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The Isaac Brock Society

Media and Blog Articles Open for Comments – Part 4 of 11 (Year 2017)

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-4-of-4)

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.   I’ll make a permanent list of links posted here and keep adding to it,  but not deleting, so we’ll end up having sort of a  “bibliography” of FATCA/CBT articles.  [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.

Notes:

From JC:   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.

From Badger:   On an important archival note, please use the Internet Archive Wayback machine https://archive.org/web/ (see bottom right ‘Save Page Now’ box to enter URLs of webpages you want saved for posterity, and try to save backup copies of articles and other items of interest in some other form – such as a datastick or external drive. Some important and very significant webpages and the fulltexts of articles are no longer available (although some can be retrieved if someone using the Wayback machine saved them).

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

2017.12.28
It’s time to address the double standard about tax havens, Angela Wrights, Macleans, Canada.
The US Is Becoming the World’s New Tax Haven, The Editors, Bloomberg View, US.
2017.12.21
Rep. Dina Titus Supports Americans Abroad Tax Reform, Democrats Abroad, US. 
Now That The GOP Tax Bill Is Approved, The IRS Gets Busy, Brian Naylor, NPR, US.
2017.12.20
Taxpayers will have to wait to find out how they fare under new legislation , Renae Merle and Aaron Gregg, Denver Post (reprint from Washington Post), US.
U.S. Shareholders –Take Action by December 31, KPMG.
2017.12.18
Have You Ever Felt Sorry for the I.R.S? Now Might Be the Time, Patricia Cohen, New York Times, US.
2017.12.12
EU finance ministers issue warning to Trump over tax reforms, RTÉ, Ireland.
2017.12.11
Banque: les consequences étonnantes de l’accord FATCA, Edouard Lederer, Les Echos, France.
2017.12.10
As Australia ousts MPs with dual citizenship, Canada’s Parliament embraces many in its ranks, Kathleen Harris, Canada. (mentions MP who “assumed his U.S. citizenship was automatically rescinded because he did not meet several requirements for continued citizenship. [But when travelling to Washington] was told he was ineligible to enter the U.S. on a Canadian passport because he was a U.S. citizen. He was . . . allowed in on a one-time basis . . . it cost him $3,000 to later sort out the administrative requirements.”)
2017.12.09
The American Diaspora: Outreach and Organization, Victoria Ferauge, The Franco-American Flophouse, Japan.
2017.12.08
Foreign-owned banks to be hit by US tax rules, Financial Times, UK.
Trump Tax Plan Worries Europe, Christian Reiermann, Der Spiegel, Germany.

For articles earlier in 2017, click here.

1,720 thoughts on “Media and Blog Articles Open for Comments – Part 4 of 11 (Year 2017)”

  1. The Hill says the tax reform plan will be revealed on Wednesday.

    Wednesday is a big day for Republicans, with leaders expected to finally unveil the framework of their tax reform plan, following months of speculation, negotiations and controversy.

    It’s a high-stakes moment for a party looking for a big legislative win and comes as a last-ditch effort to pass the GOP’s other big item, ObamaCare repeal, is teetering in the Senate.

    Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee are meeting Sunday and Monday to work on the blueprint. And the full GOP House will reportedly meet on Wednesday to be briefed on the plan before its made public….Of course, tax reform cannot move ahead unless the House and Senate pass budget resolutions to initiate the reconciliation process, which will allow Republicans to bypass a Senate Democratic filibuster on tax reform.

    http://thehill.com/policy/finance/351972-week-ahead-in-finance-big-day-for-tax-reform

  6. You may want to resume normal respiration, going by what Axios claims has been leaked:

    The details, per three sources with knowledge of the plan:

    * Top individual tax rate cut from 39.6 to 35. The current seven income tax brackets collapsed to three, as part of simplification. (Axios hasn’t obtained the other two rates.)

    * Axios can confirm that the Big Six agreed to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. That key detail leaked last night to the Washington Post. (Trump has said he wants the corporate rate to be 15 percent.)

    * The Big Six framework is also expected to include guardrails to prevent wealthy people from artificially lowering their income taxes by rearranging their affairs to get taxed at the small business rate.

    * We can confirm, too, WashPo’s reporting that Republicans plan to double the standard deduction — a boost for the middle class and a key component of simplification.

    https://www.axios.com/exclusive-trump-gop-to-cut-top-rate-to-35-percent-2488858973.html

    More or less what has been predicted/leaked before. Usually accompanied by pessimistic ramblings about whether any tax cuts or reforms can actually get through Congress.

