Media and Blog Articles – part 2 of 11 (Year 2015)

1,837 thoughts on “Media and Blog Articles – part 2 of 11 (Year 2015)”

1. Did Netanyahu ever appear on the Name and Shame List? I wonder if his Israeli bank has closed his account.
   http://mondoweiss.net/2015/08/netanyahu-president-citizen

2. @Em Bee
   The telegraph are not shackled to the US as I beleive they are owned by the Barclay brothers who are resident in Monaco, unlike the UK Times owned by Murdoch. Maybe that is why we are seeing coverage by some and not by others.

3. Two great new articles to add to the archive:

   1. http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/The-Cleveland-debate-Republican-resurgence-411729

   This is an article by Mark Zell, who is one of the seven plaintiffs in the James Bopp/Republicans Overseas FATCA lawsuit. Here are his post-debate comments related to FATCA:

   I attended the Cleveland debate as a guest of the Republican National Committee in my capacity as vice president of Republicans Overseas and as co-chairperson of Republicans Overseas Israel. At stake are the votes of nearly nine million Americans living abroad, including nearly 400,000 in Israel. In 2016 American expatriates registered in the “battleground” states may well be the key to the Oval Office.

   For most Americans overseas, the deciding question will be the parties’ stance on a controversial statute known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”). This law, strong-armed by Obama and his Democratic Congress in 2010, has wrought havoc with Americans living abroad everywhere. Individual Americans have been stigmatized by the banks and financial institutions.

   Our ability to conduct our personal and business affairs has been compromised, while foreign governments have been transformed into hand-maidens of the IRS.

   More importantly, our constitutional privacy rights have been trampled. FATCA requires Americans with assets abroad to disclose details of their private financial affairs in a manner that would positively shock our countrymen Stateside. Unless something is done, foreign governments including Israel will start turning over this information to the IRS on October 1. That is why Senator Rand Paul and five other plaintiffs, including myself, have filed suit in federal court to block enforcement of FATCA on the grounds it violates the United States Constitution – a ruling on the preliminary injunction is due before September 30. That is why legislation inspired by Republicans Overseas is being introduced in Congress to repeal FATCA.

   From all reports the fight against FATCA is prompting Americans abroad who have supported the Democrats in the past to switch to the GOP, which has pledged to abolish FATCA. In Israel support for the GOP runs high because of the Obama administration’s policies concerning Israel, the Middle East and the world at large.

   FATCA is yet another reason for Americans living in Israel and elsewhere to want a Republican in the White House on January 20, 2017. And that is why the race for the White House that began in Cleveland last week is more important for voters overseas than ever.

   The author is a practicing international lawyer in Israel and the United States. He is co-chairperson of Republican Overseas/ Abroad Israel and vice president of Republicans Overseas.

   2. http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/70886/wild-coot-frying-pan

   A great opinion piece by “The Wild Coot” Harry Russell in NationNews Barbados. I left a comment but it was still in moderation.

   Here’s a sample:

   Will our esteemed politicians pass legislation that is iniquitous to our people? Let’s see who will vote yes or who will stand for democracy in the face of the “most democratic nation” in the world. Should not our Central Bank be prepared to defend our banks? Or can it? The silence is deafening.

   Just suppose that we had the guts to say to the US. “Normally a country would in a friendly way request another country (although it may be small) to help in its efforts to get citizens to pay taxes.” Not the US. Like a king whose domain is the whole world, or like the pope sending out an encyclical, the word goes forth that every nation should comply or else. King Herod of old method was to kill every newborn male child. Ronald Reagan’s remedy was to invade Grenada, for Cuba it was isolation and blockade for 50 years.

4. @Heidi
   He was an MP for South Shields until 15 April 2013, so I think he has only been in the U.S. two and a half years. He has earned at least $1.5 million since 2010, so he could well have over $2 million in assets and needs to be very careful about that eight year limit.

5. Barbara,

   In looking for that, I found this (This is a list of notable former United States citizens who voluntarily relinquished their nationality.): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_former_United_States_citizens_who_relinquished_their_nationality, but I haven’t (yet) found Benjamin Netanyahu on the *Name and Shame* list. My name comes up readily in the edition of the Federal Register where I appear if I do a google search: *Federal Register – my name*. Not so for *Federal Register – Netanyahu*.

6. @Barbara & calgary411: As near as I can tell from Weiss’ rather garbled article, Netanyahu must have been “involuntarily expatriated” under 1481(a)(3) back when he was in the IDF, and appealed the finding of loss of nationality and won when he wanted to move to the US. Then he renounced in 1982 (or maybe relinquished under 1481(a)(4)) when he became Deputy Head of Mission at the Israeli Embassy in DC. That would have been way before the name & shame list.

   I’m reasonably confident Netanyahu’s telling the truth about that one, because State probably wouldn’t accept a US citizen as deputy head of mission for a foreign embassy. But say Netanyahu were lying about his 1982 renunciation. Israeli law still would have required that Netanyahu renounce US citizenship in 1988 when he first stood for election to the Knesset. (That was Basic Law: The Knesset, Article 6(b) at the time. Nowadays you only have to renounce before taking the oath of office, per Article 16A.)

