definition of an offshore account to be an account that is both outside the US as well as outside the country in which the US citizen is residing.
“The intention of Congress with FATCA was going after Americans with offshore accounts, who may have been trying to hide some money,” said Grossman. “We want to find a solution to this, and the good news is that we have congresspeople and others who recognize the problem. Democrats Abroad think it’s terrible to launder money or hide taxes, but the intent was never to go after ordinary American citizens living abroad.”
Stein has also been active in efforts to work with the IRS, and is planning to speak with the head of IRS foreign compliance, whom he met at a conference.
“She said, ‘You don’t like our one-shot-fits-all approach?’” he said. “I told her I want to tell her what I’m seeing in the field, speaking on behalf of honest people who want to follow the law but don’t want their filing of tax returns to be an opportunity for abuse.”
@badger… Another good find, and makes for a good tweet…
F-what? Applying it to all #Americansabroad is killing the mouse with a tractor #FBAR #FATCA http://bit.ly/J6ZDup @AIPAC @TimesofIsrael
The criminal tax division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have now focused attention on three of Israel’s biggest banks: Bank Leumi Le-Israel, Bank Hapoalim and Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank, to see if they helped U.S. citizens to evade taxes.
We can only hope that this stirs AIPAC into lobbying action against FATCA . If one lobbying group has the power to change US actions, it is them!
Hey, I’m sorry but this is starting to look a lot like anti-semitic pogrom now. You can’t chase Jewish money out of Swiss banks to Israel. It is their last haven and safe spot after the Holocaust. Rubinstein said that they are going after Indian money too. If you go after money in Indian and Israeli banks, doesn’t that seem like you are targeting minority groups?
Rubinstein wrote:
Some taxpayers may be eligible for a lower penalty of either 12.5% or 5%, depending on the specific facts of the case. This lower penalty might apply to some Israeli accounts such as “Holocaust accounts,” accounts inherited by heirs of Holocaust survivors where tax avoidance was not the motivation behind establishing the account.
So it seems to me that Obama is going to accomplish what the Nazis couldn’t. The confiscation of money that fled Germany.
Well now, there is a good narrative that any self respecting minority could use! 🙂
Oh, and if anyone is really worried that I have fulfilled Godwin’s Law, just bear in mind that this is really happening–the Obama adminstration is going after the bank accounts of Jews who have money in Israel. Some of the money fled Switzerland, where it could have been since Nazi period. In recent years, the Swiss banks had to reimburse the family of Holocaust victims. Undoubtedly some of that money is what fled to Israel during the Swiss bank raids by the United States. The US is now following that money to Israel. That’s why Rubinstein mentions it. This is not Godwin’s Law. This is is the holocaust evil being repeated in real time. The US should just let this one go, or be accused of doing what Hitler couldn’t do.
*
Stein has also been active in efforts to work with the IRS, and is planning to speak with the head of IRS foreign compliance, whom he met at a conference.
“She said, ‘You don’t like our one-shot-fits-all approach?’” he said. “I told her I want to tell her what I’m seeing in the field, speaking on behalf of honest people who want to follow the law but don’t want their filing of tax returns to be an opportunity for abuse.”
I believe the name of the women in question has been mentioned here before and believe friend of the site Roy A. Berg met her back in December. At the time she seemed dismissive of Flaherty’s and Canada’s concerns.
I am bit surprised by this newfound focus by the US on Israel given the political implications. There are a lot more expatriates in Canada than in Israel but Canada still seems to be off limits to these types of investigations.
It doesn’t seem on their radar yet. A search for FACTA on their website returns no result.
“It has recently been reported that all Israeli banks, even those without a U.S. presence, intend to become FATCA-compliant because they do not want to be branded as non-compliant and subject to the 30% withholding.”
I just can’t believe that the threat of 30% witholding without any other benefit for them just makes them decide to comply. It just proves one thing: bullying and threats work and that they must be heavily invested in the US.
Sorry for going off the thread – but watch about 4 minutes into this YouTube clip about high incarcernation rate in America’s prisons –
The comment on the clip is prisoners have no voice, their rights have been taken away from them (ie: no political power) –
NOW…..which group of people does that sound like…..ex-pats and taxes maybe?
@John: “…which group of people does that sound like…..ex-pats and taxes maybe?”
Even more so than expats, it sounds like immigrants to the US. US expats may have a vote that doesn’t count, but immigrants and green card holders literally have no vote at all, ignored or otherwise, in the US. And yet, are subject to full US taxation.
