Liberty and justice for all United States persons abroad

The Isaac Brock Society

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

You can access all years at this link: Media and Blog Articles – Links for All Years

If clicking on a comment link brings you to the wrong comment, click here  to get on the most recent page of comments.(alternatively, to reach the most recent comment page, go to  the url in the bar at the top of your browser and delete everything after http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/media-and-blog-articles-open-for-comments-part-2-of-2  )

Media and Blog Articles

EmBee suggested that it would be good if there was a thread for new articles, so that people would be aware of where to comment. So, I created this permanent page.  You could mention such articles in the comment stream for this page, or if I see one on another thread, I can copy the link to here. I’ll keep adding to the list, but not deleting, so we’ll end up having sort of a “bibliography” too.  [Note:  Some articles are not open for comments]

For more articles on FATCA, enter FATCA into Google then click on the link “more news for fatca” just below the most recent featured article.

Note also: JC suggests to see #FATCA on Twitter for latest breaking news. JC finds that is quite a good source and there even are some international articles that one may read using Google Translate.” Others may help certain tweets and articles remain in elevated position by retweeting them.

Be sure to read the comment stream for this thread — there are usually very recent articles mentioned there that are not yet on this list.

2015.01.01
Raising revenue off Caribbean backs, Bruce Zagaris, NationNews, Barbados.
On or about 2016.01.01
16 issues to make 2016 candy for the market, Westfield Times.
2015.12.31
Tax reporting norms: FinMin updates guidance note on compliance, K.R. Srivats, Hindu Business Line, India.
2015.12.30
Top Tax Blogs from 2015, Tax Connections. (Congratulations to John Richardson and Lynne Swanson who placed 2nd and 4th!)
Global dragnet puts pressure on tax evaders as year-end deadlines loom, Jeff Gray, Globe and Mail, Canada.
IRS Employee Whose Job Was Assisting Victims Of Identity Theft Charged in $1 Million Identity Theft Tax Fraud, Paul Caron, TaxProfBlog, US.
How America’s Wealthiest Are Saving Billions Through a Private Tax System, TruthDig.
RA Returns Home, TaxProTalk forum.
2015.12.29
For the Wealthiest, a Private Tax System That Saves Them Billions, Noam Scheiber and Patricia Cohen, New York Times, US.
IRS Stirs Up New Crisis With Non-Profits Over Social Security Numbers, Eric Pianin, The Fiscal Times.
DNC Must Heed Warning Bells From 2000, Bennet Kelley, Huffington Post, US.
2015.12.28
IRS Creates “International Practice Units” for their IRS Revenue Agents in International Tax Matters, Patrick Martin, Tax-Expatriation, US.
MF investors: Les than a4th comply with US tax law, Jayshree P. Upadhyay & Ashley Coutinho, Business Standard, India.
IRS service should improve after some saw their ‘worst tax season,” advocate says, Robert Schroeder, MarketWatch, US.

Articles from earlier in 2015 are at this link

 Articles from 2014 are at this link

Media and Blog Articles Open for Comment thread, Part 1 of 2, is at this link

Media and Blog Articles Open for Comment thread, Part 3 of 3, is at this link

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

  3. Reference: Professor Allison Christians, international tax law expert, on the existence of tax treaty gaps were double taxation flows through for Canadian residents who are US persons: Volume 1, page 93: Allison Christians on Tax Treaty Gaps.
    VOLUME 1

    See CBC Toronto Canada news video featuring Professor Allison Christians speaking about FATCA and US citizenship based taxation injustices: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyQ6Rs_SEHM

    Reference: Professor Robert Wood, on IRS tax collection means and potential intention of what they will do with the blanket financial account information on Canada who are US persons that the CRA will send to the US IRS.
    Volume 2, page 262: Robert Wood, sec 4 IRS Collection Options.
    VOLUME 2

  6. Presidential Candidates Gain Tax Ideas During TaxConnections First Internet Tax Summit:

    “There is a great deal of excitement as we line up TaxConnections Tax Experts for the first Internet Tax Summit in history hosted by http://www.taxconnections.com September 21-25th 2015. We have reached out to several Presidential Candidates whose campaign teams are now contacting us to discuss scheduling and participation in the very first Internet Tax Summit in history. We are very encouraged by the feedback and hope to make our first announcement of a Presidential Candidate’s participation very soon!

    During TaxConnections Internet Tax Summit one of our Tax Expert Speakers, Dr. George Mentz has agreed to discuss “10 Tax Ideas For Presidential Candidates That Will Turn The Country Around”. In addition, we believe that all of our Tax Expert participants will bring to light the problems faced by taxpayers today as they provide solutions to help taxpayers with a wide range of problems.”

    http://www.taxconnections.com/taxblog/presidential-candidates-gain-tax-ideas-during-taxconnections-first-internet-tax-summit/#.VW8GvYhHarV

  7. @All Thank you IBS Community and ADCS for the discussions, information, and resources that strengthened my latest communication with the Australian Government in regards to injustices allowed under Australian law by incomplete protection from The Australian-US Tax Treaty and from the Australian FATCA IGA.

    http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/fatca-and-australia/comment-page-2/#comment-6155282

    I hope this may give ideas to Canadians and people in other countries in regards with communications with their governments. However, ultimately, as reminded to me by Allison Christians, remedy for the injustices remain a matter for the courts. Onward ADCS legal action!

