So reports a new article in The Jerusalem Post. Compared to some of his fellow journalists, Nadav Shemer (Twitter: @NadavShemer82) could easily win an Olympic gold medal in translation for this article; instead of parroting Treasury’s Orcish-language press releases about “US taxpayers” and claiming that’s just a mirror image of “Israeli taxpayers”, Shemer gets to the crux of the matter right in the subhead, in plain English:
A committee to establish how Israeli institutions can conform to the US foreign tax act will be headed; will force US citizens abroad to pay tax … FATCA, passed in 2010, requires all foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to become compliant by June 30, 2013. It will give the United States more power than ever to force American citizens and green-card holders residing abroad, including an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 in Israel, to become tax-compliant … At least one bank has confirmed to [CPA Philip L.] Stein that it will begin asking new customers about where they hold citizenship.
Of course, he misses out on the exact scope of that tax: not just an ordinary Form 1040 like everyone else in the country, but Form 1116 and 2555 at minimum, plus a six-page Form 3520 for your “foreign” retirement account, another six-page Form 8621 for your “foreign” ETFs, a seven-page Form 8865 for your “foreign” business, etc.
Incidentally, in a new blog post over at the WSJ, Laura Saunders notes that one of the names in this quarter’s freedom list was that of Israeli Supreme Court justice Daphne Barak-Erez.
@Annoyed, I have it on good information that Mr. Mopsick is still following this blog. Don’t worry.
We fear too that the United States of America has become anti-semitic by going after the money of Holocaust survivors in Swiss bank accounts that Hitler was unable to seize. Many of the US Expats in Canada who live here in Canada are also Jewish people, and the United States wants 383% of their bank accounts too. Is that what you meant by anti-semitism? Also, the media has strongly criticized two Jewish expatriates, Eduardo Saverin and Denise Rich. Is that what you meant by anti-semitism?
@Immigrant
Unless Petros is already planning to do this, I will. I can’t tell if someone is working on it or not, and don’t want to duplicate.
* So its enough that Mr. Mopsick is “still following” this blog. He is a great resource who you should want to actively participate in this blog, not just watch.
“Many of the US Expats in Canada who live here in Canada are also Jewish people, and the United States wants 383% of their bank accounts too. Is that what you meant by anti-semitism?”
You make it sound like the US government is ONLY going after people in Canada that are Jewish. They are going after everyone in Canada and other foreign countires who have foreign bank accounts, not just Jewish people. Antisemitism is defined as the suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. So no I dont believe that counts, if the US Government was only going after Jewish people, sure I’d give you that one.
“Also, the media has strongly criticized two Jewish expatriates, Eduardo Saverin and Denise Rich. Is that what you meant by anti-semitism?”
No, because the media also targets other big named people, who are not Jewish, who have expatriated. So if the media was ONLY criticized Jewish people, sure I’d give you that one as well.
I still didn’t get any answers as to why this blog turned into a poltical blog from a informational tax blog. To quote the “About the Issac Brock Society”: ” The Isaac Brock Society consists of individuals who are concerned about the treatment by the United States government of US persons who live in Canada and abroad. The United States is one of two countries in the world that taxes its people no matter where in the world they may reside. The other is the terrorist thug nation of Eritrea. The majority of US persons who live abroad are not aware of their filing requirements. But recently, the US government has decided to crack down on those who are not in compliance.”
I dont know if I’m alone here, but this blog has gone way off tangent. If you mean to say that by being “concerned about the treatment by the United States government” means you can try to relate the Holocaust, which was one of the worst events in the entire world, to the US taxing Americans abroad as a WHOLE, you are out of your mind.
@Outraged, you wrote “Hmmm, from Steven Mopsick’s post, I think we should assume he will no longer be taking any part on this site.”
Which post are you talking about. I guess I missed an episode…
@ Immigrant
Thank you for drawing attention to this article written by Steven Mopsick. He has again revealed his tireless commitment to advocate that the IRS and US government respond to both their citizens and immigrant population in a responsible manner; one that flows from the principles and values reflected in the US Constitution. Your story has yet to receive even the minimal attention that is just beginning to be directed towards citizens residing abroad.
*What I thought was really notable in Steve Mopsick’s post were the rumors they were going to de-centralize OVDI processing from Austin back to the different field offices around the country. In my mind this would essentially be the end of an era as centralizing everything in Austin was an important cog in the latest “crackdown.” Additionally field office staff such as those Just Me met over July 4th have a LOT of things to do besides OVDI may not exactly want to put a lot of their time and office resources into it.
@ Annoyed
I was not sure what your 11 million figure represented so I went searching a bit, assuming it was in reference to WW2. If the chart in the link below is accurate it was the USSR which had the highest military losses AND civilian losses. Perhaps your 11 million refers to the total losses for China? Anyway the total loss of life for WW2 was about 60 million and to me every life lost in a war is a tragedy, no matter who it is or what the cause of death. I actually have no problem with a bit of hyperbole to express the injustice of the American taxation system. It is easily recognized as such and merely assures me that freedom of expression is possible at this website. Freedom of expression AND movement are on the decline in the USA and here in Canada too. Let’s keep IBS as open for opinion as possible. Ignore what offends you or challenge it — it’s your choice.
http://bss.sfsu.edu/tygiel/hist427/texts/wwiicasualty.htm
@Immigrant
I am going to post Stephen’s latest efforts, because I would like the Immigrant issue to get more visibility. Give me a couple hours, as I need to get out for some exercise on a beautiful day.
@Annoyed
To be fair, I understand why this blog goes off on a political tangent. First of all, it happens every 4 years in America when a lot of people, who have been mostly apolitical suddenly come alive and put political slants or partisan views for all actions of government. For every problem, we can blame one party or the other, or maybe the entire culture, but this time of the year, like rutting season, things do get worked up! Sometimes you have to get out of the way, until the passion passes.