  8. An unexpected effort by the DoJ to use Morales-Santana as a precedent justifying rollback of US voting rights.

    On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago will consider an equal protection challenge by plaintiffs in Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, who would be able to absentee vote for president and voting representation in Congress, if they lived in other U.S. territories or a foreign country, but are denied such rights based solely on their ZIP code, according to ‘We The People Project’, a non-profit that advocates for equal rights and representation in U.S. territories….

    According to a release issued by the nonprofit on Wednesday, on Monday, the Trump Administration unexpectedly filed a last-minute letter with the court arguing for the first time that if an equal protection violation is found, the remedy should be to strip away statutorily provided absentee voting rights that are already provided to residents of certain territories. As plaintiffs explained in a filing yesterday, the Trump Administration’s view that voting rights should be “leveled down” is unprecedented – for good reason courts are hesitant to strip voting rights provided by law.

    http://viconsortium.com/virgin-islands-2/trump-administration-argues-for-rollback-of-voting-rights-in-u-s-territories/

    The DoJ letter, citing Morales-Santana, can be seen at https://www.scribd.com/mobile/document/359009585/Trump-DOJ-Letter-Remedy-is-to-Level-Down-Voting-Rights

  9. @plaxy, interesting in light of the hackneyed ‘benefits’ argument (ex. see sources cited in this article Mason, Ruth, Citizenship Taxation (February 10, 2016). Southern California Law Review, Vol. 89, Forthcoming; Virginia Law and Economics Research Paper No. 2015-07. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2606744 ) rationalizing extraterritorially taxing US citizens wherever in the world they reside and derive their income ( ex. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44651.pdf. ) based in part on the benefit of absentee voting rights (among other ‘benefits’ which we know to be treated not as an actual right or benefit, but made contingent like evacuation from disaster/war zones ( https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/travel/Handout%20for%20Crisis%20Evacuees%2014%20Sept%202017%201700%20FINAL.pdf ) or now passports to travel https://taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/Media/Default/Documents/2018-JRC/JRC18_Volume1_AOF_02.pdf ) . Any mismatch between the voting rights status and the US taxation status tends to nullify the ‘benefits’ and rights arguments.

    Of course that is already the case in terms of those who cannot register or voted because they have never actually lived in the US and whose parents did not last reside in one of the states which allows them to use their parents last US residence to register. And of course also in terms of minors subjected to US extraterritorial taxation, information reporting and penalties, and those deemed legally incompetent.

    I count only 36 states ( https://www.fvap.gov/citizen-voter/reside ) which have some type of provision (conditions differ) for registering to vote absentee based on a parent’s last US residency.

  10. Meant to also cite this fairly recent Congressional Research Service report;
    ‘Tax Policy and U.S. Territories: Overview and Issues for Congress’
    Sean Lowry
    Analyst in Public Finance
    October 7, 2016
    https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44651.pdf

    If voting and other ‘rights’ and benefits (ex. US passport or right to travel into the US) of US citizenship/ status are entwined with US taxation, then there is a messy mismatch.

  11. Interesting, isn’t it? In addition to the “voting rights / citizenship” conundrum, the levelling-down conundrum. The Morales-Santana decision wasn’t based on levelling-down, it was based on removing an exception because it was discriminatory. Now the DoJ is trying to use it as a precedent for levelling-down, stripping a territory of voting rights because other territories don’t have voting rights.

    I had a fleeting vision of all non-US-resident US Persons being levelled-down by being stripped of all US citizenship rights and privileges, including the privilege of being double-taxed and abused and slandered and threatened by the IRS…

  14. Politico:

    “On the international front, the U.S. would adopt a “territorial system” where the government would no longer attempt to tax companies’ overseas earnings. At the same time, though, the plan proposes a foreign minimum tax to prevent businesses from moving abroad to avoid U.S. taxes altogether.”

    http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/27/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-big-6-tax-plan-243205

    Contradictory. A minimum foreign-income tax is not the same as no longer attempting to tax foreign income.

  15. I think that even if corporate taxes are lowered as an incentive – compared to zero tax if they leave their money abroad – I think corporations will continue as before and not repatriate their earnings.

  18. Nevertheless, even though it isn’t really a territorial system, if it became law it might represent some movement towards trying to bring the US tax system more in line with the rest of the world. The mindset has to change, and being gradually introduced to the concept of territorial taxation may be a step along the way.

  20. Thanks, JC, for always mentioning the aspect of those who cannot renounce a US-deemed USC, for any amount of money — those with some incapacity, which covers many and perhaps one day one of us here (with some kind of dementia, Alzheimer’s, brain injury, etc., not just those who have a developmental disability).

