Liberty and justice for all United States persons abroad

The Isaac Brock Society

Media and Blog Articles Open for Comments – Part 6 of 11 (Year 2019)

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

If clicking on a link brings you to the wrong page in the comment stream, click here to get to the most recent comments.

 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.

2019.12.15
Canadians travelling to or through the US should pay attention to their withering rights, H.M. Jocelyn, CBC News, Canada.
2019.12.12
EU revives issue of FATCA information exchange as year-end deadline for banks approaches, Helen Burggraf, AmericanExpatFinance.
2019.12.10
13 Reasons Why I Committed Citizide, John Richardson, TaxConnections.
US tax filing requirements that Americans living in Canada should know, David Altro and Avi Guttman, Globe and Mail, Canada.
2019.12.07
Confirmed – Rep. Holding to leave Congress at end of 2020, after reintroducing Tax Fairness for Americans Abroad Act,  Helen Burggraf, AmericanExpatFinance.
2019.12.06
Trump is trying to make it took expensive for poor immigrants to stay, Annalisa Merrelli, Quartz, US.
2019.12.05
Revenue Neutrality And A Move To Residence-based Taxation: Open Letter To Democrats Abroad, John Richardson, Karen Alpert, Laura Snyder, TaxConnections.
What It’s Like to Retire Abroad,  Glenn Ruffenach, Wall Street Journal, US.

Earlier 2019 articles are in the  Media and Blog Articles 2019 Archive.  Links to previous years’ archives are also at that link.

2020.01.01: This thread is now closed. Please comment at Media and Blog Articles Part 7 of 7
.

523 thoughts on “Media and Blog Articles Open for Comments – Part 6 of 11 (Year 2019)”

  1. ” We are not unreasonable. We are not unsympathetic. We are not irresponsible…….” He neglected to mention that they ARE stupid and backwards.

    ” and some other countries” By “some” he meant every other country in the world except Eritrea.

    I forgot all about that silly speech. Jacobson is long gone, we’re all still sitting tight, and CBT is alive and well with no end (or solution for the grandmas) in sight…..

  2. @badger

    Regarding the Guardian article and the dear old Cambridge gran, I will reprise my comment from two days ago:

    She did not fork over 11k quid to get squared away with her bank. She forked over 11k quid to get squared away with the IRS and renounce US citizenship.

    She could’ve gotten squared away with her UK bank for whatever it would’ve cost her to acquire an SSN – some postage stamps and possibly a rail ticket.

    Sadly, I imagine she sought professional advice.

  4. Oddly enough, had the dear old Cambridge gran listened to the what the US ambassador to Canada circa 2011 said – “sit tight” – she wouldn’t be out 11k quid. Instead, she listened to a tax accountant.

  5. Re sitting tight.

    Recently just met someone who thankfully chose to ‘sit tight’ rather than come forward and ‘comply’ re a US citizen parent/s estate (all assets in Canada, no prior US compliance, citizens of Canada, long time Canadian residence). Luckily didn’t listen to advice urging reporting to US. Not sure if beneficiaries had inherited US status from parent. Took the position that they are only Canadian, regardless of whatever US may say.

    Lots of crossborder families out there, who spent some time in the US for whatever reason, but came back to Canada to live out their lives.

  6. I do love hearing stories of pushback.

    We have no evidence on which to make such a claim, but I’d link to think that after almost ten years of people discussing non-compliance here and elsewhere, there are resources beyond accountants’ adverts, and maybe in a few cases common sense will prevail.

  7. @ Ron Henderson

    Yes, I’m proof of that. Because of what I was able to read (and ask about) on this site, I decided not to continue with an accountant and file nothing. I’d never been in the US tax system, and as I’ve lived abroad since 1988 with no income or assets in the USA, I decided not to enter it either. I have since renounced.

