37 thoughts on “Comments invited for Draft 2016 Democrats Abroad Platform”

1. @George, re; “I believe the IGA was written to include the “reasonable explanation” was because requiring a CLN that must be paid for would have brought the house of cards tumbling down.”

   I think you are likely very right about that.

   And re the ‘reasonable explanation’ – any attempt at a determination by a FI as to whether a person is or isn’t a US taxable citizen person seems on very shaky foundations too – as they are not US tax or citizenship lawyers. It should not require US tax and immigration lawyers to determine whether a local resident of a country can bank and invest in their own country of residency and where they are frequently also citizens.

   For any country to agree to allow a foreign country (US) to invade and infest the domestic financial arrangements of local residents and citizens is insupportable.

   @Steven,
   I did it the long, expensive and stressful way – as directed by the US, but I am not going to ever judge anyone else’s path out of this quicksand. The situation the US has created is unethical and exploitive and unendurable for those who live outside it. If you abuse people, they will have no reason to voluntarily comply and every reason to do whatever they can to obtain a remedy if they have no other reasonable recourse.

2. I see there is a “Phil” imposter, lol, or another new Phil. I am the original Phil here so I will start going by Phil K. to avoid confusion. DA is a joke and shouldn’t be taken seriously.

3. Every person who has fallen victim to FATCA knows that FATCA was conceived, drafted and voted into law solely and exclusively by the Democrats. Not one Republican was part of its conception, drafting or voting into law. Obama signed it into law thereafter and we all know the rest of this tragic story. In spite of hundreds and hundreds of articles in the mainstream press, warning of the devastating consequences FATC would have and is having on the U.S. expat community, in spite of the Taxpayer Advocate herself warning of the devastating consequences that this law was having, in spite of numerous visits by various overseas American groups to Washington to meet with Presidential advisors, Democrats in Congress, Democrats in the Senate, the Secretary of the Treasury, key IRS executives, nothing was done. Not only nothing was done, they actually made it worse by increasing penalties, raising the fee to renounce by 422%, etc.

   I like many on this site was a life long Democrat, as nearly all of my extended family. Not anymore! We have done a family and friend chain letter mailing at least twenty or more times to inform them, and their friends, what the Democrats actually have done to one of a country’s most valuable assets, its expatriate community. Those people who understand and live in different cultures, speak many different languages and would be the perfect people to open export markets for U.S. goods and services. That is why so many contacts of mine, living in the U.S., will not vote Democrat. Not necessarily because of what FATCA does to expats, but because FATCA has destroyed the foot soldiers of the U.S. economy overseas and in a globalized world that is a disaster for the economy. So, no, I wouldn’t spend one minute contributing to the Democrats Abroad platform, but rather tell them in very clear terms that I will never associate myself with the Democrats again and will continue, to let people back in the US know exactly what the Democrats have done and how they have been unwilling to rectify their serious error. I can say with certainty that in my own extended family, I have received 31 pledges to vote in solidarity with me in this upcoming election and each has pledged to not vote for any Democrat candidate again until FATCA has been overturned by the Democrats themselves.

4. “Every person who has fallen victim to FATCA knows that FATCA was conceived, drafted and voted into law solely and exclusively by the Democrats.”

   I find that the only candidate that is genuinely asking questions about FATCA and actively fighting against it, is Rand Paul. Nobody else gives a shit. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats. Both are equally guilty of aiding and abetting the robbery of 8M+ expats and their families.

   It makes me utterly disgusted at both political parties and I can’t wait to see the United States flush themselves collectively down the toilet. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

5. The_Animal1970 said: “I can’t wait to see the United States flush themselves collectively down the toilet.”

   Hear hear. For this reason, my husband and I have come round to supporting Trump. Now that the contenders who might have helped us–Rand Paul and Marco Rubio (or so he claimed)–are out of the running, our voting strategy has shifted to supporting the candidate who is most likely to cause the entire US system to melt down. We really do feel that the USA has to completely fall apart and start all over again from scratch, not just regarding the tax system, but in countless other ways. To hell with that bullying, greedy, sanctimonious, hypocritical, homicidal, obese, brain dead nation.

