As submitted by two Brock commenters. Our thanks to them …
and, once again, to Senator Rand Paul.
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This story is confirmed on Senator Rand’s website.
Mar 4, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Rand Paul today reintroduced S.663, a bill to repeal certain provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and put an end to a defective bill that does not accomplish its objective of ending tax evasion.
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“FATCA is in complete violation of every Americans’ constitutional right to privacy and adds burdensome regulations that negatively impact our economy. It is a defective law which disregards the mutual respect of sovereignty among nations and drains money from the federal treasury, on top of discouraging overseas investment in the United States. My bill will reverse the negative aspects FATCA has on the economy, prevent the government from bulk collecting U.S. Citizen’s financial data, and preserve the constitutional rights for all Americans,” Sen. Paul said.
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UPDATE: March 5, 2015
AARO team met Wednesday with Senator Wicker (R-MS) who will co-sponsor Senator Paul’s “Repeal #FATCA” bill.
@Atticus
Have you seen the documentary “Citizenfour” yet? In it, Snowden says that with all the surveillance, America becomes a country of the “ruling and the ruled instead of the elected and the electors”. And those who rule are in it for the ruling, and not for the people, is what I have understood to be happening. American politicians dont represent the people anymore. They represent their own personal income.
The absurdity of CBT explained in full and how it badly damages the US economy by executive sales director : http://waysandmeans.house.gov/uploa…/conklin_wg_comments.pdf
https://americansabroad.org/download_file/view/700/1/
Someone had mentioned before all the overseas IRS offices were closing, here’s a link from the ACA website with a PDF confirming that it’s going to happen.
Interestingly enough one of the reasons given was ‘security’ as well as budget considerations. What’s the IRS afraid of? Are they concerned an American ex-pat may take out their FATCA frustrations out on an IRS overseas office someday?
People don’t care. They are obsessed with their lifestyle, lusciousness is reaching critical levels. Snowden or Chelsea Manning is just another lost cause, because of the lack of interest. Food blogs are more popular and receive more daily hits than stories about Western terrorism. Or would it be possible for Chomsky to still be in the underground, after all he had done? Heck, he should be our president. And yet we have our beloved Kim in charge of daily popularity charts.
Despicable and that person should have been reported. It reminds me of one commenter on the CBC news story about my family’s situation — glaringly in contrast to all the supportive over 2,000 comments — that I had somehow come to Canada because I wanted to have Canada look after my *disabled* son. I haven’t found that the norm before or since, although decidedly some may feel that way.
From Sen Rand Paul’s March 6, 2015 newsletter:
Dr. Rand Paul Introduces Bill to Repeal Ant-Privacy Provisions in FATCA
On Wednesday, I reintroduced S.663, a bill to repeal the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA is a law requiring every foreign bank to excessively monitor and report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the bank accounts of every American residing overseas – or risk severe punishment. Not only is this requirement a privacy concern of American citizens, it’s a costly burden on the banks. As a result, the private data of American accounts is forfeited and foreign banks have approached the onus of this law by shutting their doors to U.S. Citizens, leading to a hardship for millions of citizens working abroad.
I really have to smile when I read the conflicted thoughts of many who were multi-generational Democrats…I was one once myself but gave up on them after Jimmy Carter. I don’t need to hold my nose while commending Rand Paul. I just look at the small men of the Democrat party who brought this Hell into our lives: Max Baucus, Charles Rangel,Carl Levin, Charles Schumer, Harry Reid, Barack Obama, Joe Biden etc.,etc.Give me Rand Paul any day.
@Don. I suspect that the IRS is fearful that their US Person employees will get FATCAd themselves and their financial data will get leaked to evil doers worldwide … ISIS comes to mind as one such and Boko Haram as another.
@Polly, yes I saw Citizen Four when it was first released and broke my rule of never watching the Oscars because it was nominated. Furthermore, raised a glass and cheered when Ms. Poitras won!! I urge everyone who has not seen Citizen Four to go and see it.
All along I have said that this entire FATCA thing is dangerous precisely because banking information gathered up in the same way they are gathering online posts, email information and phone records is far more open to misuse. I do not understand what is so hard to get about that for some people. The very same people crying out that they do not want the NSA spying on their every interaction in life have said very little about the mass gathering of banking records. Get real out there, this information for the majority is just more data that can and will be misused!
@Lake Superior Guy, I don’t have conflicted thoughts. I’m a liberal died in the wool and don’t particularly support the democrats because they are not at all what they once were. Any conflict I have about Rand Paul is because I am not a libratarian at all and don’t care for the Ayn Rand belief system in general which it seems a lot who believe in libratarianism do.
It’s simply a matter of right and wrong, Rand Paul is right about this. Not a single one of these parties would have my full support these days as they are all run by the same engine and the same money. All the fighting is simply a clown car circus and political posturing for the masses. At the end of the day they all go home and slap each other on the back. I don’t really find a conflict of my values amusing though but, I don’t find much amusing about this situation all around.
@Lake Superior Guy: I second what AtticusInCanada said. There is nothing at all amusing about the twisted feeling in my gut, in which I feel forced to set aside all my deeply-held beliefs, all my hopes to, in my small way, influence the making of a better world, in order to defend myself against one narrow yet insidious set of actions by my country of birth. CBT, FBARs, and especially FATCA, have backed me into a corner to see myself as belonging only to a very tiny nationality–US citizens living abroad. I don’t have a second citizenship, and it will be damn hard or prohibitively expensive for me to obtain one.
