In the past, one used to seek to win friends and influence people. Such was even updated for the digital age. Yet, now times are changing, as explained in this excellently written article:
How to Lose Friends, Citizens and Influence
The U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act seeks to co-opt foreign banks as long-arm enforcement agencies of the IRS.
@bubblebustin,
You think your bitchy now, just wait, there’s a full moon in 2 days.
@bubblebustin,
Actually this could be really bad. It’s a SUPER moon. LOL
SUPER BITCHY!
PaidPiper# sounds familiar. It is likely a government code word for “rescue FATCA via Stasi”!
@WhiteKat…
I have not been following the conversation carefully, but could it be that Paid Piper’s comments about child born abroad citizenship status is correct. I did see that some of what he said was right, but frankly did not read carefully. Wasn’t there an entire thread discussion on the issue here…? I guess I need to study this issue carefully before I venture into these types of arguments in comments. 🙂
http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2013/07/07/frustration-abounds-as-answers-are-not-received-accidental-americans-born-abroad-to-us-parents-and-not-registered-with-the-us-are-they-automatic-us-citizens-or-do-they-have-the-o/comment-page-2/#comment-441998
@Whitekat – Done! I also added another comment containing a few of my ideas about fixing this mess. Will be interesting to see how the FATCA/CBT supporters respond….
@JustMe,
PiedPiper is right about a lot of things, I’ll give him that.
@Victoria,
Awesome comments as usual, but I’m afraid your suggestions may be way too practical and sensible to ever get implemented.
@WhiteKat, Just Me
I know one of the things I find very frustrating about people like PiedPiper is that they do get it right, yet support the status quo. It’s as though they are saying “sure it’s a drag, but that’s just he way America rolls”. That’s why I’ve been making more of an effort to tell folks like him that the USG is beginning to recognize that CBT is destructive and lawmakers are now examining a switch to RBT. Would he support it? I think I’ll ask him.
@bubblebustin,
That is why I told him he knows just enough to be dangerous,, which is what set him off on an attack against me. I know I was a little bold, but after reading all his holier than thou comments I could not help myself.
I look forward to your attempts to convert him – should be interesting…lol.
Thanks for backing me up so far. Let’s see how open he is.
PaidPiper# is nothing other than an anti-America racist because he likes to dump all Americans abroad into the same bucket so that he can justify hatred against them:
http://pjmedia.com/rogerkimball/2013/07/17/weaponizing-the-acronyms-that-rule-us/?show-at-comment=195057#comment-195057
Ha, SwissPinoy, then you can point out to him that there must be even more UK and Aussie citizens who are losers too, because the US ranks only 11th on the table of most visiting countries to Thailand with only 767,420. UK is 9th with 870,164 and Australia 8th with 930,599. That’s not separating the men from the women of course, nor who actually went to Bangkok, just actual tourist numbers to Thailand. Derisable numbers compared to the millions of US citizens who live outside the country. Plonker.
Be careful of that pied piper. He might be a paid government agent provocateur trying to trick you into revealing too much about your situation. Although (NOT “altho”) there’s no doubt that he’s a pompASS know-it-all, with a minus rating in empathy, and completely deluded by the myth of American exceptionalism. There’s no reasoning with those types. Their misguided, often mean-spirited, ideologies are crazy glued into their brains.
I just checked out Mr. Piedpiper and my oh my how he artfully dodged my suggestion for better communication with Americans abroad. Personally I judge the seriousness of my opponent by his reaction to a constructive suggestion on how to make things better.
He reminds me of me before I stopped drinking. Everything was always someone else’s fault and if other people would just get with the program, things would be just fine. It’s a terrible way to live – all that resentment which never goes anywhere because you can’t ever control people or nag or bully them into doing what you want. For some reason he seems to think that the non-compliant should be punished but not, I think, for their supposed tax evasion but because he finds his compatriots abroad to be rather disappointing. He is the epitome of “contempt before investigation.”
I’d start treating him like any other active alcoholic. Point him toward the 12 steps and consider our work to be done. The rest is entirely up to him.
@Victoria
Sounds as though the IRS has a drinking problem 🙂
@bubblebustin,
I couldn’t resist. The super moon made me do it! I had to respond to PiedPiper’s latest attempts at telling me I am ‘wrong again’
I wrote:” It must be hard for you, to be so much more clever than most other people. And, it must be very frustrating when no matter how much you talk (or write), they still don’t get your point!
Thanks for your advice on my personal situation, however I already have sought legal and tax accounting advice, and have come to the conclusion that I am screwed if FATCA continues on as planned.
However, I am happy for you that FATCA doesn’t negatively affect you at all.”
