Liberty and justice for all United States persons abroad

The Isaac Brock Society

Posted on by Posted in Issues regarding US persons abroad 141 Comments

Treasury Department spokesman Robert Stack claims it’s a myth that US persons living their everyday lives outside the US are being harmed by FATCA.  We know it’s true because the damage FATCA has caused and is causing to our lives is real.

In relation to the Stack statement, Tim noticed that Treasury was “re-iterating on twitter that NO ONE will give up their US citizenship because of FACTA and that it is only a myth that that is happening,” which caused Not Amused to write, “That makes us all mythical creatures then. If anyone related to any US government agency ever tries to contact me, I’ll tell them to have their head examined because people like me don’t exist.” 

“We Are Not a Myth” is a protest on Tumblr where we  post our photos to show that we are real.  You can show your face or hide it in your photo, as you wish, and you can add a message along with it.  You can add your photo yourself  OR e-mail atticusincanada@gmail.com and she’ll add it to the display.

Thanks much, Atticus, for setting this up on Tumblr.  Thanks to Blaze for the original suggestion, “It occurred to me that would be great to do around the world as a Treasury Myth Buster. Each person could do their own sign I Am Not A Myth and perhaps the country.”

And thanks all for your photos – the visuals are so eloquent!

141 thoughts on ““We Are Not A Myth”: Put Your Photo on the Tumblr Portrait-Protest!”

  1. A lot of the homelander’s misconceptions about who we are is due to lousy vocabulary, when they confuse expatriate with ex-patriot. I’ve now dropped the term American abroad and replaced it with American emigrant, which implies that we’ve gone somewhere vs having left somewhere. The optics are better, imo, although they’ll probably confuse it with immigrant.

  2. @bubblebustin
    very good description…You are right expatriate is confused with ex patriot….
    I like emigrant American….I emigrated and stayed in Canada…

  4. @ NotThatTara

    I don’t think Dick Harvey really likes the idea of residence-based taxation. (Heavens, the USA might miss out on tax revenue with THAT system and rich people might try to escape!) He also doesn’t like to say citizenship-based taxation like everyone else. To Dick Harvey it’s the “existing worldwide tax system” which makes it sound like the USA is not the extremely odd-man-out exception to the norm that it actually is.

    And yet, in contradiction to his NO to residence-based taxation and NO to getting rid of his pet FATCA he begrudgingly concludes …

    “If possible, Congress should consider legislative action. Relief can be provided by either modifying the existing worldwide tax system, or adopting a residence-based system.”

    I don’t want a bandaid applied to address the problems of CBT and FATCA. I want a hangman’s noose applied. Execute them both. Off with their heads!

  5. There was a discussion around this paper at Brock at one point. Can anyone find it?

    @NotThatTara,

    As I’ve said on numerous occasions, I don’t know how Richard Harvey sleeps at night.

  7. Thanks Calgary411, Em, and NotThatTara for bringing it to the attention of those who may not have seen it first time around. It’s a real piece of work.

  9. @Em
    Thanks for posting this. This article is very good. What is great that she wrote she will continue to investigate and write more.

  10. Pingback: The Isaac Brock Society

  11. Immigrants to America be forewarned, Uncle Sam will grab half of any savings you left behind when you showed up and the other half when you return to your country of origin. He’s got a nasty little form called FBAR that he doesn’t tell you about until after its too late. Then its your fault for not knowing.

    This story appeared last week on the “I am not a Myth” tumblr post. Well Mr. Robert STACK, what have you got to say about this one?

    “My husband and I are Swiss citizens who own a small rental apartment in near Geneva, and always had bank accounts in Switzerland which are declared with the US tax authorities. We only have one savings account and one 3eme pilier [inidividual retirement] account which we had forever. We happen to live for the moment in Houston Texas. We are not US citizens but have green cards.

    I was informed today by Raiffeisen that they would have to cancel my mortgage and my bank account. They give me 6 months. When I went back to them asking where in the world I can get CHF75,000 – the balance on my mortgage – to repay the mortgage and from what account I should be paying my tax bills in Switzerland, and where should my renter send the rent payment?

    The answer was: we don’t really know. Why don’t you borrow money from a private person as no other bank probably will take your mortgage.

    This is so humiliating and frustrating after having never paid late! Nobody seems to care. I have made calls to the consulate in the US. They are telling me they cannot do anything.

    Now, do you have advice for me?”

    Welcome to America baby! Its the Land of Fleecedom.

  12. According to these anecdotal reports, US persons in Belgium being denied access to their bank accounts and savings;
    http://www.expat-blog.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=330388
    “….At his bank they told him that they blocked his account and that he couldnt get his money. They got their orders to block all US citizens accounts until they can prove that they dont owe taxes to the US.

    At our other bank they told us the same thing. They will block our account because they also got their orders… We have to prove that we dont owe the US taxes. …”

  13. @Badger.
    I sent that Belgium story as soon as I read it to my MP…and asked my MP to CALL me. I sent it as URGENT…Should we start taking our money out of our accounts?

  15. I am Facebook friends with Karin Zeitvogel.. I noticed she did not mention RBT or CBT. I messaged her.
    Let you know if she gets back to me.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.

%d bloggers like this: