Check out the new “Keeping His Word” site from the Obama campaign. During his campaign Senator Obama made certain promises to U.S. citizens abroad.
In a recent comment Roger Conklin wrote:
Roger Conklin
@Wellington, Indeed Romney has made no pronouncements on the treatment of US citizens abroad so we don’t know what his attitude would be. But we do know that Obama made a series of commitments to “level the playing field” for us prior to the past election. His commitments unquestionably garnered massive support from expats, but he has kept none of them. With the FBAR crackdown and the enactment of FATCA he has in fact done just the opposite of what he committed he would do. What he has done is a better gauge of his policy than his pre-election promises. The result is that President Obama has left little alternative for Americans abroad but to renounce their American citizenship. Some of my Democrats Abroad leadership friends have made serious attempts to follow up Obama up on this comittment he made to overseas Americans, but their letters have been totally ignored. It was pure “campaign rhetoric. It was an outright lie.
This is very clear in the wording of the Treasury Department official who responded to the Congressman through which our contributor Markpinetree, who lives in Brazil, was attempting to obtain guidance with the statement, and I quote “…he can consider relinquishing his US citizenship.”
Ironic that in light of this recommendation two Senators of President Obama’s party have introduced a bill to more severely punish citizen like Sevarin who have followed this recommendation and renounced by making sure they continue to be subject to US capital gains taxes at twice the tax rate of persons residing in the US. This is in addition to the massive Soviet-style exit tax have already paid when they renounced their citizenship.
Actions speak much louder than words.
Might be worth using twitter to attack the President on the “Keeping His Word” issue.
I have decided… and it was not easy… unless we hear from President Obama giving us some support, he will not have our votes…Sorry to say.
@That
I’m on your side and it was also hard to come that decision. However, it will take action instead of words and there’s little time left. I’ll also donate to the GOP. It seems that the Dems are on a full-out assault on us. Schumer, Casey, Honda, Tierney, Levin, Wrangel, … The GOP are not helping, but they are not attacking either.
I might point out that Doug Shulman is a Bush appointee. And Senator Grassley, who rabidly tries to raise taxes on expat whenever he can is a Republican.
Persecution of ex-pats is one of the few successful bipartisan projects!
Republican speaker of the House John Boehner has stated publicly that he supports the Ex Patriot Act. So much for the Republicans. But I heard Rand Paul shared my American Thinker article on Facebook.
@Sally
Point taken, but the Obama administration has taken the abuse of expats to a new level.
The problems have not been related to the laws so much as the way the laws have been administered. There have been few if relevant changes to the tax code – with one exception – that is FATCA.
There has been a major change in how the existing laws have been administered (and we are not yet at the administration stage of FATCA).
We know exactly where the Obama administration stands on these issues. To put it simply: The Obama administration views U.S. citizens living outside the United States:
– as worthy of being treated like tax cheats in the U.S.; and
– as worthy object of “FBAR Fundraisers” (which is what OVDI really is).
See this video where Obama praises FATCA and the work of Carl Levin (I believe when he was a Senator, Obama consponsered Levin’s “Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act”
http://youtu.be/PMEInTNsacg
The issue is whether it is better to vote for an administration that is guaranteed to continue the assault on expats or to give another administration a chance.
I would point out the as Treasury Secretary, Geithner has the jurisdiction to end the requirement that expats file FBARs. He is fully aware of this and not done this.
The Obama administration is the enemy of any honest, hard working U.S. citizen living outside the United States. (He is also the enemy of any hard working U.S. citizen in the U.S.)
Furthermore, the IRS works for the Obama administration and is required to take its direction from Obama and Geithner. Once again, they could have stopped this Jihad and didn’t. OVDI has nothing to do with Congress – so the IRS can’t say – well, we are just executing law of the land. OVDI is an initiative created by the IRS. OVDI was endorsed (either directly by or with the aquiesance) of the Obama administration.
