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.
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.
USA Today: Yemen rebels seize U.S. Embassy vehicles as diplomats flee
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/02/11/yemen-embassy-closures/23220185/
“The U.S. Embassy’s Marine detachment, which escorted embassy personnel to the airport, are believed to have turned over their personal weapons to Yemeni officials before boarding commercial flights, said Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman.”
“Meanwhile, the State Department said it currently had no plans for a government-sponsored evacuation of American citizens but urged extreme caution amid an ongoing risk of kidnapping.”
And what’s the best way for militant kidnappers to get their hands on a list of Yemeni/Americans to round up as hostages? Just go to the nearest FATCA registered FFI. They will have complete dossiers on all account holders with “US indicia.” Which FFI’s are currently registered as FATCA compliant? According to the IRS FATCA FFI list:
– Yemen Gulf Bank
– Shamil Bank of Yemen and Bahrain
– Tadhamon International Islamic Bank
– NATIONAL BANK OF YEMEN
– SABA ISLAMIC BANK – Yemen
– YEMEN KUWAIT BANK FOR TRADE AND INVESTMENT
– Cooperative & Agricultural Credit Bank
– Yemen Bank for Rec and Dev
– International Bank of Yemen
– Islamic Bank of Yemen
– Alkuraimi Islamic Microfinance Bank
– Yemen Commercial Bank
– ISLAMIC BANK OF YEMEN FOR FIN AND INV
If you don’t believe me, just have a look at the list for yourself.
http://apps.irs.gov/app/fatcaFfiList/flu.jsf
FATCA: For your safety. Uncle Sam is looking out for you!
Very good points @Walter.
There is that saying: “follow the money”. And the IRS and US Treasury are being so very helpful, pointing the way to the assets of Americans and their families and businesses abroad by providing that helpful directory of institutions outside the US all around the world who are now busy at the behest of the US, identifying and compiling lists of accounts, balances and accountholders for the US Treasury. Thus, with FATCA, the US Treasury is busily setting up Americans abroad and making them vulnerable to would-be hackers and those looking to steal personal and financial information, as well as those who are actively seeking to identify Americans in order to do them harm. This has already been pointed out by Michael Young in his article ‘FATCA’s security problem’ 10/12/2012 12:54 PM https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/fatcas_security_problem .
But not to worry, because of all the ‘benefits’ that extraterritorial US citizenship-based taxation confers, the State Department and the US military will send in the diplomats and the cavalry to rescue those whose assets, personal and financial information and wellbeing the US Treasury has set up for harm and exploitation. Isn’t that one of the core claims of the ‘benefits’ justification for tying US citizenship directly and inextricably to extraterritorial US taxation – that we’re paying protection money as insurance when we need rescuing by the US (ex. see CBT apologists like Michael Kirsch in his paper ‘TAXING CITIZENS IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY’ where he argues; “……..Historically, the most frequently cited benefit for citizens overseas is protection—both personal and property—in times of crises outside the United States. As previously noted, this benefit served as a principal justification for utilizing citizenship-based taxation in the earliest U.S. income tax laws…”……..the heightened focus on terrorism in recent years suggests an increased role for governmental protection of individual citizens overseas….” http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=931953 and continues in a similar vein here http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2346458 ) ?
Too bad Prof. Kirsch and the other CBT apologists won’t address what happens when malignant US extraterritorial CBT outgrowths like FATCA directly threaten US citizens because the US itself has directly put individuals in harms way – as you and others have pointed out.
Renunciations numbers will fall once people realize my company has a super lovely solution for them:
http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/02/renounce-u-s-citizenship-taxes/
Err, no.
http://blogs.wsj.com/expat/2015/02/11/foreign-expats-in-u-s-find-themselves-rejected-by-banks-back-home/
Feb 11, 2015
‘Global Expats in U.S. Scramble After Being Kicked Out By Home-Country Banks ‘
It looks like nobody was able to get a comment in at the Think Advisor.
http://www.thinkadvisor.com/2015/02/10/irs-says-record-number-of-americans-renounce-citiz?page_all=1
There sits the big blue button at the bottom of the article inviting readers to “Discuss this story” but methinks the Think Advisor didn’t really want to hear from anyone pointing out that the European who was maneuvered into “coming clean” by a tax advisor appears to have had at least two reasons to be given a back-dated CLN. Pity. The man will never know and will likely end up paying a huge price to obtain the freedom he already had in his hand.
@Embee – I managed to register and comment. It’s in moderation. We’ll see if it ever sees the light of day, however.
@ GwEvil
Well I sure hope it makes it through moderation. That would be the only place that poor guy is likely to get enlightened. He obviously didn’t find his way to Brock.
Global Expats in U.S. Scramble After Being Kicked Out By Home-Country Banks
http://blogs.wsj.com/expat/2015/02/11/foreign-expats-in-u-s-find-themselves-rejected-by-banks-back-home/tab/comments/
2:17 pm February 11, 2015
I am Canada wrote:
Canadian banks are beginning to ask if you hold more that one citizenship. If you answer yes, you complete a form with your information and provide a Certificate of Loss of US nationality. If you refused to complete the questionnaire, they threaten to close accounts. A co – worker recently was added to her aging parent’s accounts and provided the bank with a power- of – attorney. She received the form a week later from RBC. She felt it was invasive and refused to answer it. She did so when told it wasn’t optional. Her ONLY citizenship is Dutch. She HAS No ties to the US.
