Posted by Barbara on the Media thread. Cross-posted from there.
UPDATE: Emailed letters will be delivered to the White House on OCTOBER 2. Deadline for sending emails is SEPTEMBER 30!!!
Write your letters, people!!
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YOU MUST ACT NOW!! NO EXCUSES!! PLEASE SHARE WITH ALL FELLOW AMERICANS OVERSEAS (regardless of party affiliation or non-affiliation) & ACCIDENTAL AMERICANS!! If you do nothing, nothing will change!!
We need your help. The Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee are working on tax reform, and we need to get overseas Americans’ voices heard. We have not had tax reform for 31 years, and if we miss our window now, we will not see another chance for 20 more years.
At the initiative of Republicans Overseas, the RNC recently adopted a White House approved resolution supporting the change from citizenship based taxation (CBT) to residence based taxation via RO’s proposed Territorial Taxation for Individuals (TTFI). We have champions and sponsors in both the House and the Senate. We have found tax loopholes that TTFI would close, thereby making TTFI revenue positive. The ingredients for success are lined up–but we’re missing one: the massed voices of ordinary overseas Americans.
What we need now is for our representatives to hear from as many overseas Americans as we can gather. We believe that the vast majority of overseas Americans support the inclusion of TTFI to the tax reform package, and we need to hear from thousands of them. We want to collect as many letters supporting TTFI and tax reform as we possibly can, which Solomon Yue will then present to the White House.
Can you please support our initiative by writing a letter to President Trump and copying your Congressman and Senator.
Here’s how it will work:
1) RO is providing a letter template along with an example which can be found here:
https://republicansoverseas.com/territorial-taxation-individuals/#sample-letters
We urge letter writers to share their own short stories, but also to link their letters to the themes outlined by the White House in their press release on tax reform by focusing on two points: \
(a) TTFI reduces the cost of hiring Americans working overseas, increases U.S. exports, and creates more American jobs within the U.S., and (b) it reduces tax preparation costs for overseas Americans. The sample letter already does this, but it is important to reiterate that we need to reinforce the White House’s points and link those points to individual situations.
2) The letters should be emailed to taxreform@republicansoverseas.com and copied to their local representative and Senators. Links to government databases providing this information can be found at
https://republicansoverseas.com/territorial-taxation-individuals/#contact-congress
3) Solomon Yue will print out the letters and take the physical package to the White House. Clearly, the more the better!
Thank you for your support! If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Kym Kettler-Paddock at kym.kettler-paddock@republicansoverseas.com.
Regards,
Michael DeSombre
Worldwide President, Republicans Overseas
EmBee – I think they probably asked for the email address (and the zip code) in order to solicit donations, and offered “Moderate” just to have a third option. American politicians…
@ plaxy
When I typed in “yes” after “Do you mind passing along your zipcode?” I got a red message saying that was invalid, so I gave them a zipcode. We don’t mind if the GOP clutters up the email box I gave. We never look at it, except to empty it now and then.
It does seem unlikely they’d require a zip code if they actually had any interest in what anyone outside the US might think about worldwide taxation.
The Democrats survey did a similar thing – asked me how long I intended to live “abroad.”
@ plaxy
Well it Is US tax reform so maybe they just don’t want foreigners contributing to the survey. Americans living overseas seems to be a difficult concept for many homelanders to grasp but there are, thankfully, some party members from both sides who get it so that’s encouraging.
It really is unbelievable that an organization, whose name suggests that they represent people who don’t live in the US, should require a US zipcode to complete their surveys! Like Heidi, I like Barbara’s method: just use the zip code for the White House!
Watcher: Thank you for the info about the previous TBT critiques. Much appreciated!
It’s pointless completing a survey to try to give a point of view from beyond the US borders, when the survey requires all submissions to be disguised as submissions from within the US.