I am not sure whether the Obama administration is amoral or immoral – but result is the same either way.
http://renounceuscitizenship.wordpress.com/2011/10/29/obama-explains-the-rationale-for-fatca-lauds-work-of-carl-levin/
@ Petros
I believe that we should contact both Rand and his father.
@ renounce: I agree.
I think the Obama administration is just plain incompetent. You can’t really even say they’re malicious, they’re too dumb for that. If you wanted to get help catching real tax evaders you would let the innocents off the hook, but that requires using your brain.
They’re not helping anyone incluidng expats and homelanders. This has been the most excruciating presidency ever. I can’t bear 5 more months of this.
Has there been any documented case of a Canadian citizen who did not make themselves known to the IRS being asked to pay any money?
@Joe Smith
A second question would be whether there is any documented case of a Canadian who DID make themselves known to the IRS, and tried to come into compliance, who was hit with FBAR or other informaiton return fines.
Excellent points! I know hundreds of US persons in Canada who continue blissfully unaware of all this, not filing and going back and forth across the border with no issues!
@Joe E I fight for such hobbits, blissfully unaware of the war going on in the Middle Earth, to be unaware and live happy Canadian lives.
@JoeSmith
The problem they (blissfully unaware) have is that there has been so much awareness of this now, that unless they get this taken care of soon, it is going to be harder to make reasonable cause arguments.
If nothing else, the IRS Jihad has made it difficult to not be compliant on a “going forward” basis.
That said, I agree that there are a lot of people who still don’t know about any of this – interesting to see how it will play out for them at this point.
Rand Paul is an upcoming star. He is a man of principle and has a deep respect for the Bill of Rights. He needs to be contacted.
@omghesstillanamerican:
No! I have seen the “incompetence” card used too many times by governments and commercial companies. I have personally been burned by this before, so at first signs, I jump out the door with my parachute.
They know exactly what they are doing. Sadly FOR the US, when you start seeing this type of “incompetent” [deceitful] behavior, especially in the commercial world, the end is usually near. . It’s a very nasty hole that just keeps getting deeper….
Perhap the issue is that it will NEVER play out. Will Margaret Wente be detained in the USA? Elizabeth May? Diane Francis? and 70,000+ others? Just asking.
oops… 700,000_ others?
http://youtu.be/rghhz_t5POo
http://renounceuscitizenship.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/border-pact-puts-canadians-under-new-u-s-national-defense-act/
@omg
‘I can’t bear 5 more months of this’. Wish I were not such a pessimist, but I think we might be asked to bear ’53 more months of this’.
There is true ‘triple-witching’ event horizon approaching in 2013:
– FATCA either swims or sinks – and this includes the irate response of millions of real life bank customers who will be impacted for the very first time
– unless Congress can somehow agree to terms where the “Super Committee” failed, one trillion in ‘automatic’ US spending cuts kick in
– the so-called “Bush era tax cuts” expire. Commentators are predicting utter chaos in the upcoming lame duck Congress.
Toto…I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore….
That was quite a contrast between Obama and Rand Paul.
@Petros, I just checked Rand Paul’s Facebook page, he has indeed shared your American Thinker article. He also posted this:
Senator Schumer is trying to punish those who leave the U.S. because our tax laws are too punitive. Do you agree with Senator Schumer that the answer is to try to “go after” people, or instead should we fix our tax code to encourage job creation?
He is focusing on rewriting tax laws to help the economy, which I also agree, but he probably doesn’t know about the problems that US citizens abroad face. Petros, you wrote the article, so Rand Paul will probably hear you if you contact him.
@Petros
I think Rand Paul will listen. Fixing the tax code must include an end to citizenship-based taxation! It is inconsistent with the principles of America’s founders.
Our arguments can all be found in the Declaration of Independence. The Tea Partiers will empathize with this for sure. Moreover, many renunciants are merely following in the footsteps of America’s founders–declaring their independence from tyranny one at a time.
And as Roger has pointed out on so many occasions, America’s expats should embraced, not punished. Their importance for exports is far too underestimated.
The US tax code is so f*#%ed up that for ex-pat small business owners, renouncing or relinquishing citizenship is a matter of survival.