  8. Please Retweet and Like on Twitter:

    From: @GroverNorquist 10:48 AM · Sep 1, 2019

    “The Republican tax cut ended the double taxation of American business earning overseas. We stopped taxing income earned overseas that was already taxed by the country where it was earned. We should do[sic] the same for individuals. No more double taxing Americans who live abroad.”
    https://twitter.com/GroverNorquist/status/1167962308464693248?s=20

    7:50 AM · Aug 31, 2019

    “FATCA is a stupid law passed by congress signed by Obama.
    Need a less stupid congress to repeal it.
    This cannot be completely done in reconciliation so Dems could/would filibuster.”
    https://twitter.com/GroverNorquist/status/1167555128251039744?s=20

  9. Keith Redmond on Facebook:

    Keith Redmond I’m glad Grover stated this but let’s tell the whole truth. The tax cut made the situation for Americans overseas with small to medium sized businesses and who are US tax compliant ruinous for them with the Transition Tax + GILTI. This is a fact. Yet another example where both parties screw Americans overseas in their own special way. This is also another example where entering the US tax compliance system can be ruinous as one never knows what financially devastating law can come down the pike.

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/AmericanExpatriates/permalink/1334437566722312/?comment_id=1334593280040074

  10. A letter has been sent to the United Nations to mark the 5th Anniversary of the filing of our Human Rights Complaint. The letter itself cannot be published as all communications with the UN are deemed confidential by that body. The letter brings the UN up to date on the developments of the last year a half (since we were last in contact). I thought that those who have been following the progress (?) of the Complaint over the last five years would like to know that the Complaint is still very much “in play” and has not been forgotten despite the long periods of complete silence.

    Although we are receiving absolutely no communication from the United Nations in response to our periodic “reminder letters”, we will not let the matter rest until we receive official notice that our Complaint is to be heard.

  11. @ MNM — Thank you for doing this every year. Without your “we’re still here, we’re still waiting” reminders they would certainly have put the application in the “fuhgeddaboudit” file. Maybe our case will make it to the top of the pile this year.

  15. https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/irs-offers-tax-relief-to-expats-who-renounced-u-s-citizenship-after-fatca

    IRS offers tax relief to expats who renounced U.S. citizenship
    By Michael Cohn
    September 06, 2019, 3:40 p.m. EDT

    The Internal Revenue Service outlined new procedures Friday to allow some expatriates who have relinquished their U.S. citizenship the chance to comply with their U.S. tax and filing obligations and in turn qualify for relief from back taxes, penalties and interest.
    …

  17. I really don’t understand this move by the IRS to allow those who renounced without filing anything to come into the system. The scheme is designed for the small fry, and so implies that no tax etc will be raised from them. So why does the IRS want all this paperwork, when there’s nothing in it for them? Did some compliance condors talk them into this?

  20. Doesn’t make sense to me either. I feel like I’m missing something.

    First thing I noticed is no fines or penalties, because my sense, since learning about the US tax system a few years ago, is that the US tends to have has a weird (Americanly exceptional?) concept of tax amnesty in general – for them, “amnesty” seems to usually involve an astronomical fine or at least threats. Now, they’ve come up with an “amnesty” that has no astronomical fines and/or threats and it sounds like no tax.

    Hey, I’m not complaining about them waiving taxes, just that it’s a bit puzzling. I’m vaguely remembering some amnesty program here in Canada– no threats or fines but they did require you pay the tax. It sounded logical – a good deal for the people, but Revenue Canada gets something for its efforts – and the people are now in the system for the future.

    That’s my second point. Usually the other goal of a tax amnesty is to get people into the system. What’s the point of this program – to get people into the system so they can get out of it?

    The paperwork involved is a big job for the renunciant. But it also creates paperwork for IRS. So, IRS will be paying employees to process paperwork that doesn’t result in back tax revenue, and doesn’t result in future tax revenue because many people renouncing do not have financial ties to the US. Only thing I can think of is they want to collect data or as BB pointed out it’s part of some bigger plan aimed at the big fish. Dunno what the point is. But basically, on the surface level, it seems strange to me.

  21. @Pacifica “for them, “amnesty” seems to usually involve an astronomical fine or at least threats.”

    Q. What’s a potential “gotcha” for them?
    A. FBAR requirements. See FAQ 18.

  22. Google Alerts – Monitor the Web for interesting new content

    Anyone may setup “alerts” for specific terms such as “FATCA.” When the term is found on the web Google will e-mail a link.

    https://www.google.com.au/alerts

    I set one up for FATCA and received this alert today:

    https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-economy/2776183-ukrainian-government-approves-bill-ratifying-fatca.html

    I think Ukraine is too desperate for alliance with the U.S. to question sign up to FATCA.

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