Two journalists, Sanat Vallikappen (vallikappen@bloomberg.net) from Bloomberg and Josh Spero (Josh.Spero@spearswms.com) from Spears Wealth Management Magazine are preparing articles on issues affecting Americans living and working overseas. They are looking to speak to Americans on these issues. If you would like to know more about their upcoming articles and potentially contribute please contact them at the emails listed above.
Just in from TIME magazine: “Renouncing Your Citizenship to Stick It to the Tax Man? Not as Easy as it Looks”
http://business.time.com/2012/06/22/renouncing-your-citizenship-to-stick-it-to-the-tax-man-not-as-easy-as-it-looks/
The article unfortunately has the usual anti-expat slant. No mention of the gross injustices being forced upon expats who have no representation in government and receive no services whatsoever — just an obligation to pay for stuff enjoyed by homelanders.
There is another Time journalist, Vivienne Walt, who has received information from me and from Just Me (maybe others?) I hope that the Time ‘official slant’ for this issue is not anti-expat and her article (yet to come) tells the real story.
If hers is the same drivel after the education Just Me provides, we’ll know we are being set up. I hope for a great result from Vivienne to negate Time’s “Renouncing Your US Citizenship to Stick It to the Taxman Not as Easy as It Looks” (David Futrell) http://business.time.com/2012/06/22/renouncing-your-citizenship-to-stick-it-to-the-tax-man-not-as-easy-as-it-looks/.
Stiffing THE TAXMAN? I pay the TAXMAN in full where I live, every year without fail – in my permanent home, where the earnings are generated. Step forward all you US RESIDENT citizens who want to report and pay to multiple TAXMEN, and get a lottery ticket to win the reporting form jeopardy prize (always in multiples of 10,000.)? What, no volunteers? I bet the CRA would let you make donations if you offered!
How can I get paid the big bucks to write slanted sloppy copy too? No analysis, no thought, not even accurate details. Nothing new either. That’s one expensive waste of a page – unless it is there as purposeful propaganda – or product placement for those at home: “just ignore the man behind the curtain”, don’t worry, just ignore and dismiss those that wanted out badly enough to expend substantial time, money and effort to leave. If the status quo re citizenship ‘abroad’ was all so good, then why would ordinary people who aren’t wealthy bother to jump through all the arcane hoops to give it up? The article at least notes that it isn’t a simple process.
What a total wanker. I noticed in his bio he says he lives in Chicago with his ‘angry cat’. His cat is probably angry because he has to live with this guy. He obviously has some axe to grind. Or he’s trying to gain readership by publishing what ‘Joe America’ wants to hear.
I notice you can’t even comment on the article. What a complete one-sided pile of cr*p.
@calgary, I know a few other Brockers were contacted by Vivienne, including me. I at this point want to remain anonymous however, so I declined from being interviewed. We can be proud that we’re being heard! When I read it was from Time I was worried it might be her story. Did you notice that David Futrelle quoted Greenback Tax Services, a friend (not) of Brock’s?
Sorry, you CAN comment on the article. I’m going to wait until I can craft something less emotional.
*We’re overdue on a good candidate for the Brock Hall of Shame
*This article from Mr. Futrelle misses the point. It focus on Americans
who may be renouncing their citizenship in order to avoid paying US
taxes. Althought he may be correct in what he describes he could go on
and talk about the consequences of this on the Americans who are living
and working outside the USA, the great majority of them doing this for
reasons others than avoid taxes. And yet they are being treated as
guilty until they can prove otherwise by paying US CPAs and Tax Lawyers
and filling a lot of forms, not to speak of being subkected to draconian
penalties when they make mistakes. You know, I am in favor of going
after the criminals… but if in the process you shoot everybody else
something is certainly wrong. Mr. Futrelle, please look at ACA: http://www.aca.ch. Then write.
Read more: http://business.time.com/2012/06/22/renouncing-your-citizenship-to-stick-it-to-the-tax-man-not-as-easy-as-it-looks/#ixzz1yYpADE8y
Perhaps David Futrell is like big Al Lewis. He just needs to hear the ex-pats’ side of the story, which he obviously failed to present in his article.
From Greenback’s website:
http://www.greenbacktaxservices.com/blog/us-expat-taxes-giving-up-citizenship/
If Greenback were smart, they would understand that “expatriation” is a growing market. Phil Hodgens is far ahead of most of his peers when it comes to this.
I wrote to Greenback awhile ago and suggested they make “On the backs of the gringo” their slogan.
Interesting to note that Fahreed Zakaria is editor at large over at Time Warner.
@Bubblebustin
I agree, DAVID FUTRELL is a prime candidate for the Isaac Brock Society HALL OF SHAME.
Perhaps somebody should rescue his cat. http://www.aspca.org/
A previous article on expatriation by David Futrelle:
http://business.time.com/2012/05/14/facebook-co-founder-gives-up-u-s-citizenship-is-he-ungrateful-or-heroic/
He is either completely ignorant about the plight of ex-pats or like Schumer, just plain antagonistic towards anyone who lives outside the homeland. In any case, very poor journalism.
Just read the Futrelle article – very weak article with no obvious attempts at research. Interesting that he quotes Greenback Tax Services (the merchants of OVDI, remember their short lived video) as saying:
“1,780 total in 2011 out of the estimated 3 to 6 million US citizens who
live abroad – in other words, the percentage of American expats who
renounced their citizenship increased from 0.008% to 0.059% between 2008
and 2011.”
