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)”

  2. The Hill article Publius posted is open for comment and in need of a few recommendations from the Swat team. Also maybe Mr. Portman and Mr. Schumer’s FB pages may need some guidance.

  3. @JC, US might not care for GATCA, but TPTB do, and TPTB should have influenced US to drop non-resident US persons from FATCA so as to have less world-wide resistance for GATCA’s framework, and so as not to wake up the masses. Now we are awake (well at least some of us are).

  4. @Polly, re; “Have 1.6 million renounced or moved back”.

    Closing the loop – ramping up FATCA, reduction of ‘taxpayer assistance’ – such as it is outside the US, AND then
    I’m wondering when they will announce that they have closed all renunciation/relinquishment services in US embassies and consulates to save money, except for consolidating them all in one location only worldwide. It has to be outside of the US. Perhaps they’ll make it somewhere like Kabul – dangerous to travel to, or somewhere obscure like Mongolia, or a very small island somewhere that no-one can reach. So we’ll still have the right to renounce, but not the means.

    Lots of threats and enforcement, no assistance, no “services”, no benefits. Only burden.

  5. badger and Polly…

    And the echo of those who have wisely noted: “Time to get out while the “getting out is semi-good”.”

  7. Re the above mention by Publius and Charl of Senator Schumer, who I understand would be co-chair, not chair, of the International working group on tax reform:

    Could someone please provide me with specific quotes or actions of Senator Schumer, with the references, that might indicate a pre-existing bias of Senator Schumer against U.S. citizens living overseas? We have until April or so to make submissions to this U.S. SFC group.

  8. @ Stephen Kish

    Sen. Schumer’s bias certainly was evident when he (and others) had a hissy fit about Eduardo Saverin’s renunciation. He teamed up with Sen. Casey to propose their “Ex-PATRIOT” Act.

    http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-17/schumer-proposes-tax-on-people-like-facebook-s-severin

    “Eduardo Saverin wants to de-friend the United States of America just to avoid paying taxes,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, told reporters today. “We aren’t going to let him get away with it.”

  11. @Stephen Kish

    Below are some articles mentioning Chuck Schumer. He may not have come out in public specifically saying anything that can get him in trouble for being bias against expats. However, the content of his actions and bills certainly is bias because the overwhelming majority of people renouncing US citizenship are long-term expats (perhaps 99%).

    Therefore, it is impossible for expats to think anything else other than Schumer’s nasty diatribes about renouncing US citizenship being directed at them [expats].

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendy-n-powell/expatriate-tax-sense-or-b_b_5716039.html

    http://blogs.angloinfo.com/us-tax/2013/06/23/1243/

    http://www.moodystax.com/downloads/Renunciation_Seminar_Aug_26_2013.pdf

    http://www.brighttax.com/8/post/2012/05/ex-patriot-act-to-permanently-banish-some-who-renounce-us-citizenship.html

  13. CBC (Radio West) January 17, 2015: Canadians going to U.S. for long stays need to be mindful of changes, says MP

    Gail Hunnisett, constituency assistant for Alex Atamanenko, MP for B.C. Southern Interior, said she’s been fielding a lot of calls since her office put out the information.

    “We were specially wanting to alert people that this could potentially be a problem for them if they were being careless about their travel,” said Hunnisett.

    She said a common misconception is that Canadians can spend up to 182 days, or six months, in the U.S. It’s actually 120 days, or four months and that includes all trips to the U.S. in a single year.

    Hunnisett said that to extend their stay to 182 days, Canadians have to fill out a special form.

    People who overstay their welcome are at risk:

    being considered a U.S. resident and having to pay taxes on worldwide income
    losing their Canadian residency and their health care
    being deemed illegally in the U.S. and being banned from the country for three to 10 years.

  14. We keep getting reports from travellers to the US who say this is all the talk among snowbirds down there. Expect big changes in their migration patterns in 2015, and a large influx of forms going to the IRS!

  16. @orwell

    So according to Mr Lesperance, the American people are nation of flag-waiving sheep/lemming crosses, incapable of governing themselves.

    OMG – we’re doomed!

  17. @Orwell
    Very good article you put up. The author has identified the groups well.
    He may be right. Get out while you can. We can keep fighting in the meantime to help accelerate the change.

