70 thoughts on “Republicans Overseas Will Be Launching Legal Challenge to FATCA”
@Anne: I agree completely with Pacifica. When I became a Canadian citizen in 1973, the US Consulate was very firm, clear and direct (almost hostile). I was “permanently and irrevocably” relilnquishing US citizenship. My 1973 Canadian citizenship oath contained a clause renouncing any other citizenship.
Taxes had nothing to do with it. I wanted to be Canadian and only Canadian. I still consider myself Canadian and only Canadian. To me, dual or multi-citizenship is like a bigamous or polygamous marriage.
I don’t want want to be faithful to more than one spouse. I don’t want my ex-spouse stalking me. Most of all, I don’t want my current spouse to whom I have been faithful for four decades be be playing around and cheating on me with my ex-spouse. They have both betrayed me.
@Anne: We were posting at the same time.
The US used to punish anyone who became a citizen of another country by stripping us of American citizenship. Now they punish us by trying to force US citizenship on us–even retroactive to four decades ago.
Even Eritrea makes it easy to renounce Eritrean citizenship. More importantly, they don’t claim anyone born in Eritrea as Eritrean citizens.
Anne Frank, of course there is only one good reason for a dual to give up their USness but what good does it do anyone to admit it. Canadians don’t get it and Americans clearly don’t get it, which leaves duals stuck between rocks and a hard place.
In a increasingly multicultural world, we seem to be back-stepping because citizenship as a state of being is antique. Citizenship is a spiritual thing not a legal contract.
But I blame the USG too for the lack of transparency. They are not honest about what CBT is. It came to being as a way to punish and has only been sporadically enforced for reasons that are mostly punitive. It has never been about anything more thant money at its most bottom line regardless.
Would I prefer to stay a dual? At one time I would have said yes, but now, I wish I could just easily walk away and pretend I was never an American in the first place. I am not bitter. It is what it is. But I am ready to be done.
The US gave up all pretense a long time ago. Now it is out in the open and blatant. They are cash hungry and spending crazy.
They intend NO brakes on their spending and are looking around like a drunk on Saturday night for every bit they can find from wherever they can find it and intend to take it. The pretense under FATCA is US Persons, whoever they are. And they will be whoever IRS says they are.
This is just the foot in the door. First US Persons then it will be ALL Persons. Borders are meant to be nothing. Anything goes to prop up the petro dollar . Russia and China are putting an end to the petro dollar with their recent agreement. Buying and selling oil and gas using Yuan and Rubles, gold backed. They have formed BRIC which will rival and ruin the US economy and the US and West is doing all they can to stop it. Ukraine is key.
I think they will not stop until they have caused a war in order to protect the petro dollar. Canada is under attack on a financial scale not realized by our government and the sooner they open their eyes to the threat the better.
‘Superlawyer Jim Bopp takes on McCain-backed tax act that targets Americans overseas’
..”The people who see themselves as victims of the tax compliance act — Americans overseas — say the law leaves them unable to establish retirement and savings accounts, acquire mortgage loans and avail themselves of other modern banking services.
As a result, thousands of Americans are, in frustration, reluctantly renouncing their U.S. citizenship as the only way to escape two consequences: double taxation, once by the host country and again by the Internal Revenue Service; and having their privacy violated by the law’s requirement that foreign banks provide information on U.S. customers overseas that domestic banks do not.
Mr. Bopp told The Times that he plans to attack the act on three legal grounds: that it violates the Senate’s sole possession of foreign treaty power, the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel or unusual punishment and the 14th Amendment’s personal privacy guarantee.”…
…..”Some research convinced Mr. Bopp that the act violates the treaty powers that the Constitution grants members of the U.S. Senate. The U.S. government has forged agreements with foreign governments to have their banks reveal all financial matters about their American customers or face huge penalties.
These country-to-country agreements are in effect treaties but ones that no U.S. department or agency bothered to seek the U.S. Senate’s advice on or approval for, he plans to argue.
..”….
Thanks for this, badger. Fast media coverage of this, so soon after we heard of Republicans Overseas launching a challenge. I sent this on to MPs Murray Rankin, Nathan Cullen and Scott Brison.
Great start to the week on the political front, no?
awesome, that’s great news that we are finally getting some heavy hitters on our side like.
McCain should go back to his hotel room (in Hanoi) and leave us alone.
@NorthernShrike
What grounds you ask…?
Mr. Bopp told The Times that he plans to attack the act on three legal grounds: that it violates the Senate’s sole possession of foreign treaty power, the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel or unusual punishment and the 14th Amendment’s personal privacy guarantee.
I would say that the USS FATCA has hit an iceberg and is about to start sinking in the cold north Atlantic.
I assume the Washington Times reference lawyer is in cahoots with the Hong Kong lawyer.
Can’t you see the pincer movement? The Charter Challenge in the North and the Republican Overseas in the South.
Plus in Canada you have the opposition parties prying it out of the omnibus bill.
@George, I have posted Just Me’s article together with your comment as a separate thread.
