Liberty and justice for all United States persons abroad

The Isaac Brock Society

Media and Blog Articles – Part 1 of 11 (to 26 May 2015)

You can access all years at this link:

http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/media-and-blog-articles-links-for-all-years/

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.

26 May 2015:  This thread is now closed.  It continues at Media and Blog Articles Open for Comment, Part 2 of 2.

2015.05.26

New Survey finds US expat voting could impact 2016 Presidential Election, Greenback Expat Tax Services, NASDAQ GlobeNewswire.

This congressional committee wants to hear all your FOIA gripes, Colby Itkowitz, Washington Post, US.

The black money recovery skills of IT department are nothing to write home about, Vivek Kaul, The Daily Reckoning.

2015.05.25

The Intersection of US Federal Tax Law with Collection of International Information- – Including Other  Federal Agencies, Patrick W. Martin, TaxExpatriaation, US.

2015.05.23

America the not so brave:  America has led the global assault on tax dodgers and their enablers.  But the reality still lags behind the rhetoric, The Economist, UK.

Cash Banned from Chase Safe Deposit Boxes, Matt Chilliak, Live and Invest News.

2015.05.22

US Steuergesetz hat unerwartete globale Konsequenzen, Colleen Graffy, Geopolitical Information Service.  Also at Consequences of US widening net to catch tax dodgers, Colleen Graffy, World Review.

The horse may have bolted … but, Angelo Venardos, Asia Asset Management.

Important Correction:  Passports Required to Enter and Leave US — but SSNs May be Optional, Patrick W. Martin, Tax Expatriation, US.

2015.05.21

Americans working abroad face unexpected financial issues, Sarah O’Brien, NBC, US.

Senate tax reform groups get more time, Bernie Becker, The Hill, US.

2015.05.20

Malaysia will defer FATCA reporting, FSI Tax Posts.

America’s Self-Inflicted Wound, Moises Naim, The Atlantic, US.

Janice Mays:  The Tax Guru Who Guides House Democrats, Alex Brown, National Journal, US.

Sen. Rand Paul Launches Filibuster in Protest of Patriot Act Renewal, C-SPAN, US.

Articles from earlier in 2015 are at this link

Articles from 2014 are at this link

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

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

3,971 thoughts on “Media and Blog Articles – Part 1 of 11 (to 26 May 2015)”

  1. OK, this is scary. This was recently posted on the American Expatriates FB page:
    Laura Wilson: I posted on the DA site and just received this reply: ” Eric Reynolds: Be careful, Laura Wilson. I know of a few people who have been banned from the DA site for voicing their angst and disgust about FATCA, CBT.”

    Has anyone here found this to be true?

    Keith Redmond: Yep! I was banned from the Democrats Abroad main FB page and from the Democrats Abroad Canada page for posting about FATCA and asking questions regarding what they were doing.

  2. And, Charl, that is the reason Isaac Brock Society came into existence in the first place, being blocked from a very US government point of view on taxation of expats site …

    From: http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2014/12/10/happy-birthday-isaac-brock-society-2/

    The origins of Brock though, are at the ExpatForum where many of us found ourselves after the famous Barrie McKenna article (I have yet to find the one I am actually thinking of and will update when I find it). I recently told him this and he thanked me; then quickly thought about it and said, “oh, so sorry!.” LOL! Here are some of the people who came together there and helped Brock become what it is today. I have tried really hard to include everyone I can remember; anyone who is left out, please let me know and I will update:

    Accidental, AmTaker, Arrow, baird68, cafreeb12, calgary411, canadianhoosier , Deckard1138, Don Podmorro, 416, Foxyladyhawk, Geeeez, Greyowl, Johnnb, justbrowsing, KalC, Lovecheese, mach7, maz57 MonaLisa1776, Nobledreamer, Nononymous, OAP, Outraged Canadian, pacifica, Peg, Petros, quincy, rivka88, rodgod, saddened123, Schubert1975, somerfugl, The Animal, Vangrrrl, zucchero81