  18. @calgary411,

    I have traveled to the USA 3 times via air from Canada in the past 1.5 years, and each time they stamp my passport with a B1 (business) or B2 (pleasure) visa. Each one said I could stay 6 months, not 4 months. I did not fill out any form and they did not even mention my stay is not more than 6 months. The funny thing is that these visas were issued after I renounced 1.5 years ago; before then (dozens of times) they did not issue a visa on my CAN passport even though I did not show them my US passport. This means that my Canadian passport is cross-referenced to my CLN. Scary. I’ve also traveled by car a couple times since then but they don’t bother to stamp the passport with a visa.

  19. Very interesting observation, kermitzii!! Thanks very much for your comment.

    Other frequent air travellers to the US — Has this happened to you?

  21. There is no commenting available: http://wealthmanagement.com/high-net-worth/heckerling-floor-interview-bny-mellon-wealths-joan-crain, saying

    …there are now over 230 million people residing outside of the countries in which they were born. This figure represents an increase of over 50% since 1990. In the case of immigration to the U.S., a major driving force behind this increase is students studying abroad—the student comes into the country on a student visa, takes a liking to it, and his family later follows. Additionally, companies based in many countries are taking a more global approach and sending their employees, and usually their employees’ families as well, out into the wider world.

    New, stricter foreign asset reporting requirements under the FATCA regime have had a particular impact on U.S. expatriates. According to Joan, this group is finding it increasingly difficult to secure financial service providers, even for the most basic activities, because many foreign financial institutions simply want to avoid the hassle that now accompanies U.S. nationals. Some have even seen their existing relationships fall apart, as institutions purge their books of U.S. clients. As such, it’s becoming increasingly more attractive for U.S. expats to simply work with a U.S.-based global provider.

    More disconnect.

    As if the US expat who has left the *homeland* permanently is non-existent. More disconnect.

  22. Stephen, Publius, Charl, Others,

    Here is more regarding The Cost of Inaction on Tax Reform.

    …
    That’s according to a NAM-commissioned study by economists at the University of Tennessee and the University of Kansas. These estimates are based on the economic impact of pro-business tax reform: a maximum corporate tax rate of 25 percent; shifting to a territorial tax system, where taxes are levied only on profits earned in the U.S.; full expensing of all capital equipment purchases; an enhanced and permanent research and development tax credit; and parallel changes for pass-through businesses, which are subject to individual income taxes, not corporate taxes.

    That’s a wish list for tax reform. The political reality is that even if the business community manages to get these changes, they would be accompanied by the elimination of lots of tax deductions to help make up for the revenue that would be lost. The NAM study doesn’t attempt to quantify the impact of this side of tax reform.

    Instead, NAM just wants to call attention to the economic potential being lost by Congress’ failure to act on tax reform.

    “We are leaving investment and jobs growth on the table as we drag out our feet and decide how we move forward on this,” said Dorothy Coleman, the trade association’s vice president of tax and domestic economic policy.

    “We can’t afford that,” she said.

    There were some hopeful signs for tax reform Friday, at least in the Senate. The Senate Finance Committee appointed five bipartisan working groups to analyze current tax law and look at reform options, and the potential tradeoffs that would be involved. The groups will focus on five policy areas: individual income taxes; corporate taxes; savings and investment; international taxes; and community development and infrastructure.

    Each group will work with the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation to analyze options and potential legislation in each policy area. The goal is to present a report with recommendations from each working group by the end of May, which would serve as the foundation for a bipartisan tax reform bill.

    …

    “Republicans and Democrats agree the American tax system is too complicated, unfair and is hurting economic growth,” said committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

    “We need a simple and fair system that helps both typical Americans and business alike,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

    “We now have a window of opportunity to make a run at modernizing our tax code and it’s time to come together and deliver.”

  24. @Kermatzi, “This means that my Canadian passport is cross-referenced to my CLN.”

    I have serious doubts big brother is that far along.

  25. George, I don’t. The last time I entered the US on my Canadian passport is the ONLY time I have not been hassled in any way at the border. It was the ONLY time I crossed post-CLN. I did not present the CLN, but had it with me. They clearly knew I had it, and it was pegged to my passport in their database.

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