The whole issue for me is very painful. As “small” as you say current-day Democrats are–and I agree with you to a great extent–this isn’t about them; they may be a sad choice for leadership, but in the wider picture, I believe the alternatives (including Rand Paul) are toxic for America and especially for the world. To set aside all my other principles and pledge my support to the lone voice who represents my interests on this important yet (let’s face it) fringe issue (to most people), is not something worthy of amusement. So when I pledge my vote to Rand Paul, weep along with me, don’t smile at me.
My “smile” was not denigrating but more of a wistful reminiscence. My grandmother and Dad practically worshipped Franklin Roosevelt. I was steeped in Democrat thinking until Reagan persuaded me otherwise. Bill Clinton’s lying, predatory ways toward women sealed the deal. I do believe George W. Bush was lacklustre, so I am not dyed in the wool at all. By the way, Ayn Rand was a cold-hearted writer. She would not approve of Rand Paul’s charity work…for her a sign of weakness or futility, I don’t know which. I’ll still take Rand Paul over any current star of the left. They will defend FATCA to the death because it fits their narrative of rich tax cheats which we all are:-)
I am so glad Sen. Paul has taken this action. Now, with a Republican Congress, perhaps there is real hope for a repeal.
Hmmm. If it is repealed I wonder if all those 110 countries who have signed IGAs and all those banks around the world who have spent millions of dollars on this nonsense will all be wanting reparations. That oughta be fun!
Well, we all come from very different backgrounds in a lot of cases. Many presidents cheated on their wives, many good presidents did indeed do that and I believe the main prosecutor of Clinton was cheating on his wife at the time. There’s a big long list of Presidents who were cheaters. I don’t really care about that stuff and take a much more European attitude to it. It’s not really good for the country to drag that all out into a circus and traditionally hasn’t been done except once. Didn’t like Reagan at all. My grandmothers’ life and that of her neighbors got awful when he was potus with people carrying signs near her house saying “Will Work For Food”
The dems have changed. They didn’t want anymore of those dirty unwashed working class dems as the core of their party anymore. It has become elitist. They SAY they stand for the working class but, you won’t catch them actually associating with anyone so ill informed about wines and lattes.
In fact I’ve preferred every dem potus againt their counterparts nearly all my life except wasn’t crazy about Carter and I never did like Obama from the get go. I had my reasons mostly to do with who I knew in Chicago and how he was using others work and taking all the glory. That was before FATCA. Now, I well…absolutely do not like that man one little bit. In fact, I’d say I’m pretty much done having any faith in any politician whatsoever. Especially those in the U.S.
This issue has brought up for me the fact that all they want is to position themselves for legacy, party power and to keep their jobs, they care not one wit for right and wrong. It’s all a side show and back in D.C. they are besties behind closed doors while ranting and raving up their base in public. Done and done with it.
What’s interesting here with FATCA is that the U.S. never did really have CBT as a practice. It doesn’t work and now they are trying to force it to work after having never really practiced it. Other nations don’t practice it for many reasons, it’s inhumane, it is logicistically insane since it probably costs more than it brings in, and it’s just unworkable. Yet as Chruchill said, the U.S. does the right thing after they try everything else. Too bad a lot of people will get harmed in the process and they’ll never admit they were wrong at all.
As I say, Atticus, CBT has only worked because no one knew about it. Knowledge of it will only result in more people declaring independence from the US (renouncing).
Does anyone know when James Bopp is going to file the lawsuit against FATCA?
It’s time for americans to do the French revolution of 1789. But, are americans as courageous as the french, I doubt it.
Steven says
March 9, 2015 at 6:25 pm
“It’s time for americans to do the French revolution of 1789. But, are americans as courageous as the french, I doubt it.”
Let’s compare time frames to time frames, shall we?
The two most influential revolutions in the eighteenth century were The American Revolution and The French Revolution.
The American Revolution resulted in a country based on a Constitution and the concept that all men are created equal, as well as The Bill of Rights as their founding documents and ideology confirm.
Those founding fathers and the attendant documents had served the country for over one hundred years, the abuse of which brought on the Civil War, from which many rights were withdrawn, suspended, extinguished and generally trampled on for millions. That the outcome resulted in a unified nation cannot be dismissed. That it cost the country enormously in lives lost and rights trampled in the name of restoring rights cannot be denied. The assassination of a President and the long years of reconstruction did not heal all wounds. Though it could be said that the Country was intact as was the Constitution, depending on the personal perspective of those living at the time. Many who were considered heroes were in fact villains and many deemed villains were in fact heroes. Still, the country remained whole and expanded. Until 1913 one could reasonably say the country as founded largely continued to exist. Since 1913 the slide into what we witness today has been inexorable and continuous.The opportunity to right things for all Americans was snuffed out with the murders of JFK, RFK and MLK. Since then the country has been at war both overseas and domestically. Today the war continues but this time the stakes are the nation’s very survival.
The French Revolution , for all the good reasons from which people drew their reasoning for their revolution, devolved into public displays of beheadings for those in whom the new authority found deficiencies, for any reason whatsoever, with mock trials and immediate sentencing and public executions.
I hardly think that is any way to run a revolution.
However, the one coming may pale that example into oblivion.
And it should be noted that those behind both conflicts continue today to rule from the shadows.
Rand Paul explains the difference between himself and Ted Cruz
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/03/24/watch-rand-paul-explains-the-difference-between-himself-and-ted-cruz/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Firewire&utm_campaign=Firewire%20-%20HORIZON%203-24-15%20Build-TUES