A follow-up article from Patrick Temple-West at Reuters:
http://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2014/01/24/republican-party-backs-fatca-repeal-resolution/
Some highlights:
Jan 24 (Reuters) – The Republican National Committee (RNC) on Friday called for the repeal of a U.S. anti-tax-evasion law, siding with big banks, libertarians and American expatriates that have criticized the Obama administration statute.
At its winter meeting in Washington, the RNC approved by voice vote a resolution in favor of abolishing the 2010 Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), set to take effect in July, marking the party’s first explicit attack on the law.
FATCA will require most foreign banks and investment funds to report to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service information about U.S. customers’ accounts worth $50,000 or more. The law was enacted after a scandal involving Americans hiding assets in Swiss bank accounts to dodge U.S. taxes.
Critics have blasted the law as an unfair government overreach and invasion of financial privacy.
“The Republican National Committee … urges the U.S. Congress to repeal FATCA,” said the measure, staking out a campaign position ahead of 2014’s mid-term elections.
On Wednesday, with the RNC vote expected to occur, a senior Treasury Department official said the vote would not hurt the administration’s efforts to implement FATCA via a web of tax information-sharing agreements with other countries.
From Republicans Overseas:
“Solomon Yue, Vice Chairman and CEO of Republicans Overseas asked RNC Chairman Reince Priebus to have a separate vote on his resolution to repeal FATCA in order to show our party’s sympathy towards 7.6 million overseas Americans who are forced to choose between their love for their country by not renouncing their citizenship and their love for their families by continuing to provide for them without banking services. It turned out, however, that the repeal FATCA resolution was voted on with a package of other resolutions. The 168-member RNC overwhelmingly passed the resolution to repeal FATCA.”
Latest from RepealFATCA.com:
http://www.repealfatca.com/index.asp?idmenu=4&title=News&idsubmenu=146
I have been a Democrat since 1985. I am a Republican as of today. The Democrat’s love affair with FATCA has cost them my support. I never thought I would see this day.
Thank you RNC and especially Republicans Overseas. At least one of the parties has seen the light.
This is great news! Lets see strong of support the Republicans will give it.
The Latest from CF&P
CF&P Applauds RNC Resolution Calling For FATCA Repeal
and from Alex Newman from the New American
Republican Party Votes to Repeal “Punitive” New FATCA Tax Regime
@ Just Me
Thanks for finding those links. CF&P will not open on our computer but I found this interesting in the New American …
“On Wednesday, with the RNC vote expected to occur, a senior Treasury Department official said the vote would not hurt the administration’s efforts to implement FATCA via a web of tax information-sharing agreements with other countries.”
It may not hurt the administration’s EFFORTS, but whether those efforts will lead to any more RESULTS may be another story, methinks.
Treasury officials are whistling in the graveyard. Or, for another reworded reference, “methinks the gentleperson doth protest too much.”
IGAs are stalled and, I’m beginning to think and not just in Canada, dead in the water. With a Congressional election coming up in November, with the Republicans unlikely to lose the House and possibly able to gain the Senate, maybe that’s not enough to overturn a veto of a repeal, but good luck Obama getting funding for the already underfunded (according to the TAS report a couple of weeks ago) IRS budget for implementing FATCA. I think any government that would sign a FATCA IGA with the US at this point is either very stupid, very craven, or not very informed about what’s going on politically in the US.
I sent emails about the RNC committee resolution to all our party leaders last week, saying essentially what I just said in the previous paragraph. Now that the full RNC has approved the resolution, maybe someone should email our party leaders again about this, but if they read their email last week I think this news is already clearly on their radar.
To repeat (in a different context and with different meaning) the words of the previous US ambassador to Canada, “just sit tight.” The fireworks are about to begin. It ain’t over until it’s over.
@Schubert1975
Well stated! Let’s hope Messrs. Harper and Flaherty see the way the wind is blowing.
@Schubert1975
“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
― Winston Churchill
I hope this does not become a partisan issue. Nothing will ever happen in Congress. That is why I renounced last September. The supposed “Congress of America” is totally dysfunctional. I cannot get into details. That is why I live in Canada, and I hope Justin will be the next.