Nice post card of points asking for Territorial Taxation for individuals.
https://twitter.com/SolomonYue/status/908585673153683456
Also click on the link for a petition for Territorial Taxation for individual:
https://republicansoverseas.com/territorial-taxation-individuals/#petition
@ plaxy
The location is disquised, yes. But the main thing is checking off the box which does relate to overseas concerns. Anyway do or not do. At least it’s not the kind of survey which nabs your email address before you can see the questions on the pages to follow.
USPS assigns zip codes to all countries of the world. Of course other countries don’t use USPS zip codes to make deliveries, but USPS sorting equipment uses them to help send mail to usually the right countries.
I thought USPS assigns 00408-0001 to all of Japan, but today learned that USPS uses 00409-0001 for Osaka. The corresponding 5-digit zip codes are 00408 and 00409.
There is a list of countries and regions in this web page:
http://www.triskelion-ltd.com/phil-pub.html
Scroll down the page to Appendix A.
First on the list, “AB” is Alberta, 00299. Canada, Ontario, and ON are also 00299.
Maybe the GOP used the same web site developers as the Social Security Administration. ssa.gov used to be unviewable from Japan. ssa.gov has some pages of contact information, including contact at the US embassy in Tokyo, and even those pages were unviewable by computers in Japan. But around 2 years ago I accidentally discovered that they started letting us view their site.
I don’t know if they blocked other countries.
@ Norman Diamond
Good to know that the USPS has made up zipcodes for foreign countries. Thanks.
I never knew the US assigned zip codes to other countries. Creepy as hell.
As for selecting political leanings on the DA poll (and others), I always choose “liberal” or whatever is farthest left in the American definition, to give the impression that opposing CBT and FATCA is not just a conservative/Republican notion. Let them think that kale-eating hippie kill-the-rich Occupy socialists also strongly see the wisdom in switching to RBT. Those definitions mean nothing anyway.
“Creepy as hell.”
Not really. Japan doesn’t use 00408 and 00409 for all of Japan, and the US doesn’t even try to force Japan to do so. USPS uses those codes for sorting within USPS before the mail gets on a plane or ship.
I may have missed something, but what were the reasons Republicans Overseas came up with TBT rather than RBT? Did they think it would be more revenue neutral?
Why do they think their plan is superior to the way the rest of the world works?
What about Delaware etc, are they going to make their investors pay tax in the US
How will this fly with Trump, let alone Congress?
@Heidi, all on a postcard here:
https://twitter.com/SolomonYue/status/908585673153683456
The made-up zip codes are just a matter of convenience – allowing the US system to function more smoothly. Like treating people who live in Canada, Switzerland, China or Japan as if they’re resident in D.C. It’s not intended as an insult, it’s just fitting in with the system. Like supplying an email address and a zip code and a political label, if that’s what the system demands. Working for the man.
American politicians don’t care about CBT or FATCA. They’re just doing what they always do – telling people that get hurt by the system that they’re going to fix it, just give them your votes and your money. They’re not actually going to do anything, and couldn’t even if they wanted to – any more than Donald Trump wants to or is able to drain the swamp of which he is completely a part and on which he is completely dependent.
@JC
But RBT would do the same without the problems that Watcher has pointed out.
TBT would mean that every tax treaty negotiated with the rest of the world over decades would be null and void. It could lead to double taxation of NRAs pension funds located in the US, social security benefits etc.
@Heidi: “What about Delaware etc, are they going to make their investors pay tax in the US?”
Exactly. FATCA effectively put all other tax havens effectively out of business and left the US as the only one remaining. It seems unthinkable that they would readily give up their prize now, having only so recently won it.
As for why RO went for the left-field TBT option rather than regular RBT… no idea. My guess would be to make it easier to sell on the basis of being revenue-positive — “See all those foreigners investing in the US? Why not dramatically raise their taxes? They don’t vote, and of course won’t mind at all about paying through the nose to access US markets. There is no chance at all that they will change their behaviours to avoid a huge increase US taxes. US markets are the best. USA, number one, USA, number one, [repeat chant until bored]…”.