   Finally, even if Netanyahu were a U.S. citizen in 1996, the State Department seems to lean towards the position that becoming a foreign head of government or state demonstrates irrefutable intent to relinquish (7 FAM 1285)

7. @Publius
   OK, but his shared UK accounts with his wife and his UK house if he sells it are exposed. Lord David Owen I believe is in the same situation with a US wife.
   Wasn’t there a time when if one left the US for longer than a yr one lost their green card status. When did that change?

8. In the Wikipedia link (their list of notable former United States citizens who voluntarily relinquished their nationality), under Notes, this reference:

   INA 349(a)(4) (8 U.S.C. § 1481(a)(4)) states that “accepting, serving in, or performing the duties of any office, post, or employment under the government of a foreign state or a political subdivision thereof, after attaining the age of eighteen years if he has or acquires the nationality of such foreign state” is one of the acts by which a U.S. national may lose nationality, if the act is performed voluntarily and with the intention of relinquishing U.S. nationality.

9. I don`t know where to put this, but the chinese have devalued their currency. Just like that. How can they do that voluntarily? I thought currencies were valued according to their economy- according to forces outside of their government. And as an aside- how to then expect the renminbi could ever replace the dollar as a global currency when it is suspect to the whims of a government? I don`t think so. Looks like the dollar is here to stay.

10. @Heidi: “Wasn’t there a time when if one left the US for longer than a yr one lost their green card status. When did that change?”

    It didn’t. However, the US asserts the right to tax people with green cards that have expired or are otherwise no longer valid, as if they still had the right to live in the US. The legal term for this is ‘having your cake and eating it’. There is a nicely argued article here on why this is plain wrong. Congress has of course shown no interest whatsoever in fixing the problem it created.

11. Polly,

    This CBC article discusses why the Chinese have devalued their currency (or finally let it devalue). http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/china-devalues-the-yuan-amid-worsening-trade-slump-1.3186676. Another discussion: http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/08/11/china-hasnt-devalued-the-yuan-its-allowed-it-to-devalue/

12. The information new Americans need to know:

    WSJ, August 11, 2015: “Are You an Expat in the U.S.? Tips for Avoiding Tax and Investment Stumbles”

    When legacy foreign assets include pensions, mutual funds, business interests, trusts or insurance policies, severe complications often arise because the U.S. tax code levies taxes and applies complex reporting rules to such foreign assets. Ideally, new residents of the U.S. should develop a plan to deal with these tax issues before arrival. Unpleasant tax outcomes can be mitigated if the assets are reported properly from the beginning. Be aware that the best strategy is often to sell assets that are particularly U.S. tax-toxic.

    Foreign trusts are particularly common time bombs that lurk undetected in the old-country investment portfolios of many new arrivals in America. Many structures (including pension funds and family businesses) often meet the IRS definition of a trust even though they aren’t commonly thought of as trusts. Unfortunately, many new Americans and new green card holders go years without properly reporting interests in foreign trusts, only to find out that cleaning up the problem carries very unpleasant financial implications for all trust beneficiaries, not just the one with the U.S. tax reporting obligations.

13. @Calgary
    Thx- those were 2 good articles!

14. Nice slam here against same country exception. DISQUS – Join the discussion…

    FATCA Fails Fair And Just Test Of Good Law Making
    August 12, 2015 By Lisa Smith
    http://www.iexpats.com/fatca-fails-fair-and-just-test-of-good-law-making/

15. The myth of making America “great again”:

    “CBC Radio had Chris Hedges on yesterday morning talking about the Ferguson race riots, growing income inequality, and various other “proofs” that America was a nation in decline. Declination implying that there had been some loftier beginning point from which it was falling away from…”

    https://sisyphusblog.wordpress.com/2015/08/12/its-a-long-slow-walk/

16. International Tax Blog, August 11, 2015: “2015 – 2016 IRS Priority Guidance Plan – International Issues”

17. Calgary411, Just hit that article myself. Interesting that guidance on giving up citizenship when a covered expatriate is a new priority! Must be loosing a lot of people.

18. @Calgary
    Judging by that article is sure doesn’t look like CBT is going anywhere.

19. Polly,

    That is an assumption I challenge with my donations to litigations. May we one day see the *exceptional* U.S. CBT in this world gone and, along with it, our continued slavery by place of birth.

    http://www.adcs-adsc.ca/

20. @Calgary
    Well it HAS to be challenged. It is unjust. But it is scary and we dont know if the courts will see it the same way. I find it so logical and blatantly unjust – but it is scary to contemplate that a court might decide otherwise. And until then, this injustice presides…..which is horrific.