     

    I cannot remember exactly when I joined, I think it was the second week of October. A couple of days later I was pretty sure I recognized the writing of someone who had signed Rami’s petition. Her name was cafreeb12 and we became quick online friends.I was a complete newbie to the whole world of posts, comments and public banter. She encouraged me to write, was very supportive and I remain forever grateful to her for that. She was experienced in the political arena and one of the first things she did was set up a show on Friday nights on Blog Talk Radio. She was the host and encouraged me to be a co-host; we did all of 4 programs and Petros was our first guest.

    jacobsonThere were two seminal events that are ingrained from the ExpatForum era. First, the infamous utterings of Ambassador David Jacobson; “not out to get honest grandmas” who don’t owe anything to the Internal Revenue Service,’ “My message on this is to sit tight,” “We are not unreasonable. We are not unsympathetic. We are not irresponsible.” While we hoped something positive would happen, everybody was afraid to believe him. We had already suffered Shulman’s threats,the endless fear mongering of the compliance industry, read of the horrors of OVDP 2009, the bait-and-switch of FAQ 35 and so on. We waited and waited for the relief promised by the Ambassador. It finally came in early December in the form of IRS Fact Sheet 2011-13. At first people were not sure this was “it.” Where was the elimination of the FUBAR penalties and the refunds for those minnows who paid dearly in OVDP? Not to be found anywhere, that was for sure. It seemed like it would be safe for many who fit the Examples but then again, even the condors analyzed every phrase and proclaimed there really wasn’t anything new here. Things definitely did not feel like the situation was improving.

    gorillaThe second major event was the “mass renunciation meeting” at the Toronto Consulate in mid-October 2011. It actually was only the first of the two required visits and all of the November appointments were taken up due to those second meetings. . One of our buddies from ExpatForum was featured in the article. We couldn’t believe he would “go public!” Even though he had done it all, how could he not (still) be afraid? Not only that but about a week later he left for a visit somewhere in the US. He had no trouble whatsoever in entering. The second, anticipated “mass” meeting never materialized; I was on the list for that one (and if memory serves, so was 416, who actually owes me a coffee!). After what seemed like forever, I finally just made the appointment myself. One step closer to freedom!

    PeterThe seeds for Brock were sown one day when a post I’d written was deleted. Petros was kind enough to write me and ask if I was okay. We got to talking; I really thought we needed to put together some info sheets so that we needn’t repeat the same old things over and over again. And Petros thought we might be better off if we had our own place to write, research, report and discuss. Less than a month later, on December 10, 2011, exactly three years ago today, Petros started The Isaac Brock Society blog. There was a short period of time where we were posting to both groups. I remember we were signing “Isaac Brock Society” after our names. Soooooo rebellious. Promotion of any kind not permitted there. And then came the day that jimmyjam decided we needed to warn all the folks who were going to emigrate to the US and went over to the US forum. He started to write very long posts and quite a few of them in a very short time. One of the moderators was very irritated by these posts (not one who usually looked over our particular forum) and started getting nasty with comments and then proceeded to start deleting. Calgary411 (yes, our dear, gentle Calgary) decided she had had enough and told the moderator to go back to his/her own forum and butt out of ours (or something to that effect). By noon, there was no access to the forum at all. This lasted for 4 or so hours. When the site came back up, many, many comments and posts had been deleted. Something like 60% of what I had written was gone. I was sick as that represented a lot of information we had compiled in nearly three months of researching. We were warned about the “R” word. Petros posted some “moderator jokes” for which he was permanently banned. He gives an account of what happened here. Many of us deleted our accounts; anything we posted still shows our monikers but as “guest.” After the 12th of January the index seems to have none of our names listed as authors or commentators. A few people still comment there but most of us left. If you are curious to see what remains you can click here.