6. @Kenneth
   Interesting to hear that you too have asked for support from family and friends in the USA by getting them to pledge to not vote Democrat because of the Democrats are, by far, the worst villains in the FATCA nightmare and for the economic damage it has caused and is causing, not to mention the thousands who are renouncing just to keep a bank account or enter into a business partnership. I have sent maybe 1,500 to 2,000 mails to every known family member, every known friend, every known acquaintance and to three large mailing lists from my friend, each with around 450 addresses and all in strong Democrat areas of the country. I send them articles and reports of what the Democrats have wrecked with their law. I was surprised at just how much sympathy I received. So far, I have 172 pledges to not vote Democrat in the upcoming election, all from former Democrats. What seems to upset them the most, even more than the devastation that FATCA has caused, is the ever increasing numbers who are renouncing their US citizenship. They understand what the reasons are and why people are forced to do it. I have informed them all of the big increase in the fee to renounce, which is vindictive, vicious and something worthy of Stalin’s Soviet Union.
   Yes, the Republicans haven’t done much to change this, but at least they have acknowledged the problem, voted to include it in their platform and have started a law suit. I agree that Trump is the only candidate who will cause the whole system there to melt down and that is, sadly, the only hope we have. Hillary Clinton is nothing but the status quo and will do nothing for the 8 million expats. The Democrats must pay for FATCA and I plan on sending several thousand more informative mailings out before election time to make as many people aware of what these people have done to hurt the expat community and in turn the economy of the USA.

7. Janet, I’m intrigued by your sending articles and reports to your family mailing list (do you have a package of these articles that you might share?). Of all my homeland relatives I’ve contacted, one has come around to supporting me (and even donated to the ADCS lawsuit), another expresses sympathy, and the vast majority absolutely refuse to even try to begin to understand. These latter are the ones who still ask me, after my living outside the USA for 30+ years, “So, when are you moving back home?”

   As for Facebook contacts, I’ve succeeded in losing some dear old friends, who now treat me like an angry, ranting nutjob, to the point where I’ve completely shut up. For me, I’ve come to the conclusion that the sacrifice of family and friends isn’t worth it. I’ll inform them when the blessed day comes that I’ve renounced US citizenship, and until them will simply comment on their cat and Hawaiian holiday photos.

   Your family and friends are obviously more intelligent and open-minded than mine.

8. @Barbara I 2nd everything. I sent that article in Forbes: Son, Why You Must Leave America Now. Not enough convincing in that. Homelanders find it unfathomable about thought of renouncing citizenship. So yes how did @Janet convince those 172 to pledge not to vote Democrat? We should maybe make this an IBS feature.

9. @Barbara

   I’ve also informed my Uncle and cousins about how bad US policy is for it’s own citizens.

   Very hard for them to understand as they have been working for the federal gouvernment all their lives…

   They came to visit us just after retiring (at the age of 70) in august 2014 (knew nothing yet about FATCA and CBT, got my FATCA letter from my bank in october 2014).

   I also have lost most of my old friends on Facebook, but now have many facebook friends sharing and knowing about this corporate new world financial mafia that began with the federal reserve in 1913.

   We were supposed to go and visit my uncle and aunt in 2017 but I told them I was never ever going back to the USA because of federal policies.

   I’ve also sent them many articles and the “America from freedom to fascism” link from You Tube.

   Recently, my uncle has expressed a will to vote for Trump.

   Slowly but surely, the whole world is finding out about the financial ponzi scheme of the IMF and people are gettint fed up.

   Now that the whole world economy is collapsing I just can’t wait to see the US dollar go down the drain.

   Buy silver and gold coins and hide them well or put them in a safebox service outside the US, they can’t steel them from you and it will save your financial situation.

   A recent article that sums up the situation pretty well : http://kingworldnews.com/alert-legend-warns-a-day-of-reckoning-is-coming-and-the-global-collapse-will-be-absolutely-terrifying/

   Take care everyone.

10. The problem here is that the USA and all those held in thrall by its misguided viewpoint of itself as “world savior” will do everything in their power to prop up United States financial markets. See the artificial strengthening of the US $ versus Canada’s $ which at a point not too long ago was higher. But through artificial stimulation by Buffett and his economist cronies, forced the rise of the US $. The US economy did not recover. The $ is artificially inflated back to its status as the standard currency because no-one in bed with the US Gov wants the United States to tank.

    What someone needs to do is to find the pin that will deflate the US economy to the point of irrecoverability.

11. If they give me the U.S. disease and restore U.S. citizenship would I have to take and become another tax slave?

12. @Bornabroad

    I believe you are new here, are you? If you are, welcome. Can you give us a little background on your situation?