Back in May 2014 Michael DeSombre of Republicans Overseas (RO) told us that RO would be launching a FATCA lawsuit.in the United States.
Today (about eight months later) Mr. DeSombre told me that the $250,000 needed to initiate the lawsuit has been raised and that RO is now selecting Plaintiffs. Their website (which is needed) should be up in perhaps six weeks or so.
What this means is that a group of individuals “affiliated” with one of the United States political parties will initiate a lawsuit on our behalf.
There probably is the assumption that RO is made up of full-time staff. This is not correct. RO, just like our Canadian ADCS-ADSC, is made up of a small number of committed people who have “real” jobs and just volunteer their time.
@STEPHEN KISH
Nice to know.
But in that new report by Nina Olson (TAS) she says that the penalties are basically unconstitutional – doesn’t she? Or something along those lines?
AH found it: “Treasury Department Officials testified that a less severe civil penalty would be easier to assert and less likely to VIOLATE THE U.S. CONSTITUTION.”
Sounds to me like people might be thinking more about this aspect, lately?
Thanks for the update, Stephen. Now the search for plaintiffs. I hear Switzerland’s covered,
@Polly,
The U.S. FATCA lawsuit IS a positive development.
My own opinion is that citizenship-based taxation itself should be dismantled using two different approaches: legislation that will in future (we hope) be introduced by the Republicans, and by a lawsuit which can be initiated much earlier. ADCS is very seriously looking into the logistics of a CBT lawsuit that we would organize.
@Stephen Kish, it appears that you have the multiple attack mindset to bring the most weight from multiple assaults.
Or…..you are attempting to stress CBT to such an extent that it has its own “nervous breakdown.”
Either way, the best defense is a good offense and it is good to be on the offense once again.
Thanks for all you’re doing on our behalf and keeping us all in the loop, Stephen!!!!!!!
RO is like a small fragmented band of part-time guerilla’s with its individual chapters spread among several different countries.
DA is highly organized and directed from Washington, it behaves like some kind of “dictatorship of the proletariat.” Any dissent, especially anything critical about FATCA or Obama, is quickly snuffed out. Perhaps DP rather than DA would be a more appropriate name.
@SamuelAdams
That might be true but Obama is getting it from all sides now. Yahoo had a clip of an Orrin Hatch interview and what he has to say about the presidency and Obama was scathing. I think with a majority of republicans this year- the protection of Obama might the over?
@Anne: I agree completely with Pacifica. When I became a Canadian citizen in 1973, the US Consulate was very firm, clear and direct (almost hostile). I was “permanently and irrevocably” relilnquishing US citizenship. My 1973 Canadian citizenship oath contained a clause renouncing any other citizenship.
Taxes had nothing to do with it. I wanted to be Canadian and only Canadian. I still consider myself Canadian and only Canadian. To me, dual or multi-citizenship is like a bigamous or polygamous marriage.
I don’t want want to be faithful to more than one spouse. I don’t want my ex-spouse stalking me. Most of all, I don’t want my current spouse to whom I have been faithful for four decades be be playing around and cheating on me with my ex-spouse. They have both betrayed me.
@Anne: We were posting at the same time.
The US used to punish anyone who became a citizen of another country by stripping us of American citizenship. Now they punish us by trying to force US citizenship on us–even retroactive to four decades ago.
Even Eritrea makes it easy to renounce Eritrean citizenship. More importantly, they don’t claim anyone born in Eritrea as Eritrean citizens.
http://www.multiplecitizenship.com/wscl/ws_ERITREA.html
Anne Frank, of course there is only one good reason for a dual to give up their USness but what good does it do anyone to admit it. Canadians don’t get it and Americans clearly don’t get it, which leaves duals stuck between rocks and a hard place.
In a increasingly multicultural world, we seem to be back-stepping because citizenship as a state of being is antique. Citizenship is a spiritual thing not a legal contract.
But I blame the USG too for the lack of transparency. They are not honest about what CBT is. It came to being as a way to punish and has only been sporadically enforced for reasons that are mostly punitive. It has never been about anything more thant money at its most bottom line regardless.
Would I prefer to stay a dual? At one time I would have said yes, but now, I wish I could just easily walk away and pretend I was never an American in the first place. I am not bitter. It is what it is. But I am ready to be done.
The US gave up all pretense a long time ago. Now it is out in the open and blatant. They are cash hungry and spending crazy.
They intend NO brakes on their spending and are looking around like a drunk on Saturday night for every bit they can find from wherever they can find it and intend to take it. The pretense under FATCA is US Persons, whoever they are. And they will be whoever IRS says they are.
This is just the foot in the door. First US Persons then it will be ALL Persons. Borders are meant to be nothing. Anything goes to prop up the petro dollar . Russia and China are putting an end to the petro dollar with their recent agreement. Buying and selling oil and gas using Yuan and Rubles, gold backed. They have formed BRIC which will rival and ruin the US economy and the US and West is doing all they can to stop it. Ukraine is key.