I watched that happen with a lot of my friends during the Bush years. Nary a word of anything about the war, or the deficit spending, until the elections rolled around. Then everyone had a view, and a finger to point in blame. Arguments ensue, and folks get into a huff. We all do get stirred up by the mud slinging that starts around this part of the cycle. It is inevitable! A force of nature, you could say. It is better than taking up guns I suppose.
It would be abnormal for politics to stay out of the discussion of what has been occurring the past 3 years, so I guess I am a little more tolerant of it than you. It is what it is, and there is plenty of political fault to spread around. Some want to solely blame Obama. I get that. It is happening on his watch. It is not totally fair, but political speech never is! 🙂 I have been unfair in my political speech against Bush in the past too. Once the election is done and gone, a lot of it will fade away. That is the way it works.
So hang in there. Continue to contribute your POV, and don’t go away mad. I think you will run into much more virulent blogs on the right and left that I could point you too, but I don’t bother to participate in any of those. At least here, Petros to a fault, allows open discussion even to things I would rather not have put forth on the blog, (and we have disagreed) but you have to credit him for allowing “free speech”, even distasteful and unnecessary speech to my ears. I am usually successful (not always) in just ignoring it, but hang in for the rest of the good discussion that does occur. There is still a lot of value. Hopefully Steven will too, but that is his decision.
@Annoyed, The video was a hyperbole. There is no way that the US treatment of expatriates is slightly close to what the Nazis did to the Jews. However, other cases like the exit taxes of Weimar Germany, the Soviet Union and Cuba, the confiscation of assets of expatriating Jews in Arab countries in the 1950s, and today’s Eritrea diaspora tax are comparable to US tax policy.
I just finished Stephen Mospick’s post and it is excellent. I was particularly impressed with how he related the plight of immigrants to the USA. When you are an outlander you have the slight chance of being able to duck and cover but the homelander is very vulnerable to IRS intimidation.
Annoyed wrote:
Thanks for expressing that opinion. I think, however, that the blog is doing exactly what we intended, and that is to allow folks to freely talk about the issues. Certain commenters, Mopsick being one, and you, as evidently you are one of Mopsick’s biggest fans and defenders, are not happy and keep trying to say what we can and can’t say. If we allowed you to steer us that way, we’d have been much happier at the Expat Forum which has several pages of rules and several SS moderators to control the discussion and to make sure that no one ever breaks the rules. We are not off tangent but on tangent.
Pingback: The Isaac Brock Society - Both our forefathers were slaves: When is a comparison correct and when isn’t it?
13-01-03 PRESS RELEASE: FATCA, Stanley Fischer – complaint asks release of $250,000 seized of “US Person” by Israeli Bank HaPoalim
Stanley Fischer, Governor of the Bank of Israel – Israel’s Banking Regulator and Bilderberg Member, showing off his newly acquired Israeli ID in 2005; Supreme Court of the State of Israel, FATCA.
The complaint asks the release of $250,000, unlawfully seized from “US Person” by the Israeli Bank HaPoalim, BM. The conduct has no foundation in either the law of the State of Israel, or the law of the United States, but appears to have been induced by Bank of Israel’s Stanley Fischer unparalleled, unconditional submission to the United States FACTA. Petition, previously filed with the Israeli High Court of Justice claimed that Fischer exchanged his loyalty to the State of Israel and its law with loyalty to another nation and its law, and/or loyalty to financial institutions and their interests. The case captures the financial crisis in a nutshell – criminality by financial institution is patronized by national banking regulators and the national highest courts. In this case – under the guise of compliance with United States law by Israeli banks. Eventually, the territory of “FACTA-compliance” is likely to coincide with the territory of the financial crisis, through corruption of banking regulation of other nations, under United States coercion.
View the complete report:PDF:http://www.scribd.com/doc/119197205/Blog post: http://inproperinla.blogspot.co.il/2013/01/13-01-03-press-release-fatca-stanley.html
@Joseph Zernik
I would be encouraging the complainant and others opposed to this unconditional submission to the United States FACTA, to contact James Jatras to see if there is any advice or guidance he can provide regarding strategy of opposition to this monster. I am surprised that AIPAC has been silent! Where are they? Are they just like Stanley Fisher with their loyalty to the US above their loyalty to the State of Israel ?
Surely there are others in Israel that are feeling the unintended impacts of this offshore Jihad and aren’t all just compliant little sheep being taken to slaughter! I thought the motto was “Never again”
You can read more about James Jatras positions here and here and here to just list three recent ones.
Or he can be reached at…
Jim Jatras
RepealFATCA@gmail.com
http://www.RepealFATCA.com
@RepealFATCA
+1.202.375.1007
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.
The Long Arm of the #IRS and #FATCA comes to Israeli shores. What does #AIPAC Think?http://lnkd.in/cz_X6J
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/10/usa-tax-israel-bank-idUSL1E9CA0PY20130110
Linked in discussion on the significance of the Israeli Banks encouraging U.S. clients to enter the IRS OVDP…
calgary411January 15, 2013 at 8:51 pm
http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000814455
Israeli investment houses to report on US citizens’ accountsTASE tells brokers: We’re examining FATCA’s provisions and their significance.15 January 13 13:20, Irit Avissar and Lital IstamatiThe US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which requires non-US financial institutions to provide the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with details of bank accounts of American customers, will also affect foreign investment houses. Sources inform ”Globes” that, two weeks ago, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) notified its members that they should prepare to implement FATCA at their institutions. TASE members have until Sunday, January 20, to confirm their awareness of the matter and that they are preparing for it.
Are they dreaming or what?