  3. @ LM
    Thanks for pointing this out:

    Just look at the G-20 in Brisbane about a month ago. Those country’s leaders all agreed to an international banking ‘agreement’ that defined banking depositors as *investors* who are on the hook for bank bail ins in the event the bank gambles with and loses the depositors money. And moreover, those depositors are last in line to collect their money, after bondholders and institutional investors, and tax collectors. (Cyprus model)

    I’ve been slipping that in here and there at Brock but it needs to be emphasized. It makes “deposit insurance” meaningless doesn’t it. I think we should all be having a discussion with the managers at our banks and even our credit union regarding this. (Credit unions typically offer 100% insurance whereas banks only up to $100K.) If our deposits are no longer any safer in banks and credit unions than in our own hands we need to seriously think about that — and soon. They say the quadrillion dollar derivative scheme could blow up anytime. I should mention that before I placed money in my credit union I had a discussion with the bank manager about derivatives. I wanted reassurance that the credit union had nothing to do with those and he said they did not and I accepted that. However, I’m much more skeptical now.

    Last year when my 5 year CIC finally matured I had them put the money in simple savings. Of course they wanted me to “reinvest it”. I said, “No thanks, all I ask is that you don’t lose it.” I didn’t know what was coming down the pike with the G-20 meeting. I guess now I would be able to say, “All I ask is that you don’t take it away.”

  5. @ Tricia….OK, I can feel my head starting to explode!

    On another note: The RO just responded to my questioning of their tactics re repealing CBT/FATCA.

    This is their strategy: “The RNC will vote to pass a proposed RNC resolution opposing OECD’s Global FATCA (GATCA). We believe this resolution will enable us to build a greater coalition to repeal FATCA for three reasons: 1) GATCA will violate privacy rights of 320 million Americans at home; 2) only 7% of 7.6 million expats voting in 2012 has diminished their political voice on issues such as FATCA and CBT; and 3) we need your fellow countrymen at home to speak out against FATCA.”

    For once I just do not know what to say. 1). It is my belief that they just do NOT understand that the US can hold two disparate thoughts at the same time. GATCA bad, FATCA good. I see no value in approaching FATCA via GATCA. I believe the US only cares about themselves thus CBT/FATCA should be approached as to how it is hurting the US. Am I wrong thinking on this? 2). The good old voting issue and why expats are useless and neither political party cares. 3). Our fellow countrymen at home have NEVER heard of FATCA because the media is not exposing how FATCA is hurting America itself. The measly coverage is expat focused and no one cares! This reply should be nominated for a FATCA finger salute x 10

    Please, please go to this site and yell at them! Or give me something smart to say. I am so po’ed I cannot formulate a sentence. https://www.facebook.com/republicansoverseas/posts/336069923243476?comment_id=336425583207910&offset=0&total_comments=3&notif_t=feed_comment_reply

    (This part is funny…kinda. I told them (jokingly) they needed for me to come to the Winter RNC meeting. Ha, they actually called my bluff and said I could come, Solomon would sponsor me! So much for my big mouth!)

  8. @ Charl –
    RE banned from the Democrats Abroad – this is not only scary but devastating & makes one want to cry; it’s clear that Democrats Abroad are not democratic at all!!!
    And as for going to the RNC meetings, my vote (which has absolutely no meaning) is YES, you should go, maybe along with some other Brockers and make our voices hears (just like the Flophouse folks attended the EU meeting and sent representatives to DC. Stephen Kish are you game/do you think this MIGHT make an impact?????

  10. @Charl

    I know all of that banter is irritating. But there is one point they are making and are correct about. It is why we go and post and take the abuse of the Homelanders.

    We need the Homelanders to understand and be on our side.

    That said, I don’t agree with waiting……..

  11. How about taking a binder of stories with you? Maybe a photo of the person who wrote the story? Anything to personalize the situation and turn this from a story about tax evasion into a story about people whose lives have been turned upside down by at best thoughtless and at worst malevolent legislation. A call for stories from Brockers would elicit many, many heart wrenching stories, many of which have been read here on this site, but many that have also been submitted to politicians and reporters. And there’s nothing I would like better than to WRENCH SOME HEARTS!

