Some of our bloggers have made some nice contributions to articles this week:
An article at occupy.com cites Victoria Ferauge and Marvin van Horn:
Exposed: IRS Is Colluding With Banks To Unfairly Target U.S. Citizens Abroad
I and others spoke with globalnews.ca
Why are so many American expats giving up citizenship? It’s a taxing issue
Our own Eric is behind the article’s reporting of the discrepancy between the numbers at the FBI and the Federal Registry:
More expatriate Americans are renouncing their citizenship than at almost any other time. And comparing statistics from the FBI indicates the State Department may have been lowballing its numbers.
Last year, 4,650 people who renounced U.S. citizenship were added to an FBI database, far more than the 658 recorded in 2011. A further 1,958 were added this year by the end of June, roughly tracking 2012′s numbers.
Some will find interesting the letter from the State Department to Global News responding to Global’s request for information under the Freedom of Information Act. The letter claims that the State Department cannot tell the numbers of renunciations that they have processed because they don’t keep track of that information. Apparently, they pass that information on to the Treasury Department without keeping their own records. It really seems like obfuscation to me. Moreover, the letter claims the information is “private”:
Renunciation records are privacy protected name-retrievable only; for a third party to access such records, you would have to provide the name of each person who has renounced, and also obtain written authorization from that person.
LOL. Treasury is required by law to publish the names in the Federal Registry. How can that be protected information if it’s supposed to be published?
Have a nice weekend!
Interesting articles. I thought the occupy.com article got an important point wrong, though. That article referred a couple of times to an “exchange” of information. I thought that was part of the problem–FATCA is NOT an exchange of information. It is an outright demand for information that will flow only in one direction–there is by no means an exchange.
Thank you for posting the links, Peter. It’s been a good week. 🙂
I like the Occupy.com article because it’s well-crafted for a “progressive” US audience. There is one date in there that is is incorrect (should be 1950’s and not 1930’s) but overall the piece is really good. Hats off to Marvin for telling his story yet again. Great job, Marvin, as always.
I loved the Global News article too. Very complete. A great read. Kudos to Eric for the research. Just put those two sets of numbers under the nose of any serious investigative journalist and he/she should BITE hard.
It is indeed hysterical that State can’t release the numbers. What is behind that? Are they not tracking because the info is radioactive or because it enables them to say “we’re not responsible?” Reminds me of that great song, “The rockets go up – who cares where they come down. That’s not my department, says Werner von Braun.”
re; …”…Treasury is required by law to publish the names in the Federal Registry. How can that be protected information if it’s supposed to be published?…”….
Yes, how can the US do its duty to SHAME us if it doesn’t NAME us? Why is it colloquially called the ‘name and shame list’ if this is “protected” information. Releasing the total numbers does not require names.
So ironic that privacy is an issue conveniently raised by the US government in this NON-response, but FATCA laying us open to identity theft, strip searching all our accounts and assets, the balances, withdrawals, deposits, locations, account #s, identifying information, and NON-US joint account holders – with no restrictions as to the number of other agencies who can share in the information, is not at all a problem for the US government. And all that is possible for them to demand in the complete absence of US tax owed, zero due process, zero evidence of criminality, and zero rationale, with zero recourse.
The US needs to present every baby born with US citizenship and every would be naturalized citizens and greencard applicants a full and frank disclosure of all the ways in which they will be deemed ineligible to any representation, rights, justice and recourse at all if they live outside the US and have any legal local assets made and held ‘abroad’ where they live and/or were born.
And, an FOI request takes a year and a half to produce ZERO information and some bald obfuscation.
How can one have any respect for the US government?
I see many more great media contributions from Brocksters in our future. Bzzzzzzzzz, mosquitoes!
Today as a matter of fact:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323455104579014772169287210.html
Amazing work, thank you to all who came forward and were interviewed, provided research and statistics, etc. ! Very grateful to you all.
Great to finally see someone write up some of the complexities and discrepancies with understanding and clarity – the global news article was so informed and coherent.
Great articles!
The FOIA reply from the State Dept about the number of CLNs issued is what was to be expected. They just plain do not want to give out the real numbers.
http://static.globalnews.ca/content/interactives/documents/general_news_bucket/130812_ly_citizenship.pdf
It would be a national embarrassment if the real numbers of CLNs issued were to become known.
I find it literally unbelievable that the State Department doesn’t count the numbers of CLNs it approves. Also, there is no way those numbers could be a “privacy issue.” What utter B.S. from a government that has a long record of lying about much bigger issues, too. Their credibility has hit rock bottom. Now I don’t think we could trust the accuracy of numbers from them even if they released some numbers.
I ask a Canadian government official to confirm that my I-407 was submitted in 2008. The Canadian government can do this, but is able to give out private citizen bank account to American.
So convenient for the US to continue to spin the number of CLNs in whatever way they choose, keep the numbers of those relinquishing/renouncing/giving up greencards quiet, and obstruct attempts to get the information via FOIs.
So convenient to call us all cheats and tax evaders – witness the heading in the latest. So convenient to neglect to mention that we already pay taxes and report in full to the country where we actually live, work, earn in and have a non-US citizenship or permanent residency. So interesting how the US media can’t/won’t do the same investigations and research that those here at Brock have done – ex. Eric’s work comparing the Name and Shame list on the Federal Register with the FBI list.
