A brief interruption from ongoing reports about hypocritical Canadian politicians for this (un)important update about hypocritical American politicians. Via CNBC, we learn that some Congresscritter has been left spluttering by a European Union “carbon tax” being imposed on U.S. airlines through its Emissions Trading Scheme:
Republican Senator John Thune, a sponsor of the measure, said it sent a “strong message” to the EU that it cannot impose taxes on the United States.
“The Senate’s action today will help ensure that U.S. air carriers and passengers will not be paying down European debt through this illegal tax and can instead be investing in creating jobs and stimulating our own economy,” Thune said in a statement.
Back in 2005, John Thune (R-SD) voted in favour of the United States increasing taxes on the EU and the rest of the world with TIPRA and its Foreign Earned Income Exclusion “stacking provision”, resulting in Canadians and Europeans paying down American debt through illegal taxes instead of investing in creating jobs and stimulating the economy.
Unsurprisingly, Thune is hardly the only hypocrite over on Capitol Hill. Among his co-sponsors on S. 1956 — the bill in question — are fellow TIPRA supporters Mike Enzi (R-WY), Kay Hutchison (R-TX), John Isakson (R-GA), Pat Roberts (R-KS), and Bill Nelson (D-FL). The last name should be very familiar to us here at Isaac Brock, since not only did he vote in favour of both TIPRA and FATCA, but more recently he sponsored a bill to try to confiscate our passports too.
Another amusing quote comes from Claire McCaskill (D-MO), who at least has the distinction of being one of the few Democrats to vote against the FIRE HIRE Act and its FATCA Trojan horse back in 2010:
Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill, the measure’s other chief sponsor, said, “It’s refreshing to see strong, bipartisan support for the commonsense notion that Americans shouldn’t be forced to pay a European tax when flying in U.S. airspace.”
Common sense is of course sorely lacking in the U.S. Senate, which repeatedly votes in support of the idea that Europeans, Canadians, and Asians should be forced to pay U.S. taxes when flying, walking, driving, or sleeping in non-U.S. airspace.
And the result of all this patriotic screaming for double standards: the Senate voted unanimously in favour of Thune’s bill. In otherwords, folks like Chuck Grassley who’s been voting to impose extraterritorial taxes ever since he found his way to Washington during the Ford Administration, or Carl Levin who wants to make every bank in the world kowtow to the U.S. government, or all of Bill Nelson’s Republican and Democratic supporters of passport confiscation for Americans abroad, don’t like it when the shoe is on the other foot. In other news, dog bites man, snow expected in Siberia, and Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.
*Well, la de da.
Irony, I love it…
@roger,
Appropriate statement from our most experienced advocate!! I hear echos.
*Every great empire eventually comes to an end. In my view, this is what happens when voters elect the lesser evil. In the end, it does more damage than good.
If airlines don’t like the tax they don’t have to fly to Europe. Simple as that. If I don’t feel American but have that nationality I can’t simply avoid FATCA in this manner. Big difference in my book.
Also, doesn’t the US demand passenger data for people flying from two completely unrelated countries sometimes, say from London to Toronto or to the Bahamas? I read this once but can’t remember any of the details.
*If I renounce, then maybe I’ll give my reason as being that the US Senate has been hijacked by crazy aliens. This totally destroys their “fair share” burp:
How does this fit in with Washington’s beloved Buffet Rule?
http://www.whitehouse.gov/economy/buffett-rule
@Don that only applies to foreign originated and destination flights if they fly over any American airspace or the origination or destination city is close enough that an American airport would be a diversion airport.
The only reason that I’m a bit “queezy” about giving up US Citizenship is related to Social Security/Disability. I paid into their system for most of my life. I receive the paper every year saying that I’m going to get a VERY small payment if will not contribute anymore. It’s almost a joke, the amount, which is around the same level as a 3rd-world minium wage (no joke.. sadly)
The issue is about disability, which is a little better than the SS payments. The problem is that if something BAD happens to me, and I’m not longer a US Citizen, how in the heck can I travel to the US, in case they insist on a personal visit? Has anyone ever filed a disability claim from abroad? Keep in mind, there’s nothing of the sort where I live…
More extraterratorial application of US law: From the (UK) Independent “American court orders BBC to hand over Yasser Arafat documentary footage”:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/american-court-orders-bbc-to-hand-over-yasser-arafat-documentary-footage-8168110.html
Presumably if the BBC don’t comply, they will be subject to US sanctions?
*Jaffar, this is another of the many situations where the US government opposes its “fair share” concept. Both Israel and Palestine suffered, both lost innocent civilians and both nations have the right to exist and to be recognized. America’s Muslim problem is mostly the result of America’s anti attitude towards certain Semites.
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