Of course, you can always say “well then, don’t immigrate into the US if you don’t like it.” Indeed. That’s precisely what many potential immigrants are indeed doing, along with past immigrants to the US who are now quietly leaving for other countries where they will find a warmer welcome.
The really unjust act is the fact that the U.S. doesn’t even tell the immigrant applicant about the leg irons that the IRS will have on him/her once that green card is given. My former pastor who accepted a call to a U.S. church, found this out. It was only my letter to him that informed him of how his Canadian accounts would be treated by the IRS and about the fact that the U.S. applies these rules to him even if he should move back to his country of origin.
It is wrong for the U.S. to lay upon immigrants all of these obligations of citizenship when a person doesn’t formally ask for them through the naturalization process.
Immigration is being used as an additional way of taxing the world.
According to Accounting Today and Kady O’Malley of CBC News as of today Jim Flaherty is continuing to negotiate on FATCA with Tim Geithner as we speak.
@Tim, Flaherty seemed to take an indirect jab at the US government’s dysfunction.
Jim Flaherty: Parliamentary System An Advantage Because It Gets Things Done
@omghesstillanamerican
I saw that too. LOL
This is more rhetorical, but I’m wondering why AIPAC isn’t lobbying against FATCA and FBARS. They have so much clout on the hill, you’d think they’d be fighting tooth and nail to put some loopholes in the law for Israeli duals.
Robert Wood is now writing about this…
http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2012/04/13/dual-citizens-worry-will-israel-get-a-special-fatca-deal/
And of course the Israelis will get a deal. Probably trade that US citizen data for more bunker busting bombs… 🙂
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/anglo-file/irs-ramps-up-audits-of-taxpayers-in-israel-1.426788
Published 03:48 27.04.12
Latest update 03:48 27.04.12
“IRS ramps up audits of taxpayers in Israel
Accountants warn financial reviews by U.S. authority here are at an all-time high.”
By Mordechai I. Twersky
” Published 03:48 27.04.12
Latest update 03:48 27.04.12
IRS ramps up audits of taxpayers in Israel
Accountants warn financial reviews by U.S. authority here are at an all-time high.
By Mordechai I. Twersky
Americans filing their tax returns from Israel are being audited by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service with a frequency that industry professionals have never seen before, according to several certified public accountants.
While some of the accountants who spoke with Haaretz are not convinced Americans living in Israel are being singled out for audits more than other Americans living abroad, some maintain that the IRS has given indications it will pay more attention to Israel, Hong Kong and Singapore. “……..
@Badger
From the looks of it the people involved were really really stupid. Looks somewhat similar to a lot of that refund fraud stuff some Canadian were getting involved with. Why if you are US Citizens abroad would you do anything to play fast and loose.
The credit was originally intended to relieve families’ tax burden, Shrensky says. Yet Deutsch posits that there seems to have been some “abuse” in the claiming of the credit. “The IRS may be realizing that people, for the most part, applied for citizenship for their children in order to possibly claim a child credit on their tax returns,” he says. “So with the increase in applications for citizenship, there has been an increase in the number of federal audits to make sure that children claimed on the tax returns are being done correctly.” Deutsch says the IRS is “primarily, though not exclusively,” focusing on the child credits.
Another accountant, who asked not to be identified, said an “unscrupulous firm in Israel was preparing fraudulent tax returns to boost the refund amount,” though he did not name the firm in question. “The IRS got wind of this and has audited all of their clients, plus they have started to audit returns prepared by other Israeli firms or by the taxpayers themselves.”
@Tim;
Ironic if true that it was the uptick in registering kids as citizens (which right now seems to be more of a burden than a benefit) that caused the increase in audits.
But I’m curious – if US citizenship is so very very hard to get rid of, and so easy to inherit, why would they need to falsely claim? If they were filing US returns anyway, it was because at least one adult parent would have been American. It would be interesting to hear more. Plus the note mentioning Singapore and Hong Kong getting more attention – if accurate.
This should stir up Aipac! If any organization can shut down the IRS jihad offshore, this would be the one!
An update on extraterritorial taxation – and the IRS, and a response from a Democrats Abroad committee (Israel?) from online article:
“The tax man cometh
Are US citizens in Israel at greater risk of being audited by the IRS?”
By Jessica Steinberg May 6, 2012, 6:36 pm
http://www.timesofisrael.com/the-tax-man-cometh/
“According to Professor Stanley Grossman, a member of Democrats Abroad-UK and the Democratic National Committee, the increased incidence of IRS investigation into expatriate income tax could be the result of two tax bills, one old and one new……”
(referring to FBARs and FATCA)
“Applying that to everybody [living outside the US] is killing the mouse with a tractor, because the assumption is that all Americans living overseas are criminals, laundering money,” said Grossman, speaking from his office in London. “It has enormous consequences for American citizens living outside the country.”………………..
