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!!
——————————————————–
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
“My advice to US citizens living outside the US is, don’t help them out.”
Of course. That doesn’t mean they’re safe, it just means that’s the best they can do.
It means that as far as safety goes, they’re in the same position they were in before FATCA was created, when most US citizens living outside the US didn’t file US tax returns or FBARs, and never heard from the IRS.
Most US citizens living outside the US still don’t file US tax returns or FBARs, and never hear from the IRS.
In letters I believe we should REMIND them to remember their response to the submissions to the Finance Committee made YEARS ago. They are ALREADY aware thus THIS IS the time to FIX it. Just rereading those submissions(online) should be sufficient. They should NOT “pass the buck”
Section F. Overseas Americans
According to working group submissions, there are currently 7.6 million ? (9 million) American citizens living outside of the United States. Of the 347 submissions made to the international working group, nearly three-quarters dealt with the international taxation of individuals, mainly focusing on citizenship-based taxation, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), and the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR).
While the co-chairs were not able to produce a comprehensive plan to overhaul the taxation of individual Americans living overseas within the time-constraints placed on the working group, the co-chairs urge the Chairman and Ranking Member to carefully consider the concerns articulated in the submissions moving forward
As Keith Redmond points out in the WASHINGTON TIMES (the ball is rolling) / 5.7 million Americans who live and work abroad are registered and qualified to vote by absentee ballot. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/sep/21/how-to-stop-foreign-billionaires-from-gaming-the-u/