Media and Blog Articles Open for Comments – Part 5 of 11 (Year 2018)

1,714 thoughts on “Media and Blog Articles Open for Comments – Part 5 of 11 (Year 2018)”

1. Plaxy: that’s a great article, on the acquittal of Stefan Buck in November 2017. American homelanders evading the IRS in Switzerland are the foundation of FATCA, and thus of most of our troubles (even though CBT and reporting of foreign accounts were already there). It is nevertheless good news that the banker was acquitted in a refreshing admission by the justice system that US laws do not apply abroad.

2. Fred – “good news that the banker was acquitted in a refreshing admission by the justice system that US laws do not apply abroad.”

   Yes I was very cheered. It sends a clear message to the US Treasury/IRS: even their own courts won’t support their attempt to criminalize law-abiding residents of other countries.

   It’s interesting to note that Buck could have ignored the US indictment; instead, he risked his neck by going to America to stand up in court and tell them they were prosecuting the wrong person. And the US court agreed. He’s done us all a service. Three cheers, Stefan Buck.

3. “American homelanders evading the IRS in Switzerland are the foundation of FATCA, and thus of most of our troubles”

   According to Byrnes, the seed that grew into FATCA was planted in 1999-2003, with John Doe summonses on credit card companies. Might never have turned into the current worldwide oppression, of course, without other factors such as the Swiss scandal, plus most disastrously the hell-paving good intentions of the only honest occupant of the White House in the past fifty years.

4. Here’s the NBC story where the birth hotel story originated. Opportunity to contact the reporters.

   https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/birth-tourism-brings-russian-baby-boom-miami-n836121

5. Plaxy: “the hell-paving good intentions of the only honest occupant of the White House in the past fifty years.” I like-that. Honest, or at least decent and thoughtful. I suppose he doesn’t even imagine how FATCA would’ve made his mom’s life in Indonesia quite more difficult.

6. I love that Birth Tourism trend. Hype it up and let Trumpers have a field day … and maybe stumble on a solution for accidentals along the way. Or wait 20 years till tens of thousands of Chinese and Russians tell the IRS to go to hell. Fun. Either way though, won’t change anything for now, alas.

7. “More than half the foreign financial institutions on the IRS FATCA reporting list come from just six countries.”

   (Cayman Islands, UK, Brazil, Japan, Luxembourg, British Virgin Islands, and Canada)

   http://www.iexpats.com/fatca-list-october-2-2017/amp/

8. Hmmm…I make that seven?

9. Pressure to have kids become US citizens by consulate in Montreal
   https://www.reddit.com/r/expats/comments/7py4xp/pressure_to_have_kids_become_us_citizens_by/

   American living in Montreal, Canadian wife, trying to get ITINs for his kids

10. @Eric

    I can’t be arsed to sign up on Reddit, but someone needs to tell them the following:

    In the view of the US government (though not everyone here) the children are US citizens already. It’s not something the parents decide to apply for. It’s not optional. So following that logic, the consular employees are acting correctly in not wanting to issue ITINs, because the kids are citizens.

    If this person doesn’t want the US to hassle his kids, don’t use them to claim a deduction! Wanker… Don’t ever mention them. (And stop filing US tax returns while you’re at it.)

11. Millions of Americans have moved overseas — and it’s not because the U.S. is a ‘shithole’
    By Philip Bump January 12 at 3:59 PM
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/01/12/millions-of-americans-have-moved-overseas-and-its-not-because-the-u-s-is-a-shithole/?__twitter_impression=true&tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.6aa1e2bb7e7e

    Interesting twist of events that also highlights why people have ended up overseas. I believe helpful to our cause. Comments open.

12. @JC

    That WAPO article deserves its own post. I wonder if Marylouise Serrato of ACA mentioned anything about CBT, and they just chose not to mention it because it doesn’t fit the narrative.

    Yes, the article I helpful in that there are many natural reasons why someone would want to leave the US, none of which involve being a tax evading, unpatriotic quitter!

13. The article made no effort to distinguish between – let alone provide numbers for – “expats” versus dual citizens and accidentals. That is an important distinction.

14. But why do people feel they have to justify leaving the US?

    I doubt very much if anybody in America cares where I choose to live – just as I don’t care where they choose to live.

15. “…being a tax evading, unpatriotic quitter”

    A non-US-tax-paying, non-US-patriotic quitter of the US?

    That’s me to a T. And?