  8. You’d think Lisa Smith would get it right by now:

    “FATCA obliges foreign financial institutions to tell the IRS about any accounts controlled by American tax resident customers with a balance of more than $50,000.

    The threshold is more generous for expats – $200,000.”

    She’s essentially granted a same country exemption for many non-residents. My comment has yet to show up.

    She did provide a handy link to the IRS’s list of FATCA reporting FFI’s though:

    http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Corporations/FATCA-Foreign-Financial-Institution-List-Search-and-Download-Tool

    See more at: http://www.iexpats.com/banks-chase-us-expats-with-fatca-letters/#sthash.kmZQ0x8j.dpuf

  10. IRS has youtube videos for foreigners now:

    New YouTube Videos, Online Resources Help Taxpayers Abroad
    WASHINGTON — With the June 15 filing deadline for Americans abroad fast approaching, the Internal Revenue Service is launching three new online videos and expanding other online resources designed to help taxpayers, especially those living abroad, meet their U.S. tax obligations.
    By law, Americans living abroad, as well as many non-U.S. citizens, must file a U.S. income tax return. In addition, key tax benefits, such as the foreign earned income exclusion, are only available to those who file a U.S. return. These online resources are designed to help affected taxpayers understand how these rules apply to them.
    Three new videos are now available on the IRS YouTube page, and several more of interest to taxpayers abroad will be released in coming weeks. Now available are:
    • International Taxpayers–Filing Requirements. Learn about the requirements for filing an individual income tax return including income limits while living abroad.
    • International Taxpayers–Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. Find out who is eligible, what income qualifies and how to claim the exclusion.
    • International Taxpayers–Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). This video helps non-U.S. citizens determine if they need an IRS-issued tax reporting number, known as an ITIN, and how to apply for one.
    Upcoming videos will deal with the foreign tax credit, filing status for a U.S. taxpayer married to a foreign spouse and an introduction to the IRS web site for international taxpayers.
    The IRS has also added two new international tax topics to Tax Trails, the agency’s interactive online tool that helps taxpayers get answers to their general tax questions.
    The new topics are:
    • Am I Required to File a U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (for U.S. Citizens/Resident Aliens Living Abroad and Nonresident Aliens)?
    • Filing Status of a U.S. Citizen or Resident Alien Married to a Nonresident Alien.
    The International Taxpayers page on IRS.gov is packed with information designed to help taxpayers living abroad, resident aliens, nonresident aliens, residents of U.S. territories and foreign students. Among other things, the web site features a directory of overseas tax preparers.
    In addition, the IRS uses a variety of social media tools to share the latest tax information with interested taxpayers both in the United States and around the world. These include the IRS2Go phone application, YouTube, Tumblr and Twitter. A listing of IRS social media tools is available on IRS.gov.
    To protect taxpayer privacy, the IRS only uses social media tools to share public information, not to answer personal tax or account questions. It advises taxpayers to never post confidential information, like a Social Security number, on social media sites.
    Reminder
    Federal law requires U.S. citizens and resident aliens to report any worldwide income, including income from foreign trusts and foreign bank and securities accounts. In most cases, affected taxpayers need to complete and attach Schedule B to their tax return. Part III of Schedule B asks about the existence of foreign accounts, such as bank and securities accounts, and usually requires U.S. citizens to report the country in which each account is located.
    In addition, certain taxpayers may also have to complete and attach to their return Form 8938, Statement of Foreign Financial Assets. Generally, U.S. citizens, resident aliens and certain non-resident aliens must report specified foreign financial assets on this form if the aggregate value of those assets exceeds certain thresholds. See the instructions for Form 8938.
    Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) certain U.S. taxpayers holding financial assets outside the United States must report those assets to the IRS on Form 8938. Reporting thresholds vary based on whether a taxpayer files a joint income tax return or lives abroad. See Form 8938 instructions for more.

  12. Neill:
    I enjoyed reading your post about “helpful” IRS videos. Thanks for the fantastic reinforcement of my already visceral %*#@ You USA sentiments.

  13. From the partial English summary link in Eric’s post above:

    “…the number of Turkish citizens who have applied to renounce their children’s U.S. citizenship is pretty high,” said the website.”

    If something got lost in translation, it sure wasn’t any Turkish child’s U.S. citizenship.

  14. “The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) fined a Northern Mariana Islands casino $75 million Wednesday “for willful and egregious violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).”

