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. US Ambassador to Switzerland Levine “is the first US ambassador to be sworn in with her hand on an e-reader, a Kindle displaying the United States Constitution.[1]” (Wikipedia).

   In her Senate testimony she says “Finally, if confirmed, I hope to work to increase awareness and appreciation of culture, values and policies between our nations. For example, as Americans, among our many values, we pursue fairness, protect our environment, and respect diversity.”

   It’s always amusing to have “America” lecture others on fairness, environmental protection, and respect of diversity.
   Each of these subjects brings to mind a laughably huge number of counter-examples. As does perusing the news of one single day.

   I think Ambassador Levine should ambition to make life easier for US citizens in Switzerland in domains like banking and investing. She should also be ready to learn about environmental protection and democracy from the country she now lives in.

2. @Fred, “fairness” is something America says but produces very little of in general. Note she says “pursue fairness”. That ‘pursuit’ could be a long chase. We’ll get some of that fabled ‘fairness’ on the issues of unfairness by the US to those deemed “UStaxablepersons/citizens abroad” no sooner in time than the US will produce that mythical equivalent ‘reciprocity’ re the FATCA IGAs, and sign up to the CRS – which is to say – never.

3. @Innocente

   The current ambassador’s engagement (or lack of) and the tax reform committee’s reaction to the disproportionate number of submissions from Americans abroad are just two of the many examples that confirm we’re in the “ignore” phase of success! Celebrate!

   First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
   – Gandhi

   (@EmBee – is the above a “bubblebustinism”, you refer to, lol?)

4. http://www.vox.com/2015/8/24/9195129/h-r-block

5. Reminder of symposium Prof Christians is hosting on CBT and taxation in October. Unfortunately it’s not open to the public.

   http://tax-expatriation.com/2015/08/31/exploring-the-vexing-issues-of-u-s-citizenship-based-worldwide-taxation-university-of-michigan-school-of-law-october-8th-and-9th-2015/

6. I am not yet a Facebooker, yet page for accidental Americans:

   https://www.facebook.com/login.php?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgroups%2Faccidental.americans%2F

7. While the plight of Americans in Switzerland has never been a priority for US Ambassador Suzan LeVine, she has shown an interest in Swiss traineeships. This morning she found time to watch Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and the Swiss Economics & Education Minister Johann Schneider-Amman sign an agreement to cooperate on traineeships in Bern.

   http://www.tagblatt.ch/aktuell/international/international-sda/USA-und-Schweiz-pflegen-Berufsbildung;art253652,4340533

   Despite objections by Swiss egg producers, the signing was not open to the public.

8. The US Ambassador to Switzerland supports the “benefits” argument for taxing American abroad:

   “When you look at what the United States does worldwide, and what we have done in building coalitions, in coming together and being a leader in a number of different ways, that has costs associated with it in terms of what taxes pay for,” says LeVine.

   http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/suzi-levine_us-ambassador–compartmentalises–banking-woes/41630800

9. LeVine got the job because she raised “significant funds” for the Obama candidacy. So nobody could expect her to speak otherwise. She has to justify the regime`s policies.

10. Re: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/suzi-levine_us-ambassador–compartmentalises–banking-woes/41630800 (Thanks for the find, Bubblebustin)

    Great dog-bites-man headline: “US ambassador ‘compartmentalises’ banking woes.” Compartmentalising is a piece of cake when something doesn’t affect your life, let alone destroy it.

    And as for, “‘When you look at what the United States does worldwide, and what we have done in building coalitions, in coming together and being a leader in a number of different ways, that has costs associated with it in terms of what taxes pay for,’ says LeVine,” I don’t know what coalitions she’s talking about, but they are doing a bang-up job of alienating “US persons,” real and alleged, outside their country, people who once were quite likely to be favourably predisposed towards the US.