A new article from CNN.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/12/pf/americans-expat-citizenship-passports/index.html
I used to think Nigel Green was pretty smart.
Re Nigel Green. He is quoted as saying “the pace of U.S. citizenship relinquishments is likely to slow”.
It was not noted that he might have added “but the number of renunciations is going to skyrocket”.
And his remark “People are becoming aware of the various compliant ways they can mitigate the negative effects of FATCA, without having to take the drastic and often emotional step of giving up their American citizenship.” was in fact mangled, as his true words might have been:
“People are becoming aware that despite their best efforts full compliance is almost impossible, always costly, and risky. They slowly realize that the ultimate negative effects of FATCA will be having to take the drastic and often emotional step of giving up their American citizenship.”
Re: the Robert Wood article in Forbes Feb. 11:
I want to thank FromPatriotToExPatriate for the stunning comment made there. It certainly spoke my mind for me! Thank you!
@Fred
Re Nigel Green’s comments. We will eventually see the development of a niche investment market for fairly well-off US citizens living abroad. It’s happening already. Watch what Boris does. Now that he’s compliant (we assume), he may decide that for what he’s spent he may as well keep his US citizenship for any benefits he might get from it (unfettered access to the US). With good advice that’s not available to the average person, he may learn to live with what he said is “hard to give up”. Who knows, he might even play up his American-ness to the US in order to increase book sales and popularity there.
Also from the WSJ expat blog:
http://blogs.wsj.com/expat/2015/02/11/a-german-expat-in-u-s-is-expelled-by-her-bank/
A European working in the US paid in Euros by her employer invests in European index funds through her home country bank. Big mistake.
Nice cartoon of you people jumping the fence:
http://reason.com/blog/2015/02/12/record-number-of-americans-renounce-citi
Reason always seems to make a lot of sense on this stuff.
Thanks, Neill.
The last sentence of the article, the best.
Nigel Green wrote:
“The pace of U.S. citizenship relinquishments is likely to slow, and over time the historic numbers of people severing ties with the U.S. will probably subside.”
The pace will slow only after everyone has either renounced, gone underground or moved back to the homeland. It will not slow due to an increase in compliance. The reason for this is that taxing non-residents is a human rights abuse.
In order for people to voluntarily comply there has to be at least a semblance of fairness, which CBT lacks no matter how hard anybody tries to justify it.
I am still curious to know what happened to ACA’s famous CBT vs. RBT debate video. Only the diehard defenders of CBT have an interest in burying it.
@ GwEvil
This comment looks like yours. Glad it made it through moderation. Hope poor already-had-an-easy-out guy reads it.
http://www.thinkadvisor.com/2015/02/10/irs-says-record-number-of-americans-renounce-citiz
Anonymous wrote:
It is not for lack of trying to find out, the latest being correspondence sent by Lynne / Blaze …
@EmBee @GwEvil
Re:
http://www.thinkadvisor.com/2015/02/10/irs-says-record-number-of-americans-renounce-citiz?page_all=1
Doesn’t someone have to have the intent of relinquishing US citizenship when joining a foreign army or working for a foreign government in order for the relinquishment to be valid? Although it would take the thought police to know otherwise, he maybe didn’t feel comfortable with claiming that when the fact that he’s a US citizen probably didn’t even cross his mind when he took those positions.
@EmBee – That IS my comment! @Bubblebustin – I am pretty sure that most every US person who discovered their dire position and who also found out that they could claim relinquishment has definitely done so with the claim that they “intended to”. Who the hell wouldn’t claim that??
@ MuzzledNoMore
Indeed, FromPatriotToExPatriate (note the correct “pat” spellings) has done it again. Great comment! This part is particularly biting …
http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2015/02/11/thousands-renounce-u-s-citizenship-hitting-new-record-not-just-over-taxes/
On Forbes, the reporter Steve Forbes wrote an article about the IRS rehiring agents who snooped in taxpayers accounts. It is enraging to read that Fannie Mae is moving to posh new offices – the cost of the move is estimated at 180 million$- and this after being bailed out by the taxpayer. It is absolutely galling. America lives on as if it had no debt and not a care on the world. And then Obama is going crazy trying to get enough money to repair decrepit and dangerous roads and bridges. Such mismanagement is so appalling- there are no words for it. And then they try to get the expats to pay draconian and UNCONSTITUTIONAL penalties while the bailout firms are throwing the money around. Is it any wonder that there are people running for the door? Why can’t America find anybody who is competent to run the country financially- to balance the books and stop everyone from living with their heads in a cloud?
Bubbles, you are correct. however the state departments lawyers position is that intent can be demonstrated by subsequent actions. i.e. not using a US passport, not owning property there, not staying too long etc. There have been many relinquishments reported to IBS on this basis. That’s why poor Boris was out of luck – he went and got a passport – he should have checked with us but it was several yrs. ago.
This guy was given bad advice- like so many .
Re: the Obama plan to not deport up to 5 million illegals: Supporters note taxpayers won’t be footing that bill – they say applicants will instead, through a $465 fee. That is lots lower than $2,350.