21. Today, MapleSandbox has a good post for Canadians (or any other country to ponder in their next election cycle):

    “What a Prime Minister SHOULD Do About FATCA” by Lynne Swanson

22. @Heidi
    Yes, of course David Miliband has all types of exposure due to his U.S. wife and I do worry that they haven’t been particularly savvy about organizing their finances, given that he seemed to have given some assets to his wife in a scheme that is considered somewhat questionable even by British standards. Of course, if he stays too long in the U.S. he will be stuck with permanent U.S. personhood on top of all his other problems.

    .

23. New commission would study effects of US policy on American expats
    by Ray Clancy on August 13, 2015

    http://www.expatforum.com/america/new-commission-would-study-effects-of-us-policy-on-american-expats.html

    Comments open on that one.

24. Thank you for contacting me about international tax reform. Its good to hear from you and I welcome the opportunity to respond.

    As I have written to you in the past, the United States currently has a worldwide tax system that taxes the income of American residents whether it’s earned in the U.S. or abroad. If an individual has investments overseas any income on those assets are generally taxed by the country in which they are earned. In order to prevent this same income from being taxed twice, once in the foreign country and again in the U.S., a foreign tax credit is permitted. Foreigners who invest in the U.S. are subject to U.S. federal income taxes. Generally, their country of residence similarly provides a credit for taxes they paid in the U.S. or if their home country has a territorial tax system, may not tax income earned by them overseas at all.

    The U.S. is one of the few developed countries that continues to tax its residence, whether individuals or corporation, on a worldwide basis. The U.S. worldwide tax system already puts American businesses at a strong disadvantage to their overseas competitors.

    As you know, both chambers of Congress have been working diligently this year to come to a consensus on how best to reform the tax code. From the beginning, the Senate Finance Committee has made simplicity, efficiency, fairness, and economic growth the main tenants of any viable tax reform plan.

    Additionally, you may be interested to know that on top of the numerous discussions to reform the tax code at the staff level in the current and previous Congresses, the Senate Finance Committee has held five hearings regarding tax reform in the first half of this year alone, including a hearing on February 10 where the former Chairman, Bob Packwood, and Ranking Member, Bill Bradley, of the Finance Committee who helped pass the last comprehensive tax reform in 1986, testified. Everyone on the Committee agreed is necessary to learn how progress was made in the past in order to advance going forward.

    During his testimony, Senator Bradley advocated that any tax proposal should be consistent with efficiency, equity, fairness, and simplicity; the four principles agreed upon by Congress and the Administration. In essence, any proposal that didn’t align with those principles would not be incorporated into law no matter who advocated for it.

    Additionally, it was emphasized throughout the hearing that the “prestige and clout” of the White House and the Treasury Department is essential in navigating unforeseen, but inevitable roadblocks along the way. This is something we haven’t seen yet during discussions, but I remain hopeful that the Administration will make it a priority as President Obama’s term winds down.

    During the first half of this year, the Chairman convened five bipartisan working groups to focus on the various sectors of tax reform. I was named a co-chair of the individual income tax working group, one of five separate bipartisan Finance Committee tax working groups convened by the Chairman and Ranking Member. The other working groups are business income tax, savings and investment; international tax; and community development and infrastructure.

    Tax policy affects the lives of every American, that’s why I made it a priority to get feedback when the working groups were first created. Fill out a survey on my website in February with their thoughts on how to improve the tax code. Rank priorities and share views on individual tax breaks that are important to their households and I appreciate the responses I received . Additionally, I joined a forum with tax professionals and business leaders in Des Moines with the same goal of tax reform. Tax simplification and fairness were common themes expressed throughout the forum and tax survey.

    As you acknowledged in your letter, the international tax working group’s efforts along with the results of the four other working groups can be seen at http://www.finance.senate.gov/newsroom/chairman/release/?id=e9eefc66-7e11-4276-939f-3eca6fd6d959.

    I understand that our current tax code rewards some at the expense of others. Often, those who can afford a high priced accountant and tax lawyer benefit from the growing complexity of our tax code. Taxpayers shouldn’t have to hire a professional just to file their taxes.

    Congress should get serious about comprehensive tax reform. Our economy and the wellbeing of Americans across the country can’t wait. I’m glad to offer my experience to this effort, and I’ll work to incorporate the feedback I hear all the time about their frustrations with the tax code. In closing, we need a tax code that is simpler, fairer, and more conducive to economic growth.

    Again, thank you for contacting me. Representative government works best when there is constant communication between you and your representatives. Please keep in touch.

    Sincerely,
    Chuck

    http://www.grassley.senate.gov

25. @JakDac gets through again.

    In order to prevent this same income from being taxed twice, once in the foreign country and again in the U.S., a foreign tax credit is permitted. Comment: he believes his own government propaganda. Since there is a credit there is nothing wrong, no evil, nothing to see here!

    efficiency, equity, fairness, and simplicity

    Yes we want the USG to explain how taxation of US persons in other countries without providing any services meets each of the criteria of efficiency, equity, fairness, and simplicity; However, an issue is that they tend to see no evil as “there is a credit.” Tax and Compliance Sinkhole silly, not Loophole or Credit!

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