@Em,
I know you mean well, but to warn about beiing careful about what we reveal to the PiedPiper, or any other FATCANATIC, or any other dissident of freedom, is in my opinion, the exact opposite of what we should all be rallying against. The moment they sense our fear, and the moment we give them power based on our fear, is the moment we admit that we have lost the battle, and is the moment that we have in fact lost it.,
@ WhiteKat
Awesome! You’ve got a great attitude. My husband tries to keep off the radar but I knew I had to dare some exposure if I was ever going to find a solution. I took a deep breath and submitted “my story” to Brock and here I still am, even though I haven’t come up with much other than to be non-compliant and see where the chips fall. My husband will ultimately have a CLN in his hand but I’ll have nothing but a tattered copy of the (in)famous Flaherty promise. The pied piper types will never come around but you never know who is reading and beginning to see the light now because of something you wrote. Thanks for being a guide to that light.
@Em.
I’ve never filed a US tax return or a FBAR in my life of 50 years in Canada, and do not intend to ever. Of course, I honestly had no clue I was SUPPOSED to (as the whole USA policy of citizenship based taxation is so asinine and unintuitive).
IRS and USG can F-off, and so can the Canadian government for being such suck-ups for handing us over on a silver platter. Issac Brock would not be pleased, and if he were here, would spur us on.
In the meantime, being quiet gets us nowhere.
@Em
.
It’s not easy taking that deep breath, especially when family doesn’t feel the same battle cry.
@WhiteKat
My jaw simply dropped when I saw how courageous you are! Can hardly applaud you sufficiently for that. Sir Isaac Brock would have saluted you roundly, and your fellow Canadians should do likewise. I still feel so terrified of and shaken by the US government myself, despite having a CLN already and living more than sixteen thousand kilometres away from Washington DC. Wish I had courage the likes of yours. Thanks for setting such an awesome example, and for being an inspiration to others.
Take care WhiteKat. Wish that Ottawa displayed the same kind of resolve.
A MUST READ interview with very frank criticism of the OVDs, and citizenship based taxation in application – and acknowledgement of the anger felt by those living abroad and the harm that is being done.
http://blogs.angloinfo.com/us-tax/2013/07/22/residence-based-taxation-interview-with-bill-yates-former-attorney-office-of-associate-chief-counsel-international-irs-2/
‘Residence Based Taxation? Interview with Bill Yates – Former Attorney, Office of Associate Chief Counsel (International), IRS
July 22, 2013’
“Today’s blog post is the second of a two-part interview that provides valuable insight from Willard (Bill) Yates, who recently retired from the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (International), Internal Revenue Service after 31 years of service. During his tenure as a Chief Counsel Attorney, Bill was the recipient of 10 awards, including the Albert Gallatin Award, Treasury’s highest career service award. The Gallatin is awarded only to select federal employees who served twenty or more years in the Department and whose record reflects fidelity to duty. Bill received the Gallatin award for his work throughout his IRS career, including his work on implementation of some of the compliance requirements of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)…..”
……….”..Whatever, course of action taken by a taxpayer, the OVDI terrified and angered a great many people. I received calls from many practitioners who told me stories about “accidental citizens” who had RRSPs who came forward and eventually were handed a 20% penalty of an account which represented their entire savings. From what I was hearing, an RRSP with approximately $100,000 was pretty much the norm. So, IRS takes a $20,000 chunk out of it. Practitioners told me that many of their clients were in tears when they were informed of what was going to happen to their savings. This is unacceptable….”
….”Yates: In the law dictionary where it lists “arbitrary and capricious,” the definition says, “See IRS OVDI FAQs.”…”…
….”What Congress has to realize is that the current citizenship-based taxation creates a serious competitive disadvantage for the United States and that if FATCA remains, CBT for Americans living and working abroad has to go. Otherwise, having a US passport overseas is simply too much of a liability to keep. Over 80% of Americans abroad are long-term overseas residents, married to foreigners, working abroad. Many have dual nationality – some even born with it. Why should they have to continue to double file, double pay when all of their governmental services come from the country where they reside? CBT does great harm to the US because it prevents US corporations from sending Americans abroad to represent US interests. More freedom of movement of US citizens would enhance US competitiveness around the World….”….
Very very frank criticism of OVDs, and citizenship based taxation – and acknowledgement of the anger and harm felt by those living abroad.
And it re-describes some proactive giveaways in the ACA proposal. The self-imposed exit tax is a weird giveaway. And the guy’s reaction to checking out of USA is weird, “how does the IRS know when the person returns to the USA?” (Reporting taxes had always been done either by company withholding or by self-declaration)
@badger…
Thanks for that. I was just thinking that part 2 was due soon. It is late here, and I am quickly checking in, as been hiking all day. Part one of that interview was posted somewhere else here at IBS, and no time tonight to find it, but we really should put both of them together into one single thread…
@WhiteKat and Victoria…
My one comment tonight was reserved for PiedPiper2, so I posted one must to support the effort. 🙂