Hello Isaac? It’s me, Ladyhawk. Is there anyone here who still has US citizenship? Well, anyway, in case anyone is interested in how things are going for people like me who are still trying to make the dual thing work, I thought I’d tell you what happened when I went to the US Consulate in Toronto to renew my US Passport.
Daily Archives: April 19, 2012
My Thoughts on U.S. Citizenship for Young People
Who is the real Peter Dunn?
Who is the real Peter Dunn? Arguably, he is the world’s most (in)famous recent renunciant of US citizenship, after Superman, as a result of Atossa Abrahamian’s Reuter’s article. But this could lead to various portrayals who I am and why I did it. Which portrayal is correct?
US bullies the EU into sharing passenger data
The European Parliament has just officially approved the sharing of PNR (Passsenger Name Record) data with the US, which will be provided when you board a flight to or from the US and includes the following:
“…names, addresses, credit card and phone numbers, but in some circumstances may also include sensitive data on an individual’s ethnic origin, meal choices, health, political views or sex life”
Countries compete for immigrants who are entrepreneurs – Join the discussion
Ottawa is starting consultations with industry groups and immigrant settlement organizations across the country to develop a new “startup-visa program” to fast track immigration of entrepreneurs.
“Canada cannot afford to lose out in the competition for foreign entrepreneurs among immigrant-receiving countries,” Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said.
Tories launch bid to speed up immigration for entrepreneurs Continue reading
When your customers fear complexity – FBAR, 5471, 8938, 8891, 3520, PFIC and more …
What follows is yet another article motivated by the Atossa Reuters article. Pretty soon that “Peter Dunn” guy (and maybe the other Peter Dunn too) is going to a household name! Here is the last paragraph.
How sad is that? The cons outweighed the pros, of being an American no less.
As a head of any organization, what would you think if you had customers that would pay real money to leave you because you were such a pain in the buttocks to deal with? Hopefully it would give you pause. Perhaps it should.
When Your Customers Flee Complexity
Message to financial planners: The rules are NOT the same for U.S. citizens living abroad
The following comment which recently appeared on this board is (IMHO) deserving of a separate post. Amazing how helpful the Atossa article has been. Seems that all “Peter Dunns” are very helpful too.
Updated. You can follow the responses to this comment:
How financial planning is different for #americansabroad– thread starts here: isaacbrocksociety.com/2012/04/18/who… But also remember #FBAR #FATCA #OVDI
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) April 19, 2012
CNN Video on Tax-refund fraud
Wouldn’t the IRS be better off pursuing domestic tax-refund fraud such as discussed in this video rather than harrassing people who don’t live in the US?
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2012/04/18/tax-refund-robbery-2.cnn?iref=allsearch
Atossa "Tax time pushes Americans" article generates more than 6000 comments on Yahoo Finance
Amazing. Finally, “mainlanders” are being exposed to this issue. Interestingly, a large number seem to be sympathetic. Very interesting to see the comments of “mainstream America”. This article motivated 6000 people to say something. It’s clear that the U.S. government is not popular even in the U.S. This is a good opportunity to get some comments into the stream.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tax-time-pushes-americans-hike-204320491.html
Knocked flat by "horizontal equity"
One of the most common justifications among DC tax professors and policy wonks for taxing US homelanders and US Persons abroad in the exact same way is “horizontal equity”: the idea that “similarly-situated” taxpayers should pay similar amounts to the US government. Naturally, these people see the current situation, in which U.S. Persons Abroad get all these “great tax breaks”, as horribly unfair. So here’s a handy table comparing the paperwork which U.S. homelanders and U.S. Persons Abroad must complete in order to conduct similarly-situated kinds of financial activities. All estimates are courtesy of the Paperwork Reduction Act.