16. The IRS attempting to use FATCA to try and get around SOL.

    http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2018/01/lesson-from-the-tax-court-reporting-income-v-reporting-information.html

    “…In 2010 Congress enacted the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (HIRE), 124 Stat. 71. Subtitle A of HIRE (§501 et. seq.) implemented what had been a separate bill called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA requires many individuals to report their foreign financial assets under certain circumstances. Violation of the reporting requirements carries several consequences, including monetary penalties and an extension of the limitation period for the IRS to audit a return. That’s the issue in last week’s case of Mehrdad Rafizadeh v. Commissioner, 150 T.C. No. 1 (January 2, 2018). In Rafizadeh, the IRS seemed to try and use that latter consequence to crack open otherwise closed years. At least that is what the Tax Court appears to believe. The sticking point was that the years at issue were years before the FATCA reporting requirements took effect. See below the fold for why the IRS thought that the FATCA provisions extending the limitation period applied, and why the Tax Court held otherwise………”

17. Treasury again extends exemption for a certain class of individuals from FBAR reporting – as below (but continues to refuse to do so for individuals with legal local accounts, or to raise the ridiculously low aggregate $10.000. USD threshold, or to exempt non-personal non-beneficial accounts belonging to employers, etc.);
    “….
    On 22 December 2017, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN),
    a bureau of the United States (US) Department of the Treasury, issued
    Notice 2017-1, which further extends the filing deadline for certain individuals
    who previously qualified for an extension of time for certain persons to file a
    Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) with respect to signature
    authority over foreign financial accounts. This Notice is only relevant for reports
    of: (i) certain officers and employees of publicly traded or widely held companies
    with signature authority over foreign financial accounts held by group members;
    and (ii) employees of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)-registered
    investment advisors with signature authority over foreign financial accounts
    owned by customers that are not regulated investment companies, such as
    hedge funds, venture capital funds and private equity funds. ….”….

    http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/US_Treasury_grants_yet_another_extension_of_time_for_reporting_signature_authority_(FBAR,_Form_114)_over_certain_foreign_financial_accounts/$FILE/2018G_00177-181Gbl_US%20reporting%20signature%20authority%20over%20certain%20foreign%20financial%20accounts.pdf but refuses to change anything for individuals with legal local accounts , including the ridiculously low reporting threshold.

18. Schumer wants the IRS to give his constituents a break. Unfair. Lack of clarity.

    “New York taxpayers are confused about this hastily written tax law and need clarity, consistent with the law, on provisions that may cause them to see a tax hike.”

    http://buffalonews.com/2018/01/15/schumer-asks-irs-to-give-break-to-all-ny-taxpayers-who-pre-paid-property-taxes/

19. Tax reform’s hidden revenue raiser, tax bracket creep:

    https://www.taxconnections.com/taxblog/the-stealthy-increase-in-the-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-of-2017/

20. Meghan Markle & Prince Harry Filing Taxes Separately? Here’s Why
    Robert W. Wood ,
    NOV 30, 2017 @ 08:58 AM
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2017/11/30/meghan-markle-prince-harry-filing-taxes-separately-heres-why/#4de14e6f6fce

    It appears Forbes is no longer accepting comments.

    Please RT / Like:
    https://twitter.com/ExpatriationLaw/status/953508487270551552

21. The Netherlands expels Eritrea’s top diplomat over ‘diaspora tax’ enforcement
    Date 17.01.2018
    http://www.dw.com/en/the-netherlands-expels-eritreas-top-diplomat-over-diaspora-tax-enforcement/a-42194920

    Please RT/Like:
    https://twitter.com/JCDoubleTaxed/status/953768339087568896

22. Grover Norquist strikes again:

    American expats are left high and dry by Trump’s tax reform. Uncle Sam needs to stop penalizing Americans and U.S. green card holders living abroad.

    U.S. citizens who live and work abroad are some of the country’s most important unofficial ambassadors. They play an important part in shaping how their international coworkers, friends and family members view the U.S. and American values. President Trump, Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Leader Mitch McConnell and other members of Congress would do well to use the next tax bill as an opportunity end the double taxation of U.S. citizens abroad.

23. @Barbara
    The new tone in the White House created by Trump is : We dont care what the rest of the world thinks of us. We are the biggest and the best and we dont need anybody else.

24. Re: Grover Norquist article.

    Please retweet and like:

    https://twitter.com/JCDoubleTaxed/status/953911952316645376

25. JC – good find. “Dutch Foreign Minister Halbe Zijlstra said the actions aimed at sending a ‘powerful signal’ to the Eritrean government that it must end its illegal policy of enforcing a tax on Eritrean expatriates”. Although I’m sure Eritrea considers it legal. Maybe it should try to sign an IGA…

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