See article from the WSJ regarding the publication of names on the name and shame list: Updated August 16, 2013, 5:56 p.m. ET
‘Will Renouncers’ Names Be Public?
Casting Off U.S. Citizenship Puts Name in the Public Record’
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323585604579010762373986686.html
They can fudge the numbers and break their own laws. Too bad there’s no “penalty” assigned to them for it.
They can’t justify the higher numbers as just being “tax cheats” anymore if they show the real numbers and they know it.
It would be nice to see a graph with the Fed Reg figures overlaid by the FBI numbers (for renunciations). Shadow Raider’s FOI for the CLN numbers (for renunciations & relinquishments) is overdue. The graph with all 3 number sets could be sent back to the writers of the article for a followup.
Great efforts to all. What you contributed is exactly what is needed.
here is how Move-on.org does things ( a tax exempt PAC for the Democrits)
“Well, MoveOn members agree, and we’ll fight like hell to make sure that promise is kept.
We’re ready to use the upcoming budget debate to convince the American people about the need to expand Social Security. We’ll start by reminding the public, media, and our elected officials about the important role Social Security has played in millions of lives.
Click the link below to sign our Happy Birthday Social Security card—and share the story of what Social Security has meant in your life or that of those close to you.”
@Mark Twain, I used to be a member of Move On. Until they held a “vote” they only told certain members about but, not others. The members who got advanced notice were those they were sure would “vote” the way they wanted on a certain issue. The week before they had sent out an inquiry asking what side you were on regarding said issue so only those on the “side” they wanted got the notice about the very last minute vote. They then proceeded to say “Look, everybody overwhelmingly voted this way!” That day a ton of us dropped membership after complaining thousands of us never got any notice to vote. The outcome of this vote was very important because it involved a major issue and decided if they would or would not support something. They kind of showed the way they play things with that. The person funding this all was not on the “side” some of the rest of us were who did not get notice. So we were out.
It’s a dirty game no matter where you play it if politics is involved. I am not a “joiner” to any of these types of things anymore.
It is a lesson to get information from the source of the devil, sent directly to your inbox. Move on is dripping with one sidedness. I get similar info from both the Democrips and the Rebloodlicans.
@Mark Twain, disengage from their partisan whirlpool down there. I did. They are just circling the drain and eating each other alive on the way down. I am glad Canada isn’t nearly so vicious.
@Mark, My father’s two rules of American politics:
1. Democrats fornicate. Republicans steal.
2. All successful American politicians are sociopaths.
For those that aren’t Canadian, most of us have to live as criminals until they (ever) change the law. The crux of the matter is how big a criminal these 7 million people shall be.
I learned in my schooling that communist dictatorships:
don’t allow their Citizens to leave
Pay people to narc on their neighbors for resistance against the state
Those that narc on the government get the gulag or the gas
spy on their Citizens
assume all their Citizens to be guilty til proven innocent.
Chase and spy on their Citizens around the World
Maintain military and spy presence in many occupied countries
Expand their global influence through intimidation
Occupy many countries militarily
Occupy Afghanistan
Fight the Taliban
How right my teachers were.
Just Me is back from the wilderness and tweeting with a passion (or maybe tweeting from the wilderness, not sure which) and AtticusinCanada has been tweeting in addition to her prolific commenting. GO #FATCA GO and thank you both! Blaze and IBS are tweeting too. I hate it when the FATCA (compliance industry) FLIES swarm in to gorge on “the worst law most Americans have never heard of” and I love to see Brockers swatting back with the truth and consequences of that law.
Back from a trip to the US to visit my son and grandchildren (absolutely no border-crossing incidents, other than the usual “everyone is a criminal who deserves to be herded like cattle” Homeland “Security” screening crap, if I didn’t have family in the US I’d never ever travel there, life is too short to spend putting up with Homeland’s rude uniformed morons), and am playing catch-up. Just wanted to say what a great coup these articles are, especially Global News, finally we’re getting decent Canadian msm coverage. Glad to see all my friends from here posting comments over there …
@Em,
By any chance, were you a cheerleader back in high school? 🙂
@ WhiteKat
Not high school. Junior High. Now I watch birds which might be why I admire tweeters. Seriously though, I could never get a thought down in 140 characters. 🙂
@Em, it was a learning curve for me. 140 characters isn’t fun but, trending on twitter is! I was a cheerleader in high school, I HATED it. lol!! Parents insisted. blah. You’re really good at keeping up the enthusiasm and interest Em! That can be hard to do at times.
Em, too bad you weren’t in BC? We could head down to George C. Reifel and we could get away from the damned crap the US is throwing in our faces for a day. ~sigh~
@ The_Animal
You are a pro at bird watching and photography. I just watch what comes into my bird feeder everyday. I’ve found that I simply cannot think of FATCA when I’m watching the pine siskins enjoying their turns at the feeder. One jumped onto my hand the other day when I was doing a refill. Good stuff! So I’m FATCA non-compliant and I’m defying a town ordinance feeding the birds in the summer months (winter is allowed). I guess I am on a path to serious criminality. 😉