I think they will not stop until they have caused a war in order to protect the petro dollar. Canada is under attack on a financial scale not realized by our government and the sooner they open their eyes to the threat the better.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/may/5/superlawyer-jim-bopp-takes-on-mccain-backed-tax-ac/
‘Superlawyer Jim Bopp takes on McCain-backed tax act that targets Americans overseas’
..”The people who see themselves as victims of the tax compliance act — Americans overseas — say the law leaves them unable to establish retirement and savings accounts, acquire mortgage loans and avail themselves of other modern banking services.
As a result, thousands of Americans are, in frustration, reluctantly renouncing their U.S. citizenship as the only way to escape two consequences: double taxation, once by the host country and again by the Internal Revenue Service; and having their privacy violated by the law’s requirement that foreign banks provide information on U.S. customers overseas that domestic banks do not.
Mr. Bopp told The Times that he plans to attack the act on three legal grounds: that it violates the Senate’s sole possession of foreign treaty power, the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel or unusual punishment and the 14th Amendment’s personal privacy guarantee.”…
…..”Some research convinced Mr. Bopp that the act violates the treaty powers that the Constitution grants members of the U.S. Senate. The U.S. government has forged agreements with foreign governments to have their banks reveal all financial matters about their American customers or face huge penalties.
These country-to-country agreements are in effect treaties but ones that no U.S. department or agency bothered to seek the U.S. Senate’s advice on or approval for, he plans to argue.
..”….
Thanks for this, badger. Fast media coverage of this, so soon after we heard of Republicans Overseas launching a challenge. I sent this on to MPs Murray Rankin, Nathan Cullen and Scott Brison.
Great start to the week on the political front, no?
awesome, that’s great news that we are finally getting some heavy hitters on our side like.
McCain should go back to his hotel room (in Hanoi) and leave us alone.
@NorthernShrike
What grounds you ask…?
Mr. Bopp told The Times that he plans to attack the act on three legal grounds: that it violates the Senate’s sole possession of foreign treaty power, the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel or unusual punishment and the 14th Amendment’s personal privacy guarantee.
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/may/5/superlawyer-jim-bopp-takes-on-mccain-backed-tax-ac/#ixzz30uZESpud
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
I would say that the USS FATCA has hit an iceberg and is about to start sinking in the cold north Atlantic.
I assume the Washington Times reference lawyer is in cahoots with the Hong Kong lawyer.
Can’t you see the pincer movement? The Charter Challenge in the North and the Republican Overseas in the South.
Plus in Canada you have the opposition parties prying it out of the omnibus bill.
@George, I have posted Just Me’s article together with your comment as a separate thread.
Back in May 2014 Michael DeSombre of Republicans Overseas (RO) told us that RO would be launching a FATCA lawsuit.in the United States.
Today (about eight months later) Mr. DeSombre told me that the $250,000 needed to initiate the lawsuit has been raised and that RO is now selecting Plaintiffs. Their website (which is needed) should be up in perhaps six weeks or so.
What this means is that a group of individuals “affiliated” with one of the United States political parties will initiate a lawsuit on our behalf.
There probably is the assumption that RO is made up of full-time staff. This is not correct. RO, just like our Canadian ADCS-ADSC, is made up of a small number of committed people who have “real” jobs and just volunteer their time.
@STEPHEN KISH
Nice to know.
But in that new report by Nina Olson (TAS) she says that the penalties are basically unconstitutional – doesn’t she? Or something along those lines?
AH found it: “Treasury Department Officials testified that a less severe civil penalty would be easier to assert and less likely to VIOLATE THE U.S. CONSTITUTION.”
Sounds to me like people might be thinking more about this aspect, lately?
Thanks for the update, Stephen. Now the search for plaintiffs. I hear Switzerland’s covered,
@Polly,
The U.S. FATCA lawsuit IS a positive development.
My own opinion is that citizenship-based taxation itself should be dismantled using two different approaches: legislation that will in future (we hope) be introduced by the Republicans, and by a lawsuit which can be initiated much earlier. ADCS is very seriously looking into the logistics of a CBT lawsuit that we would organize.
@Stephen Kish, it appears that you have the multiple attack mindset to bring the most weight from multiple assaults.
Or…..you are attempting to stress CBT to such an extent that it has its own “nervous breakdown.”
Either way, the best defense is a good offense and it is good to be on the offense once again.
Thanks for all you’re doing on our behalf and keeping us all in the loop, Stephen!!!!!!!
RO is like a small fragmented band of part-time guerilla’s with its individual chapters spread among several different countries.
DA is highly organized and directed from Washington, it behaves like some kind of “dictatorship of the proletariat.” Any dissent, especially anything critical about FATCA or Obama, is quickly snuffed out. Perhaps DP rather than DA would be a more appropriate name.
@SamuelAdams
That might be true but Obama is getting it from all sides now. Yahoo had a clip of an Orrin Hatch interview and what he has to say about the presidency and Obama was scathing. I think with a majority of republicans this year- the protection of Obama might the over?
https://fbariswrong.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/my-boyfriends-an-american-should-i-dump-him/
Of course he’s referring to this
My Boyfriend’s an American, Should I Dump Him?