    Hong Kong Entertainment (Overseas) Investments, Ltd., doing business as the Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino, had no anti-money laundering program. …

    The Northern Mariana Islands in the north-west Pacific Ocean are part of a territory of the United States that includes Guam. ”

    The $75 million fine represents 10.2% of the North Mariana Islands’ $733 million GDP. FinCEN strikes again.

    http://www.fcpablog.com/blog/2015/6/4/fincen-fines-pacific-island-casino-75-million-for-egregious.html#

  15. Shovel and Eric and others,

    “…the number of Turkish citizens who have applied to renounce their children’s U.S. citizenship is pretty high,” said the website.”

    Wonder how Turkish citizen / U.S. parents would be able to renounce their children’s U.S. citizenship — or even apply to do so?

  16. @calgary411, As we already now, parents cannot renounce their children’s US citizenship, only the child can do so individually after age 18. I suppose the parents are inquiring about how to renounce US citizenship, and whoever wrote the article phrased it incorrectly. It’s not unusual to see incorrect information about this topic in the media.

    By the way, the article about the casino in the Northern Mariana Islands also has incorrect information. The islands are not “part of a territory of the United States that includes Guam”, both are separate US territories. In fact, they have been administered separately since 1898, and Guam rejected reunification in a referendum in 1969.

  17. Link from “Accounting Today” — http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/tax-practice/irs-offers-resources-for-taxpayers-abroad-74813-1.html?utm_campaign=daily-jun%205%202015&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&ET=webcpa%3Ae4508316%3A2531408a%3A&st=email,

    including quote regarding Greenback Expat Tax Services survey:

    A recent survey by Greenback Expat Tax Services survey (FINAL_2015 US Expat Opinion Survey Exec Summary, Greenback Tax Services) of more than 1,800 American expatriates found that FATCA continues to be a major frustration. Only 34 percent of U.S. expats surveyed indicated they are not currently affected by FATCA, while 36 percent of the survey respondents said they would need to file additional tax forms due to FATCA regulations. Thirteen percent of the respondents cited issues with their foreign bank, although the firm acknowledged that it is difficult to pinpoint how much of the problem rests with FATCA and how much with other non-tax U.S. and non-U.S. regulatory rules.

    “U.S. expats represent a larger community than the entire populations of Rhode Island, Montana, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, the District of Columbia, Vermont and Wyoming combined,” said David McKeegan, co-founder of Greenback ExpatTax Services, which prepares U.S. tax returns for thousands of Americans living overseas. “This is a significant voting population that could have a real, material impact on the upcoming Presidential election. … Our survey indicates that with the major issues U.S. expats are facing, including tax compliancy, FATCA and FBAR reporting regulations and a feeling of being under-represented, it stands to reason that they may be more inclined to vote if a candidate actively addresses their concerns and lobbies for positive change on their behalf.”

    To me, *Frustration* is a low-ball descriptor of the problem.

  18. Thanks, Shadow Raider.

    Hope DOS / US Consulates get lots more queries based on incorrect information in the article on *how to renounce US citizenship of their children*. They will be more aware and hopefully then prepared to spread word on how what is happening greatly affects *US* families abroad.

  19. @ Innocente
    Northern Mariana Islands — up until now the only thing I associated with them was their sweatshop scandals. US hypocrisy never ends. If FinCEN investigates anyone in the casino business it should be Sheldon Adelson — a corrupt American oligarch. His control of congress means this will never happen though.

  22. “U.S. expats represent a larger community than the entire populations of Rhode Island, Montana, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, the District of Columbia, Vermont and Wyoming combined.”

    There are more US citizens in just Canada or Mexico than in any of these states. Based on the latest estimate (8.7 million), New Hampshire can also be added to the list. But what is even more notable is that the combined population of Americans abroad would be the 12th largest state (above Virginia), and if counting only US citizens, the 11th largest (above New Jersey).

    “This is a significant voting population that could have a real, material impact on the upcoming Presidential election.”

    Not really, because their turnout is very low (7% compared to the general 60%), and their votes are spread among all states. In 2012, non-military absentee ballots were only 0.24% of the total votes, varying from 0.05% to 0.76% depending on the state. The lowest margin between the two main candidates was 0.88% in Florida, so Americans abroad couldn’t have made a impact. In the last 6 elections, the only one when they could have impacted the result of any state was in 2000, which was extremely close.

    @Edelweiss, I hadn’t seen it, thank you for posting the link. I’m not surprised with the decision, and I wonder if they will try the Supreme Court.

  24. @PierreD,

    What amazes me the most is that when the IRS gives advice for expats or immigrants to the US it’s really kind of pitiful. Of course the fines flow if you make any mistake. We saw from the OVDP dump that the IRS educated it’s people on what immigrants and expats would get wrong or misunderstand in the tax law.
    Tee Hee says the IRS. They never get this right so we can stomp on their heads to extract some money.

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