Agreed that is a small percentage of the total U.S. citizens abroad. But, a smarter way (and I am beginning to see that with Greenback there is just degrees of stupidity), would be this:
The jump from 0.008% to 0.059% is between 7 and 8 fold. In other words a percent increase of between 600 and 700%. My God, the U.S. has clearly created a growth industry – that is the renouncing U.S. citizenship. All growth industries create a demand for people to service the industry.
I will be in the business tomorrow by the latest! Thank you USA!
*I would love to hear from the IRS how many Americans Live Abroad in order not to pay taxes and how many do that to make an honest living. Do you think that will ever be disclosed? Can Mr. Futrell tells us among six or seven million Americans Living and Working Abroad how many are doing this in order not to pay taxes?
@Calgary411
It seems Ms. Vivienne Walt is an ex-pat herself (born in SA and living in Paris). So presumably she has some empathy for what Americans abroad are going through and will present our plight as it really is. From her website:
http://www.viviennewalt.com/about-1/
But we’ll see…..
@thatisme, I wonder how many in the US would see me as fleeing to another country to escape paying US taxes when I moved to Canada, a high tax country, at the age of 12? Or my husband, a US citizen, born in Canada?
Also, TIME published a very good article (quoting Phil Hodgens) back in 2010:
“Why More U.S. Expatriates Are Turning In Their Passports,” by Helena Bachmann
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1983238,00.html
You’re right, Joe Expat. Helena Bachmann’s article is more like it. That makes me feel better about Time ‘slant’. Thanks for posting — I had never read that particular piece and I see there are no comments on it.
@bubblebustin, I didn’t want my name used either and was told she would respect that, but would prefer to use names. I would be surprised if any of the information I sent would be used, but she could just use all of Just Me’s for her whole article and it would be an eye opener for Time readers.
I posted this message at: http://business.time.com/2012/06/22/renouncing-your-citizenship-to-stick-it-to-the-tax-man-not-as-easy-as-it-looks/?xid=newsletter-business
This article only shows the ignorance of the author. Many people are celebrating as soon as they were able to get CLN (Certificate of lose of nationality). We used to see this kind of celebrations when people escaped from Berlin wall, Soviet Union or Cuba by boat. Most people celebrating are neither rich nor owe any taxes to IRS. The IRS is persecuting (by threatening them with imprisonment and 300% penalties of their savings) and making their lives miserable for not filing some obscure forms. Many of them living in foreign nation for decades and have no plans of returning to the USA. The obscure FBAR forms are unknown even to most tax practitioners and IRS agents until 2009, but now IRS is threatening to file criminal cases intended for money launderers and terrorists for holding bank accounts in years since 2003 in the countries they have been living.
We never called the innocent people traitors, if they escaped from Cuba by boat. We called them freedom fighters. The people who are celebrating their lose of nationality are no different than those freedom fighters escaping from tyranny and persecution, if they committed innocent mistakes (e.g. not knowing obscure forms, which are even unknown to many tax experts and IRS agents) but owe no taxes to the USA. How dual citizens raised, educated and have been living in foreign nation for decades could know such obscure law indented for money launderers and terrorists will be used against them for holding bank accounts in their countries? How many of the children of immigrants living in the USA know the laws of their parents and grandparents?
The children of US immigrants from democratic nations in Europe, Canada or Asia rightfully believe that it is not possible to exit such an obscure law that they could possible break and become a criminal. I have never heard such a law, so it is reasonable to believe that, if one lives in USA and don’t break any US law he can’t be criminal in the country of his ancestors. But the USA is imposing such draconian FBAR penalties against accidental US-citizens living abroad retroactively since 2003.
@Bharat, I think David Futrell should hear this from you. Well put.
@bubblebustin; re the baseless claims that those abroad leave in order ‘not to pay taxes’. “ US citizen, born in Canada? ” An example of effective pre-natal cross-border tax planning? How many are similarly busy ‘abroad’, at work right now, hatching cunning financial plans in the womb?
@badger, LOL! Sounds like conspiracy to me.
*Good one badger!!! LOL!
@Calgary & bubblebustin,
Is it too late to be considered for Ms. Walt’s article? I haven’t been able to keep up with things lately and didn’t see anything about this. Since I am so close to the end, I am considering dropping the moniker and going public. Just curious if you think it’s worth contacting her………….
A few of us have responded to the idiot-article and I notice commenting on his other piece of drivel as well………..
@nobledreamer, it might be worth a try. She contacted me 9 days ago. Her email is mail@vivwalt.com
There was an article in a Swiss newspaper this week on why only 5% of eligible foreigners in Switzerland apply for Swiss citizenship. Two reasons were given:
1) EU/EFTA citizens: A vast majority of the non-Swiss living in Switzerland are from the EU/EFTA. They already have a “First World” citizenship and, unless they wish to become involved in Swiss politics, there is little incentive for them to acquire Swiss citizenship.
– This aligns with the opinion held by many on IBS that having one “First World” citizenship is enough.
2) Long/ difficult/ expensive/ arbitrary process:
– This is somewhat unique to Switzerland and is likely not be relevant for IBS but will mention it anyway. The Swiss citizenship process is long (generally, 12 years of residence in CH with individual requirements by canton and then up to two years for approval/ rejection after application), difficult (many notarized/ certified documents must be obtained and language and citizenship skills must be tested), expensive (generally, at least CHF 3,000 in expenses, with CHF 2,500 to various government units, etc.) and arbitrary (the process is considered both administrative and political. An applicant can be rejected at the end of the process for arbitrary and non-transparent reasons with no refund on the costs).