  13. @EmBee I am sorry to say my aging sclerotic brain cannot interpret what the RO is up to. There are two things going on (I think); the lawsuit and the RNC Winter 2016 platform meeting this month. This is where the RO is going to propose going after GATCA. They believe (grrrrrr) that if you can kill GATCA FATCA will follow. I humbly disagree but of course they will not listen to me. imagine, the horror! They also have reneged on going after CBT/FATCA, which I think it was assumed they would now that they have both houses, until 2016/17 if they can take the big house. (This I believe is being held out as a carrot to get us to vote Repuglican). Of course it would be best for us for them to do it NOW, who cares of the President vetoes it. At least it will get press and we will KNOW which legislators are stepping to the plate. What they “say” and what they “do” seems to keep morphing. As far as the lawsuit goes I do not see them beating the bushes in regards to fundraising. (This would be chump change for the RNC). Remember they PROMISED the suit would be launched before Xmas? Well, ummm maybe soon? Really? I am sorry to say I think they are just playing with us, I do hope I am wrong. But hey, they are way better than the Democrats. At least we can post on their FB page. Such an honour.

    @LM I really do not know which party I hate more! Me going to the US? Only if I can go with my three vicious 150 lb shepherds and blanket amnesty thanks. And at that I would want a private sitting with Mr Preibus. All of the other Republican “stuff” re the social issues would make my head explode. Maybe I can invite him to Past Beyond for a spot of tea. What are the chances?

    I have a feeling the political types do not appreciate women of a certain age that are willing to wear purple with a red hat that doesn’t match. Those of us who came of age in the ’60’s and cut our teeth on Joplin, Vietnam, dated the Chicago 8 (not all at once mind you) do not seem to thrive well in the political arena. Just a bit to crusty around the edges and lack that certain obfuscating “polish”.

  14. @Charl & LM,

    The Dems have never been democratic about anything, particularly when it comes to money. They have an inherent belief that all the money belongs to the state and the people only get to use it. Hence their obsession with global financial control (FATCA) and citizenship based taxation (CBT). The Dems will NEVER renounce either one of them.

    Speaking out against FATCA and CBT on their FB page is the equivalent of blasphemy and punishable by permanent banishment.

    So good luck trying to enlighten them.

  15. @Bubble I have a feeling the ADSC team prefers a more sophisticated, polished approach than I could ever offer. I just want to stick needles in everyones eyes and tell them they are all greedy, amoral, sub-human, F-ing hypocritical a-holes! I am NOT ready for prime time, never will be.

  16. @ Charl
    We need ALL approaches. I like your style. Keep poking and prodding because you do it well and you never know who you’ll divert down the road to reason.

  17. @Charl

    I find you articulate, passionate and REAL. You could represent the grannies that Ambassador Jacobsen said the US wasn’t after. That said, I wouldn’t want you hassled by the IRS. Boris, though, doesn’t seems to have any qualms about shooting the IRS the FATCA finger and is reentering the US in February…but then you aren’t the mayor of London either:

    https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07eabk7olucd715ec9&c=&ch=

  18. usx,

    Thank you — VERY MUCH!!! Not a comment to that story — all affected readers were in shell-shock.

    …and I’ve sent it on to Tricia — I couldn’t find it for her, but I think you have!!!!!

  23. Maybe we just have to come to terms with the fact that this is the way Americans – ALL Americans – want it. They want CBT. Whatever I have read about tax reform in the future, there was never any mention of changing CBT. Lowering corporate taxes to avert inversions – yes. But nothing about expats and their plight: nothing about double taxation or ruinous costs nor the inability to plan for retirement or invest. Their logic remains: if you had been paying your taxes all along as you were supposed to, then this wouldn’t be a problem. For them this is just punishment for not having been compliant. And then we have the possibility of having been non-willful as a saving grace. They find this just.

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