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. @ badger
    Awesome! Thanks. I didn’t know about this cache thing. I’m reading the instructions right now. Sometimes when I think of you I think of the “Bletchley Circle” and always I think of your super researching powers.

  2. IRS Voluntary Disclosure Regime Expands Maximum Penalty Bracket

    The IRS recently announced an expansion of the list of banks and advisors that trigger the highest penalty bracket within its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program.

    The addition of Sovereign Management & Legal, Ltd. and Bank Leumi to the increased penalty list will have repercussions in Asia, Israel and the United States as their clients seek options to address their U.S. income and reporting deficiencies, while the IRS uses those submissions to identify still more financial institutions, advisors and noncompliant taxpayers.

    New Year, Increased Penalty
    Generally, taxpayers who submit a request for participation in the OVDP pay a miscellaneous offshore penalty equal to 27.5 percent of the highest aggregate value of OVDP assets during the period covered by the voluntary disclosure. The offshore penalty is in lieu of all other penalties that may otherwise apply to the undisclosed foreign accounts, assets and entities, including FBAR and offshore-related information return penalties and tax liabilities for years prior to the voluntary disclosure period. These penalties could otherwise far exceed the value in an undisclosed offshore account.
    Partner Insights
    What’s this?

    However, the offshore penalty rate is increased to 50 percent under certain circumstances. Under the newly released list, the 50 percent penalty would apply if, at the time of making the initial submission to request participation in the OVDP to the IRS, the taxpayer had an account at any of the following:

    1. UBS AG
    2. Credit Suisse AG, Credit Suisse Fides and Clariden Leu Ltd.
    3. Wegelin & Co.
    4. Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG
    5. Zurcher Kantonalbank
    6. swisspartners Investment Network AG, swisspartners Wealth Management AG, swisspartners Insurance Company SPC Ltd. and swisspartners Versicherung AG
    7. CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank Limited, its predecessors, subsidiaries and affiliates
    8. Stanford International Bank, Ltd., Stanford Group Company and Stanford Trust Company, Ltd.
    9. The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited in India (HSBC India)
    10. The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited (also known as Butterfield Bank and Bank of Butterfield), its predecessors, subsidiaries and affiliates
    11. Sovereign Management & Legal, Ltd., its predecessors, subsidiaries and affiliates (effective 12/19/14)
    12. Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M., The Bank Leumi le-Israel Trust Company Ltd, Bank Leumi (Luxembourg) S.A., Leumi Private Bank S.A. and Bank Leumi USA (effective 12/22/14)

  3. Obama proposal would say Inheriting Grandma’s House Comes with Tax Bill

    The best-laid estate plans just got muddled.

    President Barack Obama is proposing a fundamental change in tax policy that would limit what many Americans can leave to their heirs. The change would affect billionaires—as well as people who aren’t wealthy enough to pay estate taxes, if their assets have gained sharply enough in value.

    A family home or a stock portfolio that quadrupled in value to $1 million over the years and goes to a child could be subject to taxes on that gain, whether or not it’s sold.
    …

  4. Glad to be of any help @Embee, no special knowledge on my part really (flattered that you think of me that way, but alas, I can only wish that I had the mental powers/skills of the Bletchley women on that BBC show!).

    I think also someone here (possibly usxcanada?) also suggested trying the Wayback Machine https://archive.org/web/ to retrieve things as well.

  5. The “Grandma’s House Tax” proposal seems to be similar to what we have in Canada. As I understand it, in Canada, when a person dies without having an inheriting spouse, there’s a deemed disposition of assets and tax is payable on any gains that would have been payable had the person sold the asset when alive (so, principal residence is excluded).

    I think this is reasonable as it can be characterized as the collection of deferred taxes. The US proposal, however, falls down to some extent because a) the US has an estate tax (unlike Canada), and b) principal residences are being included (since their sale is taxable in the US).

    The deemed disposition tax plus plus an estate tax seems overly broad. So, I wonder if perhaps this is part of a plan to eventually offer to trade off the estate tax (which can’t bring in too much money with a $5.43M exclusion?) for this new tax.

  6. Grandma`s house tax bill
    Imagine if a family is dreaming of moving into the family home – one that has been inherited down the line for generations. We now know that the younger generations have less in the way of wealth than their parents – so this will mean that many estates that belonged in a family will have to be sold. I think it is a horrific law. If the same went for a business, then family businesses will be lost too.

  7. Forgot to mention how USCs and their relatives in Canada once again get screwed should the new US tax ever come into being. Example: in Canada, last surviving parent who happens to be a USC leaves principal residence to Canadian-only kids. The estate (i.e., kids) must now pay the “grandma’s house tax”. It’s also likely that the NRA spouse of a USC would get hit with this tax should the USC spouse pass on, since there would be no way for the US to collect its “due” otherwise.

