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. Why the venom against Clinton already? She hasn’t come out (yet) with statements vilifying the 7.6 million billionaire tax cheats living abroad. Of course I wouldn’t expect her to do anything close to “the right thing” when it comes to CBT and FATCA, but for now I will save my venom for Elizabeth Warren. Imagine the consequences for us if Clinton is undermined by some scandal and Elizabeth the Witch Hunter becomes nominee or even president!

  3. @Barbara

    *Elizabeth Warren*

    U & I have a better chance then she does… I ain’t even american….

  4. @Polly

    My addled brain recalls the Republicans accusing Clinton of receiving gazillions of dollars from a Nigerian fellow for the foundation while she was secretary of state and then her not naming Boko Haram a terrorist organization. I don’t know if this is the issue Paul is talking about but they will certainly be going after this “type” of questionable stuff whether true or not.

  5. I very recently (in the last week, I believe Bill Maher show) heard Elizabeth Warren say she wasn’t going to be running – to which I did a happy dance.

  10. With the lack of evacuation of US citizens in Yemen- how can America keep up the guise of taxing its expats because they will be saved in a pinch?

  13. This may be IBS special material.

    Swiss Banks Strong-Arm Clients in U.S. Tax-Evasion Endgame

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-14/swiss-banks-preach-transparency-in-u-s-tax-evasion-endgame

    The program requires banks to pay 20 percent of the value of undeclared accounts on Aug. 1, 2008, 30 percent for accounts opened between then and February 2009 and 50 percent for those opened later. Banks are not necessarily aware of an account’s tax status, forcing them to contact clients to find out.

    So how does this work. Banks asking USP proof that they paid tax on the accounts? And doing their own withholdings of up to 30% to offset any potential USG fines? It is not clear what “undeclared accounts” means, is it for all nationalities?

  14. @Embee
    Very useful. Wish I had had those figures to hand last week for Senate submission. Oh well.
    @JC
    Sounds a lot like what Russia is doing as well, although there the government has helpfully offered to hold the potential withholding for U.S. persons for the U.S. government in the meantime to keep Russian banks afloat In other words this type of thing isn’t just occurring in Switzerland. Of course, holding a lot of money in the national accounts is a nice way of racking up a bit of interest income in a country whose economy is quite weak. From the games I have already seen some undemocratic governments play, I wouldn’t be surprised if more of them don’t do this, particularly in areas where the U.S. is unpopular.

  16. @Bubblebustin
    I can understand why a country would do it, certainly, but I empathise with U.S. persons in Russia, who haven’t been treated very justly. According to Russian media some of them have been hoodwinked into revealing their U.S. person status in some sneaky ways (apply for a child benefit card, get lots of questions about whether you have a green card or were born in the U.S., ask why you have to answer this, get a lie in response). And the U.S. persons who are residents in Russia will not necessarily speak English.

  17. @Publius

    From taking America’s lead, it would seem that the favourite game to play on Americans abroad is “gotcha”.

  18. Some preliminary findings from research by Lyman Stone, a grad student at George Washington University: “Why are American Leaving? In a State of Migration”
    https://medium.com/migration-issues/why-are-americans-leaving-75fe530ce49d

    Mostly it’s focused on actual migration, but he mentions rising renunciations & falling voter registration rates as well. FWIW he estimates 2.8 million US-born persons residing outside of the US (note that this number doesn’t count people born abroad to US citizen parents).

    Other random note: because of a weird kerning issue on my system, I misread “expatriot” as “expat riot”, which made me wonder: when will the first one be and which consulate it will hit =)

  19. @ Eric
    RE “Other random note: because of a weird kerning issue on my system, I misread “expatriot” as “expat riot”, which made me wonder: when will the first one be and which consulate it will hit =) ”

    This got me thinking that maybe, with such a long wait to get an appointment for renunciation/relinquishment service at the US consulate in Toronto, maybe there should be a gathering with pickets there sometime soon with large placards bearing text such as “Why won’t you let us leave?” and “Why is is quicker for foreigners to get a Consulate appointment (for a VISA) than for US citizens to get a Consulate appointment (to renounce)? Surely that could bring out the media (especially if they are told in advance).

    Anyone game for this? Memorial Day is just over a month away – – tho the consulate folks would not be there – – probably only the guards………… 🙂

  20. Good idea, LM!

    I’m keen to picket – we had fun on Parliament Hill – though I’m not sure if I can go to Toronto or not, so I’m a “maybe.”

    I’m curious — why do you suggest a day when the staff is not there? I was thinking on a regular working day the staff can get a first-hand view of the demo (though hopefully there would be media coverage as well).. And on a regular day, there’d be people going in and out who are just there to use consulate services – some of whom would quite likely be interested in our pamphlets.

  23. @ Pacifica – No reason that I mentioned a day that the staff is not there – – it just came to mind as my fingers hit the keys before I ran off to do some shopping. 🙂
    If there were enough people, there is no reason a demonstration couldn’t happen in Toronto AND Ottawa (and elsewhere if there were others interested…..). First we have to see how many would join in.
    So, what say you, folks?

  25. LM – OK Charl, I’ll begin to build a list (one of my specialties). So, folks, anyone game for mounting a small (or not so small) protest in front of the US Consulate in Toronto or Embassy in Ottawa within, say, May?

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