11. Jackie Bugnion, former Director of American Citizens Abroad, “that’s not quite accurate”, because Social Security is linked to working in the US, not to citizenship, and Medicare and Medicaid services are only provided in the US

    LeVine was appointed ambassador after raising significant funds for Barack Obama’s election campaign

12. Is Harper the worst PM in history?

    http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/05/18/news/harper-worst-prime-minister-history

13. Barbados MP Speaking Out Against FATCA!

    Attack on Barbados’ Sovereignty?
    http://www.loopnewsbarbados.com/content/attack-barbados-sovereignty

    https://twitter.com/LoopNewsBB/status/638897923762319360

    I have not heard all this before:
    Symmonds said there were potential allies with which Barbados could have joined forces, pointing to the Canadian government which felt it should be exempted, the Australian government which expressed concern, the British Association of Bankers which warned FATCA would lead to systemic market risk and substantial global financial instability, and the Brazilian Federation of Bankers which also strongly opposed the FATCA requirements.

    Discus Comments. No moderation hold up even with links.

14. FATCA Legal Challenge Result Expected Soon
    Sep 2nd, 2015
    http://globalmoneynews.tumblr.com/post/128165386641/fatca-legal-challenge-result-expected-soon

    ! :
    A decision for the plaintiffs will not stop FATCA, but may mean a delay in implementing data collection in Canada and countries with similar treaties until the relevant clauses are rewritten. That would mean for Canada to agree with these changes.

15. This is not a myth:

    https://www.amcham.ch/events/p_events_registration.asp?EId=920

    CEO Luncheon with Robert Stack
    Deputy Assistant Secretary (International Tax Affairs), U.S. Department of the Treasury

    Revolution in International Corporate Taxation. How far will it go?
    Venue: University of Zurich, Rämistrasse 59, 8001 Zurich
    Time: 11:30 AM – 2:00 PM
    Contact: Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce, Talacker 41, 8001 Zurich
    Phone: +41 43 443 72 08, Fax: +41 43 497 22 70
    e-mail: events@amcham.ch
    Fee: CHF 110.00 for members, CHF 130.00 for non-members.
    VAT included. Vat reg. no. CHE-202.894.597. Full no-show charge unless registration is canceled until end of one business day before the event (6pm).
    Attention: Limited seating available, priority to members!

16. “CEO Luncheon with Robert Stack
    Deputy Assistant Secretary (International Tax Affairs), U.S. Department of the Treasury”

    Which raises the question: If a person bought three dozen eggs today and left them in the sun, would they be sufficiently rotten by 23 September?

    Chancellor Helmut Kohl took a few direct hits in 1991 for his role in destroying the livelihood of East Germans. Just how would Robert Stack react if he were bombarded with rotten eggs in Zurich for making Americans financial system outcasts and forcing many to give up their US citizenship?

17. @JC, From the article ” The plaintiffs, two dual Canadian-U.S. citizens, claim that the leg”

    @ADCS, @Ginny, @Gwen, Please we all have to start correcting these writers and also in court.

    “Dual” citizen does not exist in law other than Dual Commonwealth or Dual EU Citizen.

    It should read, “The plaintiffs, Canadian Citizens with clinging US nationality.”

    Trust me guys, words mean something……….in our cause US Citizenship is like gum on the bottom of your shoe, something you want to get off from the shoe and not on your hands.

    “Dual US” sounds like you won lifes golden lottery.

    Do you ever hear anyone say “Dual Ugandan Citizen” or “Dual Iranian Citizen?”

18. The German financial regulators, BaFin, are loosening documentation requirements for refugees so that they can open bank accounts, various German news outlets are reporting today. Since refugees often do not carry documents supporting their identity, they have not been able to open bank accounts under German “know your customer” laws. The revised regulations will permit them to obtain bank accounts by using residence permits issued in Germany, although these permits do not prove their identity. Der Spiegel’s write-up on this:

    http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/soziales/finanzaufsicht-erleichtert-fluechtlingen-eroeffnung-von-bankkonten-a-1051049.html

    There is probably something ironic about refugees being able to obtain bank accounts in Germany while Americans cannot but the irony escapes me.

19. “The question of sovereignty used to be a big thing, it used to mean something. I would have hoped that with our 50th anniversary of Independence approaching it would continue to mean something. But the erosion of sovereignty is clear when you have a situation in which it becomes suddenly appropriate for Barbados to become an unpaid extension of the United States’ revenue authority,” he argued.

20. As mentioned by orwell, Robert Stack, Deputy Asst Treasury Secretary – International, will give a speech on 23 September at the University of Zurich. The event, which is sponsored by the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce, costs CHF100 to CHF165 to attend.