@Em…
I just tried the CF&P link, and it works fine for me. Alternately, just google the headline in Google news and you should find it…
As for the Reuters conflict of interest, that has been well known to me and others. They are members in good standing of the FCC. They have compliance products for sale!
they are working to put the right spin on it over there to try to keep the DemsAbroad sheep from leaving the flock. It’s already been 16 hrs and this is all they could muster up so far
http://bit.ly/1l8ZLj3
Here is the latest from Dems Abroad: https://www.democratsabroad.org/group/da-international/fbarfatca-task-force-page-updated
French News On-line picked up the FATCA story http://www.french-news-online.com/wordpress/?p=33389#axzz2rKZvGoyK
(I gave them permission to use the Flophouse post and they also really liked and included Ellen Lebelle’s (AARO) interview)
Well, I am going to spend the day speaking with my extensive family in the U.S. ALLLL Of whom are democrats. My grandparents were dems, my great grandparents *grandfather wasn’t a dem he was a WOBBLY* Great grandmother was a suffragist…
I am going to tell them the positions taken on this law. Funny but, I have family members on LOTS of prog blogs who already know this stupid law has cost me my citizenship. They have been waiting for the DNC to respond to Dems Abroad and ACA.
I have a lot to point out to them this evening about who has the strongest stance and I’m sure they will be writing the DNC about their nasty press release immediately following the RNC moves AND immediately following the proposal submitted by the FATCA/FBAR working group of Democrats Abroad. Rather a slap in the face if you ask me as if the DNC doesn’t even pay attention to what DA is doing??
Ridiculous. Whoever takes this issue on and fixes this debacle with something reasonable and workable and fair is getting the votes of my entire family. That’s how egregious this law is. It’s a shame this is now going to be a campaign issue because it will result in a shouting match with very few facts let through and certainly no “big picture” I find it nearly hilarious that someone can be against the TPP but, FOR FATCA at the same damn time. Makes no sense if you understand what FATCA is and can do. Yes, let’s ALLLL give our bank data to the U.S.A. from all over the world and let the U.S.A. control the banking of the entire world since they make such great decisions on banking matters. Also, let’s not worry about our bank data being safe with the NSA. If your Canadian you should be just peachy keen happy to hand over your bank data to a foreign nation right?
There is so much cognitive dissonance in the U.S. over this it is scary that the U.S. has so much power as their home land citizens are so poorly informed. Terrible.
FATCA is a vote swayer and I literally heard a home lander call us “expat f***kers” yesterday. I’m glad I saw that as it’s been just under the surface all along as to how they think of expats anyway. It’s just all out in the open now. We may be expats but, many of us have family there and they all VOTE. There are seven million of us so keep on saying we don’t matter U.S. homelanders…keep it up.
@ Just Me
I finally got the CF&P article to open — had to search plus use a different browser. (I think our computer needs more plug ins or something.) It amazes and dismays me that there isn’t anything that one party or the other won’t twist around to make political hay. No issue is examined for its true merits or demerits, only for purposes of propaganda, profit and promoting an agenda. The Reps are also taking on the NSA spying issue but you know that it’s always promise them the moon to get votes, then hit them with an asteroid when they get in power. Look at Obama. He’s broken hundreds of campaign promises and he’s not done yet. There just isn’t any honour in the games they play — not a bit. So with FATCA we’ll just have to use whatever we can get from whoever appears to be helping and hope we can correct as many misconceptions as pop up. It’s a whack-a-mole game, a daunting task for sure.
I think that we should at least try to change Congress if we can. We have been getting it in the neck for a long time and are just waking up to it. In 1962, Kennedy’s “tax cut” involved starting the taxation of the foreign source earnings of U.S. citizens. In 1986, Reagan’s “tax cut” involved bringing in the PFIC rules with their nasty tax complications. I have a friend here in the U.K. who is very upset because all of her retirement savings are in U.K. mutual funds, but the PFIC rules existed before FATCA, she just didn’t know it. Finally, in 2001, Bush’s “tax cut” killed off any estate tax allowance for non-U.S. citizen, non-resident spouses after 2010. Basically, if any U.S. president of either party offers a “tax cut,” overseas Americans should immediately put their hands on their wallets. FATCA is simply the straw the breaks the camel’s back (mainly by piling huge amounts of paperwork on it).