    In my letter, one more plea for reason…

    …
    Speaking for myself, my son and my family and other such sons or daughters in such families as mine, the ONLY common-sense solution I see for anyone without *requisite mental capacity* to be able to renounce (at any price) an acquired or otherwise deemed US citizenship is for the US to switch to residence-based taxation law as most of the rest of the world practices. If FATCA continues as it is with US CBT, for those without *requisite mental capacity* who do not understand the concept of US citizenship and its consequences — and their parent(s), guardians or trustees unable to act on their behalves — these persons will remain entrapped into very costly and complex yearly US tax and reporting compliance for which they would need the help of professionals of the US tax compliance industry in the country in which they live and which is their only home, the US-deemed US citizenship only an unfortunate accident of which they are collateral damage.

    US RBT would release other *Accidental Americans* whose home is not, nor should their citizenship be, US without their consent at time of age of majority and full mental capacity to understand the consequences of the exceptional US CBT — a claim to US citizenship if the facts permit, if there is full understanding (with their requisite mental capacity) of the consequences, taxation and other, of US citizenship. Otherwise, such acquired US citizenship should be null and void with no cost for a renunciation of a citizenship not their informed choice and understanding.
    …
    You are the President of the US that claims to be the Land of the Free. Please end exceptionality of US law to tax based on citizenship. The absurdity of a family member being entrapped into this nightmare is life-altering.

  21. From Charles Buckley

    re: Conference Call with Grover Norquist.

    the Trump tax plan being sent to Congress includes territorial taxation for corporations, but not individuals!

    When asked why, the reasons Mr Norquist gave were that members of Congress felt uncomfortable with TTFI because it hadn’t been scored fully.

    Good Luck Solomon Yue and Republicans Overseas at the White House this coming week.

    Republicans Overseas did not record.

    https://www.eventbrite.hk/e/republicans-overseas-global-teleconference-with-grover-norquist-tickets-38263267463?utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=order_confirmation_email&utm_term=eventname&ref=eemailordconf

  22. Back in 2015, the Taxpayer Advocate said:

    17. Automated Substitute for Return Program. When a taxpayer who should file a tax return doesn’t, the IRS could prepare a Substitute for Return and assess the person’s tax liability based on information, such as W-2 and 1099 forms filed by employers, banks, and other third parties. But that doesn’t include itemized deductions or credits and allows only a filing status of single or married filing separately. The Automated Substitute for Return (ASFR) Program has poor collection results and a high abatement rate, indicating that selection criteria are inefficient, liabilities are inflated, and abatements follow.

    https://taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/reports/2015-annual-report-to-congress/most-serious-problems

    Not really relevant for US citizens living outside the US and receiving no US income, but perhaps, as Ms LaTorre Jeker suggests, evidence of information overload and stretched resources at the famously vindictive agency. (https://www.angloinfo.com/blogs/global/us-tax/shocking-news-irs-just-suspended-its-automated-substitute-for-return-asfr-program/)

  23. the Trump tax plan being sent to Congress includes territorial taxation for corporations, but not individuals!

    When asked why, the reasons Mr Norquist gave were that members of Congress felt uncomfortable with TTFI because it hadn’t been scored fully.

    Nothing’s been scored. So far, this tax plan is just a list of bullet points.

    More likely, the idea of taxing inward investment did not appeal.

  24. Plaxy,
    I think Norquist was referring to the RO TTFI proposal rather than the recent outline of a tax plan. I’m not sure there’s enough detail in the TTFI proposal to score it – there’s certainly not enough detail in the tax plan.

    As for the taxation of inward investment – none of RO’s proposal is listed, but that’s not surprising as it is billed as a fix for expats, and therefore probably seen as insignificant. It’s still possible that the whole proposal (or parts of it) will be added when the actual legislation is drafted, or in committee. I think it’s way too early to tell whether or not it will be included – and it’s still not at all certain that any tax proposal will pass through Congress (their track record this year is anything but stellar).

  25. Karen – yes I agree Norquist was referring to the RO TTFI proposal, but the reason he gives for that proposal not being mentioned in the tax plan is “it hasn’t been fully scored.” That can’t be the reason, because so far nothing has been “fully scored”. There’s nothing, as yet, to score, because the taxwriting hasn’t even started.

    I agree the “fix for expats” aspect of the RO proposal would be seen as insignificant, but the idea of taxing inward investment would not.

    There’s apparently a tussle now going on because Trump’s plan would cost I forget how many trillions, and an essential Rep. Senator is digging in his heels. (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-27/corker-s-focus-on-deficit-may-force-gop-to-scale-back-tax-cuts). Taxation of inward investment, even under dynamic scoring, would exacerbate the difficulty, because it would be likely to deter investment.

    I agree that the TTFI proposal, or parts of it, may eventually get included in the final legislation – if they can come up with a workable way to fund it.

    I also agree that…

    “…it’s still not at all certain that any tax proposal will pass through Congress (their track record this year is anything but stellar).”

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