“A solution afoot”
“For now, the Democrats Abroad committee is speaking to the US Senate, concerned senators and the US Treasury, with the goal of incorporating FBAR into FATCA. They want to raise the reporting threshold, as well as change the definition of an offshore account to be an account that is both outside the US as well as outside the country in which the US citizen is residing.
“The intention of Congress with FATCA was going after Americans with offshore accounts, who may have been trying to hide some money,” said Grossman. “We want to find a solution to this, and the good news is that we have congresspeople and others who recognize the problem. Democrats Abroad think it’s terrible to launder money or hide taxes, but the intent was never to go after ordinary American citizens living abroad.”
Stein has also been active in efforts to work with the IRS, and is planning to speak with the head of IRS foreign compliance, whom he met at a conference.
“She said, ‘You don’t like our one-shot-fits-all approach?’” he said. “I told her I want to tell her what I’m seeing in the field, speaking on behalf of honest people who want to follow the law but don’t want their filing of tax returns to be an opportunity for abuse.”
@badger… Another good find, and makes for a good tweet…
F-what? Applying it to all #Americansabroad is killing the mouse with a tractor #FBAR #FATCA http://bit.ly/J6ZDup @AIPAC @TimesofIsrael
#F-what? Use it
Actually #Fwhat? is better. Drop the –
New post by Asher Rubenstein
The Next Wave of IRS Offshore Account Enforcement: Israeli Banks Under Scrutiny
The criminal tax division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have now focused attention on three of Israel’s biggest banks: Bank Leumi Le-Israel, Bank Hapoalim and Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank, to see if they helped U.S. citizens to evade taxes.
We can only hope that this stirs AIPAC into lobbying action against FATCA . If one lobbying group has the power to change US actions, it is them!
Hey, I’m sorry but this is starting to look a lot like anti-semitic pogrom now. You can’t chase Jewish money out of Swiss banks to Israel. It is their last haven and safe spot after the Holocaust. Rubinstein said that they are going after Indian money too. If you go after money in Indian and Israeli banks, doesn’t that seem like you are targeting minority groups?
Rubinstein wrote:
So it seems to me that Obama is going to accomplish what the Nazis couldn’t. The confiscation of money that fled Germany.
Well now, there is a good narrative that any self respecting minority could use! 🙂
Oh, and if anyone is really worried that I have fulfilled Godwin’s Law, just bear in mind that this is really happening–the Obama adminstration is going after the bank accounts of Jews who have money in Israel. Some of the money fled Switzerland, where it could have been since Nazi period. In recent years, the Swiss banks had to reimburse the family of Holocaust victims. Undoubtedly some of that money is what fled to Israel during the Swiss bank raids by the United States. The US is now following that money to Israel. That’s why Rubinstein mentions it. This is not Godwin’s Law. This is is the holocaust evil being repeated in real time. The US should just let this one go, or be accused of doing what Hitler couldn’t do.
*
Stein has also been active in efforts to work with the IRS, and is planning to speak with the head of IRS foreign compliance, whom he met at a conference.
“She said, ‘You don’t like our one-shot-fits-all approach?’” he said. “I told her I want to tell her what I’m seeing in the field, speaking on behalf of honest people who want to follow the law but don’t want their filing of tax returns to be an opportunity for abuse.”
I believe the name of the women in question has been mentioned here before and believe friend of the site Roy A. Berg met her back in December. At the time she seemed dismissive of Flaherty’s and Canada’s concerns.
I am bit surprised by this newfound focus by the US on Israel given the political implications. There are a lot more expatriates in Canada than in Israel but Canada still seems to be off limits to these types of investigations.
It doesn’t seem on their radar yet. A search for FACTA on their website returns no result.
“It has recently been reported that all Israeli banks, even those without a U.S. presence, intend to become FATCA-compliant because they do not want to be branded as non-compliant and subject to the 30% withholding.”
I just can’t believe that the threat of 30% witholding without any other benefit for them just makes them decide to comply. It just proves one thing: bullying and threats work and that they must be heavily invested in the US.
This from @Mark Twain
http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2012/01/13/ask-your-questions-about-fatca-discussion-thread/comment-page-32/#comment-136122
IRS ramps up audits of taxpayers in Israel
Accountants warn financial reviews by U.S. authority here are at an all-time high.
added this on Israel to Reddit for the fun of it… 🙂
Headline:
The IRS FATCA offshore Jihad now focused on Israel. Banks are advising Customers to turn themselves into the IRS.