    Reiterates a very good reason to cut the cord on US citizenship – one never knows what the next idiot fest in Washinton will inflict on the already tortured expat USC.

  8. @tdott re” 5.34 m estate tax exclusion. This only works if one spouse dies and the other is a US citizen then no death tax on the first spouse. If the surviving spouse is a nonUS citizen then they get an exemption by may get the 5.34 exclusion if they create a QDOT Trust managed out of the US with death tax on remaining assets on death of second spouse. Compliance and Tax purgatory!

  10. Isn’t filing your FATCA forms like moving to the back of the bus? Any FATCA freedom fighter comparable to Rosa Parks would move their money to a non-reporting FI and give their bank the one finger salute!

  11. I have deployed my new favorite word to describe the opposite of loophole. The word is sinkhole. People in the US think that if you are a US person living overseas you benefit from loophole. The reality is that you get subjected to a tax and compliance sinkhole.

    3 IRS Strikes? FATCA, FBARs, An ‘Abode’ In U.S. Although You Live Abroad

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2015/02/01/3-irs-strikes-fatca-fbars-an-abode-in-u-s-although-you-live-abroad/?commentId=comment_blogAndPostId/blog/comment/1057-32840-9880

  13. re; Grandma’s house, why not introduce asset reporting requirements for homelanders DBAR and DATCA
    (dumber and daffier) and start levying a wealth tax

  14. CBS Marketwatch article mentions that staying connected to the US financial system while abroad is “crucial” and warns of the “potential for damage along the way” for temporary expats (namely, young Americans teaching English abroad):
    https://secure.marketwatch.com/story/why-so-many-college-graduates-are-teaching-abroad-2015-02-04

    No matter why you go, it’s crucial to stay connected to what you left behind. People who live abroad for many years often let their credit activity fall dormant, potentially leaving them without a credit history when they return. … As for the rest of it — the foreign ATM fees, the initial cost of getting to another country, the ability to make a living wage in a different currency — the costs and advantages need to be weighed carefully before you hop on a plane. International experience could jump-start your career and your savings, but be aware of the potential for damage along the way.

    No mention of PATRIOT Act or FATCA. Particularly amused by the assumption that returning to the U.S. is a matter of “when” rather than “if”, though of course this is probably correct: permanent emigration will become harder and harder.

  18. @Eric

    It’s a big, bad world out there, but the US government is still the single biggest threat to Americans living abroad. But they provide little in the way of warning about that.

  19. As consolation to you foreign types living in countries with mud huts who have to pay the ACA penalties or at least jump through hoops:

    http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/20044-obamacare-tax-penalties-to-affect-millions-illegal-aliens-exempted

    This bit is just golden:

    Illegal aliens are exempted from this penalty. Page 2 of the instructions for Form 8965 has a Coverage Exemption Table. In the fourth block one can find “Not a U.S. citizen, not a U.S. national, and not lawfully present in the U.S.” as criteria for being exempted from paying this penalty.

    Have a nice day!

  20. There have been some complaints about the ACA from people here. Of course you have to pay the 3.8% if your ‘rich’. You can use exemption code C to avoid the penalties it seems:

    A U.S. citizen or resident who spent at least 330 full days outside of the U.S. during a 12–month period;

    The way that’s worded in the IRS docs is any year will do. I don’t it’s like that in law.

  22. I just realised that a paywall message comes up if you click the link. I got to The Economist article through a google search. The title of the article is:
    “Tackling Tax Evasion: Follow the Money” And the first line is:
    “As countries share more information, opportunities to squirrel away cash abroad will continue to narrow”

    The author seems to overlook the problems FATCA has created and notes that other countries have wondered how the U.S. managed to raise so much money from it. Perhaps some people would like to enlighten him?

  25. An abominable “accountability” bill has been introduced by Re. John Katko. It’s called the TSA Office of Inspection Accountability Act (H.R. 719).
    http://www.dcclothesline.com/2015/02/06/economist-new-bill-turns-tsa-tax-police/
    Economist: New Bill Turns TSA into Tax Police

    “This bill will now result in the arrest of anyone for any alleged crime whatsoever and that will apply to taxes,” warns the economist, accusing Katko of, “converting the TSA into a police force less concerned about air safety and focused more on catching anyone the government can argue violates some law federal or state.”

    Armstrong notes that the new bill follows the implementation of FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, which critics say, “turns foreign banks and other financial institutions into enforcement arms of America’s Internal Revenue Service,” because it forces them to report clients to the feds or face large punitive penalties.

    It’s somewhat ironic that the TSA could now take on duties normally performed by the IRS given that the two bodies routinely compete for the position of most loathed federal agency in America.

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