I won’t be renouncing any time soon. I have registered to vote. I have written to my member of Congress to warn them that I and other overseas Americans are angry about taxation issues and that I will be voting for their opponent in the primary if they don’t even e-mail me to acknowledge my letter (losing in a primary is just as bad for a member of Congress as losing in the general election). My member of Congress does not accept e-mails from CONSTITUENTS outside his district. I hope he enjoys his retirement.
If you stand up for yourself, you can expect to be disliked. I helped organize a successful grassroots campaign to get the British National Health Service to move as fast a possible to make available a life-saving drug I needed and which was already available in just about all other developed countries. There are people to this day who hate what we did, even we were correct about this drug. The big thing is to make sure that you get what you need. Personally, I prefer the ACA residency-based taxation proposal because it solves all of the problems that have developed over the past few decades.
This is all encouraging news on the US front, but I still plan to relinquish when my Canadian citizenship comes through. FATCA is just one issue, huge, but one. I have a lifetime to live and I’d prefer not to do it waiting for another shoe to drop.
@Victoria
I felt a little bit like an imp today so I put the France News article that has your blog piece on Disporia and the AARO video. (which is excellent) on Demons Underground as an op.
I am looking forward to the attacks.. It shall be interesting. I excerpted this part Since when do billionnaires watch other people’s children, teach English or grade undergraduate papers?
Allow me to point out the arrogance here. Homelanders seem to be saying that our diaspora (Americans abroad) is special and totally unlike any other developed country’s diaspora being composed entirely of A. criminals and B. the idle rich.
Hate to break the bubble, folks, but Americans abroad are just as diverse as Americans in the homeland. We come in all shapes, sizes, colors, creeds and (yes, Virginia) income levels. And however we came to cast ourselves on distance shores, the reality is that most of us have to work for a living. Just like you.”
I will keep you all posted to the reaction… I want eyes and ears to know about FATCA, the real FATCA, not the compliance industry’s version.
Solomon Yue and the Republicans Overseas deserve great credit for mobilising the RNC. I sincerely hope the Democrats Abroad have some influence on the DNC, but I doubt it.
FATCA is a Democrat showpiece and will serve as a mechanism for establishing their long dreamed of global dictatorship of the proletariate.
Thank You Solomon Yue!
I love your article, Victoria, especially the arrogance part. Very scathing, but not so much so to land you in the confessional.
@Northernstar, could you provide us with the link to the Demons Underground post?
Just Me wrote this over on Jack Townsend’s blog. As always, Just Me has a way of bringing clarity to not so easy to explain issues. Its a bit long, but very much worth the read:
“….. I, like many have an opinion, and in the end, it matters NOT one whit what I think. The politicians will do what they will do!
The point Jack is making, is once legislation is passed, be it bad policy, overly broad, complex and full of negative consequences, (as even Nina Olson and the Democrats Abroad point out) it is hard to undo later. Quixotic he says. Yes, that is true.
We have seen that with ObamaCare, and that did not operate by ‘Stealth’ as a sly little amendment with global consequences attached to an unrelated bill at the last moment. Obamacare just applied to the homeland (although some Expats will be taxed to help pay for it) had full American media coverage and attention, and the Republicans still could not roll it back even with the website cock-up.
FATCA is still mostly unknown to Homeland Americans. Fwhat? they say.
I personally have little use for Republicans as one of our duopoly parties, especially the NeoCon ideologue types that launched us into a war of preemption in Iraq to bring “liberty and democracy” to the Middle East. They had such “Certainity” as to the justice of their mission and of course we continue to live with the debt and ongoing negative consequences of their actions. Anyone in America paying attention to what is happening now in Fallujah?