    It can be expected that Stack is being paid a fee for his efforts. However, he should recognize that to collect his reward that there are at least two types of risks for him in Switzerland: a. bodily harm and b. arrest.

    a. Bodily harm: this risk is probably low due to various precautions that will taken place. Registration is required to attend the event and ends about 63 hours before it starts. This should give security personnel sufficient time to vet the list of attendees for any potential tomato and shoe throwers.
    He will likely reside in one of several luxury hotels in the Zurich area; luxury hotels normally have security.
    Like the US, Switzerland is awash in firearms, including automatic weapons. Unlike the US, firearms are mostly used responsibly or not used at all. It is unlikely that Stack will fall victim to an act of violence involving a firearm during his brief stay in Switzerland.

    b. Arrest: it is a criminal offense in Switzerland to make knowingly untrue and defamatory statements against third parties, including in the internet. Stack’s “Myth vs. Fatca” document could potentially fall under this statue as “knowingly untrue”. Someone who felt defamed by this document would then need to file a complaint. The defamatory part, however, would likely be difficult to prove to a prosecutor.

    If Stack were arrested there is a certain probability that he would end up in investigative detention because of a possibly justified fear that he would flee the country. People can languish for years in investigative detention.

    If Stack becomes concerned that he could end up in a victim of a violence or be subject to arrest, he could decide to remain in “safe” Washington DC and give the speech via webcast. I expect, however, that he will consider the risks to be manageable and he will present in person as scheduled, picking up somewhere between $10,000 and $50,000 for his efforts.

21. Have at look at this “Exchange” between Amanda Lang and Bruce Sellery. http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Business/The+Exchange+with+Amanda+Lang/ID/2674871959/

    The discussion (“Tech Rivals Unite in Court” beginning at approx. 12:00) is about the current battle between Google and the U.S. government over privacy issues. Shortly after Bruce Sellery states “search warrants currently stop at a country’s borders” Amanda asks, “Why should one government be able to extend its reach into another country?”

    Why indeed, Amanda?! She follows this question with a statement about Uncle Sam being the “good guys” and questions what it would be like if a country like Iran or Syria began to demand information from other countries. Would someone on the “SWAT team” please remind Amanda that for 8 million people around the globe, including a million people in Canada and their families, Uncle Sam is not a “good guy” and his finger is pointing straight at us with a “search warrant” called FATCA. Bruce, take note! *This* search warrant has been weaseled into every nation on earth!)

    FATCA has been discussed on her own program in the past but it’s been a while. She has apparently forgotten and needs a reminder. I deeply regret I cannot be the person who brings this to her attention.

22. Grrrrr……..

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2015/09/03/irs-offshore-account-penalties-increase-hunt-continues/?utm_source=followingimmediate&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20150903

23. Double Grrrr…..This ridiculous hypocrisy NEEDS commenting on for certain:

    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/2/andrew-napolitano-constitution-doesnt-give-governm/

    “The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution underscore the truism that all persons have the same natural rights, irrespective of where their mothers were when they delivered them.

    The right to travel is a natural right, even though it was not until 1969 that the Supreme Court recognized it as such. The court protects natural rights by imposing a very high bar for the government to meet before it can interfere with them, absent due process.

    The high bar is called strict scrutiny. It requires that the government demonstrate an articulated area of jurisdiction and a compelling state interest served by the least restrictive alternative before it can treat a person differently or uniquely because of his or her place of birth. A compelling state interest is one that is necessary to preserve life or the state’s existence, and it must be addressed using the least force and causing the least interference with personal liberty possible.”

24. Something to consider if you’re back-filing outside of an amnesty program – your FEIE expiring.

    Foreign Earned Income Exclusion – Timing is Everything

    http://www.taxconnections.com/taxblog/foreign-earned-income-exclusion-timing-is-everything/#.VeioNYhHarU

25. Rand Paul and Five Expats Sue the Feds Over FATCA
    Matt Welch | Sep. 3, 2015 10:05 am
    http://reason.com/blog/2015/09/03/rand-paul-and-five-expats-sue-the-feds-o

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