Or maybe RO simply do not know the difference between TBT and RBT. Or perhaps they do know, but very much wish to ensure that they conflate the two as much as possible in the public mind so that nobody else can readily separate them. I’m beginning to wonder if this is actually the case, given that their use of terminology is incredibly imprecise, drifts about wildly in every press release and interview they come up with on the matter, and that they never emphasise the huge tax increase that their proposal really represents.
Shrug.
All US treaties contain the saving clause, which already allows the US to (claim to be able to) tax US citizens just as they please – provided they give relief for tax paid to the country of residence, if that country has the taxing rights.
Changing which country can tax which income would require renegotiation of the treaty. It can’t be done unilaterally. That would jeopardize the US right to tax foreign income of US residents.
@watcher
Yes, you are right, Mr Yue uses the terms interchangeably.
As usual, they don’t give a tinker’s cuss how other countries will perceive this. I hardly think my resident country will willingly give up its right to tax my US pension.
I see the US may now have a competitor to it’s tax haven status. Mr Boris Johnson has declared his intention of making the post Brexit Britain a ‘low tax’ juristriction.
“I hardly think my resident country will willingly give up its right to tax my US pension.”
Depending on numbers, it might be in “the other Contracting State”‘s interest to stop taxing its residents on US source pensions, and resume withholding on the pensions it pays to US residents. It’s much easier to collect via withholding.
Either way, the taxpayer is entitled to relief from double taxation.
@Plaxy
I cannot conceive that the US will have the time and inclination to renegotiate what could be hundreds of foreign tax treaties as well as deal with home tax reform. The existing treaty my country has with the US goes back to 1952!
If the taxpayer is entitled to relief from double taxation, then why is Australian superannuation being double taxed?
“I cannot conceive that the US will have the time and inclination to renegotiate what could be hundreds of foreign tax treaties as well as deal with home tax reform.”
They’re not going to move to RBT/TBT/whatever. Tax reform of any kind is looking doubtful. I’m just pointing out that the treaty provisions are the way they are because that’s the way the US wants them to be. The US is not likely to want to surrender its right to tax the other country’s pensions when paid to a US resident. That’s why they won’t start unilaterally taxing you on your US pension.
“If the taxpayer is entitled to relief from double taxation, then why is Australian superannuation being double taxed?”
From the link posted yesterday, and from other comments I’ve seen here and elsewhere, it seems there’s as yet no clear agreement on how Australian superannuation should be categorized. Once that’s determined, anyone who’s paid tax to both countries on the same income can set about claiming a refund – if need be raising it under the Mutual Agreement Procedures article.
Taxpayers have very few rights under the treaties. The rights that do exist, such as the right not to be double taxed on the same income, and the right to bring a complaint under the MAP article, should be used to the full.
Thank you everyone for filling out the letter and signing the petition!
Keith Redmond suggested that I see if I could answer any of the questions.
First of all, I don’t believe that Republicans Overseas is asking for a zip code: that is the Senator’s or Congressperson’s site. Unfortunately, they seem to do it to limit contact to genuine constituents, and this is a bit of a hassle for genuine constituents who currently live outside the US. Please use the zip code of your voting address, and if you genuinely don’t have one, then please just contact your Senator.
In terms of what RO is doing, the most important things are 1) Sign the petition;, 2) Write a letter and send it to taxreform@republicansoverseas.com and then 3) contact Congress and the Senate. I realize the latter is a two or three step process, but we really appreciate you taking the time to do it!
In terms of RBT vs. TTFI, we moved to TTFI to align it more closely with what is being proposed for corporations. We believed that it would be easier to explain the change to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee if it aligned with language already being used. If the US has TTFI for corporations, why not for individuals? We are aware of the potential issues with TTFI vs. RBT, but we strongly believe that getting a change away from CBT is worth it. However, please feel free to address that concern in your letters. It is a valid concern.
Thank you again for your support!