Now, we have the ideologues of the Left in the Democratic Party, the FATCAnatics unleashing their preemptive war and using a Weapon of Financial Mass Destruction (30% withholding) on the Globe’s financial institutions, in a “War Against Offshore Tax Evasion!” Who can be against stopping Tax Evasion, right? Whatever we have to do to stop it, we MUST STOP IT! However, when you come at these problems in unilateral and overly broad ways, carpet bombing the world with your extortion threats, and believe that this will, as Senator Max Baucus said, “Root out Tax Cheats Once and for ALL”. heaven helps. http://bit.ly/V6Aee7
Now, that is a quixotic mission, if there ever was one!! ONCE AND FOR ALL? Only death does that!
Our ideological FATCAnatics in Treasury and in Congress now guided by their Bible of 544 pages of evolving regulations plus IGAs, launch forth onto the globe using as their sword a 30% extortion threat to force compliance. Of course like the secret CIA wars, they needed the cover of stealth inside the Hire Act to launch their offshore war, as it might not as been so easy, had their been full public debate and discussion before this was slipped into the bill at the last moment. Some Democratic process!
They are, of course, cheered on by the bureaucratic (tax exempt) elites of the OECD and Tax authorities around the world looking for more revenue, sparking development of a global GATCA (http://bit.ly/19D9I3F) while the masses sleep or busy themselves with entertainment news about Justin Bieber’s arrest in Miami on drug charges.
They are smug and hubristic in their mission, as they have “RIGHT” on their side and “Financial Transparency” as their goal. This is fostering all kinds of unintended consequences where the ‘unknown unknowns’ will certainly have major impacts in the future. But never mind. Don’t trouble your little mind about what we are creating. It is good for you!
The FATCAnatics of the Left are as certain they will accomplish their mission as were the NeoCons of Right. But NEWS FLASH. This won’t work any better than our War on Drugs, our War on Crime, War on Iraq, our War on Poverty, our War on Terror, or War on Prostitution! But we do love our WARs, don’t we?
In the meantime, how much invasive government are we willing to take? We already have the NSA scooping up all our data, “to keep us safe” and once all the Financial records are available, (to find the Tax Cheats so they pay their “fair share”) they will have EVERYTHING, Total Global Information Awareness. That is their stated goal. Are you comfortable with that?
Do we really need the government to have access to global financial records on EVERYONE to ferret out a few U.S. Homeland tax cheats? At WHAT COST? Has not the DOJ / IRS using mostly due process methods been pretty successful lately (even with the negative way they have done their OVDP) without FATCA? Do we all have to be stripped and cavity searched to prove we are not guilty of carrying drugs?
Bottomline, if you love or tolerate NSA Spying, you are going to love FATCA.
Will the Republicans be successful at rolling back FATCA. Who knows? This War has now entered the political sphere, and of course, they will be mis-characterized as being FOR TAX EVASION. Or, this will be seen as a crass political move to ween Americans living around the world away from the Democrats and raise campaign contributions. It is a wedge issue for Americans Abroad, and will be used as such. That is the political process in America.
I am NOT a Republican, however, I welcome this development as this takes FATCA out of the ‘Stealth Closet’, and brings it into the public sphere for the debate we should have had before the damn monster was created. Maybe even NPR or PBS will cover it now after 4 years of silence. Too little to late? Maybe. Quixotic? probably, but necessary? ABSOLUTELY YES!……”
@Vote:
I’ve done the same. I have also written to all candidates running in this year’s primary. If I get a favorable response from anyone, I will vote for them. Otherwise, I will not vote for anyone.
And that screening of mail by residency is extremely offensive, isn’t it? You’re supposed to be representing me, yet you are not even willing to receive my e-mail to find out what my concerns are? Thanks a lot for the taxation without representation!
Next week, I’m going to write letters of congratulations to members of the Republican Party for their concrete step in repealing FATCA, and cc’ing those letters to members of the Democratic Party.
A much needed article that does not vilify US persons abroad from Helen Burggraff at International Adviser:
“Yue responds to such criticisms by stressing that the Republican party is not looking to defending tax evasion or protect tax evaders. “The problem with FATCA is that it [will use] a dragnet approach just like the National Security Agency’s dragnet, to capture a few tax-cheaters at the expense of violating 7.6 million overseas Americans’ right to privacy, right to earn a living, right to have banking services, and right to their private property,” he insists.”
http://international-adviser.com/news/tax—regulation/republican-party-committee-votes-for-repeal