Straight from the donkey’s mouth:
THE GOOD – The IRS announced on June 18 that the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures (in place since late 2012 to help delinquent filers become tax compliant) would from 1 July be even more streamlined for non-filers who wish to become compliant. In his statement, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said, “We’re expanding the streamlined procedures to cover a much broader group of U.S. taxpayers we believe are out there who have failed to disclose their foreign accounts but who aren’t willfully evading their tax obligations. To encourage these taxpayers to come forward, we’re expanding the eligibility criteria, eliminating a cap on the amount of tax owed to qualify for the program, and doing away with a questionnaire that applicants were required to complete.” If you want to know more about the changes see the Special Report posted on the DA website.
THE BAD – Residence-based taxation will not replace citizenship-based taxation, no matter how hard other groups representing overseas Americans argue for it. Although it is baffling that the US is paired with Eritria as the only other citizen-based taxation regime, that’s where we are! And, FATCA will come to be – but read on to see what your DA FBAR/FATCA Task Force is working toward.
THE UGLY – A Senate controlled by the Republicans will NOT be able to repeal FATCA, no matter what they say. But a Republican Senate (and Republican House) can only make things worse for the nation and the world – and for us living and working around that world.
SO – What to do?
1. Vote in November. Please request and return your ballot so that we may keep the Senate in the hands of Democrats and perhaps even see Democrats take back the House. Go to www.votefromabroad.org!
2. If you haven’t already done so, please complete the DA FATCA Survey – and do it right away. The findings will strengthen our advocacy to Congressional committees (House Ways and Means, Senate Finance and the Joint Committee on Taxation) and to the regulators (IRS and Treasury) and persuade them FATCA needs to be reformed urgently.
Our position is that banking and other financial services provided to overseas Americans should be treated as local activities and therefore not subject to FATCA reporting. We are advocating that FATCA should be reformed to include an exemption for accounts in our countries of residence – a mechanism known as the same country exception. Read more about it on our website.
We have good reason to believe we will succeed. Your DA FBAR/FATCA Task Force, along with other overseas Americans groups, has already helped achieve the establishment of the initial Streamlined Financial Compliance Procedures, plus the enhancements announced last week, as well as helping to raise the FATCA reporting threshold for overseas Americans.
SO VOTE, COMPLETE THE SURVEY AND KEEP THE FAITH!
Democrats Abroad FBAR/FATCA Task Force
Joe Green – Canada
Stanley Grossman – UK
Maureen Harwood – Canada
Carmelan Polce (Chair) – Singapore
Joe Smallhoover – FranceContact us at any time with questions or comments on fatca@democratsabroad.org
Can someone post a like to those congressmen who voted for the HIRE ACT?
When Canadians start flipping the finger to the US, the only treaty modification will be for the Canadian government to hand them over.
No matter how much they try to deflect or side step the issue, Democrats Abroad supports the peculiar institution of CBT.
Democrats and Republicans alike support worldwide taxation of their citizens. How do I know This? The Republicans had a clear cut majority from 1994 until 2006 and six years of that they had both houses and the presidency and they didn’t reduce the size of government, they didn’t repeal any of the Tax code that they knew was impossile to comply with.
This session I wrote to my congressman and the letter I got back said if the FairTax bill was reintroduced he’d consider support and cosponsor it. He didn’t know or pretended to not know about the FairTax bill that has been itroduced every year since 1999. Seventy five congressmen have signed on a cosponsors of HR25, the largest number of cosponsors of any bill ever and the committee responsible for holding hearings on Tax Legislation has never recognized its existance. Why??? Well it is because they get large campaign contributons to leave the 77,000 page bill in effect and amend it 4 times a day since 1986 to favor a large contributor. That’s 8000 checks to help encumbents get re elected 95% of the time when their over all favorablity was only 9%. What a shame! Collect contributions and and spend shamelessly the taxpayers money, and runnig up debt to the point we will collapse from it and they still fiddle whilst Rome burns and they don’t care.
Only the Tea Party faction of the Republicans (Rand Paul et al) gives a darn about expats. The rest of the Homelanders couldn’t care less.
Some more of the “ugly”:
http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2014/09/15/democrats-abroad-publishes-fatca-research-fatca-affecting-everyday-americans-every-day/comment-page-7/#comment-4438427
https://www.democratsabroad.org/group/fbarfatca/november-2014-update-fatca-goes-global