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)”

  3. @JC – anyone who does not want to be identified by the NSA spying Whitehouse would never sign that petition and that’s probably the majority of ‘US Persons’ (as deemed by the US) living outside the US who consider themselves NOT to be US persons. Only American homelanders would sign it openly, and most of them don’t care about, or wouldn’t agree with, the sentiments of the petition. It’s telling that it’s only got 7 signatures so far, and they need 100,000 by the end of this month!

  4. There is no evidence that any Whitehouse petition ever created any whitehouse legislative action. God knows what the NSA does with the information that the whitehouse petitions assemble. Regarding the MoveOn petitions, the result is the same (there is no evidence that their petitions go anywhere other than to their database.) If you sign the moveOn petitions, you are added to the MoveOn junkmail database and you will receive every MoveOn activity in your personal email. MoveOn is said to be funded by George Soros and carries his viewpoints and it has a very consistent line which is not allowed to deter to actually accommodate any action upon RBT/FBAR/FATCA.

  5. 100K signatures needed within 30 days and only 7 since it was started? Not encouraging. What a waste of time that it’s creators didn’t post at or notify any of the organizations serving Americans living abroad of its existence. If I was organizing such a thing within a limited time frame, I would have had an extensive list of organizations ready to pull the trigger on launch day. The luke-warm response only makes our position weaker.

  6. @Bubble
    I had a wee back and forth with them in the Jatras article comment section. He was TOTALLY clueless as to why folks might be reticent to sign even though gazillions agree. Well, he knows now!

  8. I don’t find this heading “media and lbog articles” on the right side of the page. In fact, the right side items seem to be getting a little old and less usable. If the web designer should have some volunteer time to update things, it could help out the user experience. Otherwise, I’m just happy to have this service at all.

  9. Go to twitter and look up FATCA – maybe that could be a link to that page. I agree with Mark Twain that this section on news articles is not easy to find – someone pointed it out to me. Yet I do notice the prominence of “Human Rights Compliant” along the top.

    Back to Twitter:
    http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/intfinlaw/2014/08/august-fatca-giin-list-analysed-by-byrnes-and-perryman.html
    “Total global compliance of FFI remains in the single digits by both the IRS and foreign government estimated numbers.”

  12. How to smooth over the relationship with the bank industry while implementing FATCA and other such things: Teamwork: Obama, Mrs. Billary, Mr. Billary

    ethics advisers of proposed Bill Clinton speaking and consulting engagements during Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state. The documents were obtained as result of a federal court order in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed against the State Department on May 28, 2013 (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:13-cv-00772)). The lawsuit is ongoing.

    June 2011 documents show that the State Department approved a consulting arrangement with a company, Teneo Strategy, led by controversial Clinton Foundation adviser Doug Band. The Clintons ended the deal after only eight months, as criticism mounted over Teneo’s ties to the failed investment firm, MF Global.

    Mr. Clinton’s office proposed 215 speeches around the globe. And 215 times, the State Department stated that it had “no objection.”

    Mr. Clinton’s speeches included appearances in China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Central America, Europe, Turkey, Thailand, Taiwan, India and the Cayman Islands. Sponsors of the speeches included some of the world’s largest financial institutions—Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, American Express and others—as well as major players in technology, energy, health care and media. Other speech sponsors included a car dealership, casino groups, hotel operators, retailers, real estate brokers, a Panamanian air cargo company and a sushi restaurant.

    http://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/clinton-conflict-of-interest/

  13. Woods has another at Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2014/08/04/feds-want-prison-for-undisclosed-offshore-accounts-but-whats-willful/?utm_source=followingimmediate&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20140804

    “If you’re considering the two IRS programs known as the OVDP and the Streamlined program, remember that the latter requires a certification of non-willfulness. The IRS can and does audit participants in the Streamlined program, and you may be more vulnerable than you think.”

  14. @ Charl
    Secretly I believe Robert Wood enjoys watching what has happened and might happen to the victims of FATCA. I think I won’t bother turning the counter over at his website anymore. Let the people with significant money and obsessed with getting more feed his ego … not me.

  15. @EmBee
    Couldn’t agree more. His responses are often obtuse verging on passive aggressive. Yet he does keep it in the news, gives us a chance to comment and gives hints of not swallowing the party line. (Another Forbes contributor had recently written that there is total amnesty under the new streamline program and totally negated, in a argumentative fashion in the comments section I might add, that the issue of non-willfull/willful applies in this program. It was TOTAL BS.) At least Woods warns folks to be very careful and where the land mines might be. I would very much appreciate his taking a harder stance yet those types of articles are few and far between. So, despite my wanting to stick needles in his eyes sometimes, I am thankful he is staying on it, whatever his motives.

  16. @ Charl
    Yes the words “passive agressive” were in my mind too. I can remember when articles were so sparse we would swarm them simply because we were grateful for just a mention … anything, anywhere, anytime. Finding articles now is much easier. Nothing we did or said pre-implementation of FATCA stopped it from happening and nothing we say now will change the minds of the FATCA enamoured fools out there. I’m focusing on my budgeting for awhile so I can keep supporting ADCS. I have limited energy and there are world issues (the genocide in Gaza) and local issues (fluoride in the water) which draw my attention too. FATCA is just one on a growing list of worries.

  19. @Moderator. Chop the last spam one.

    @EmBee sounds like some good language, “extraterritorality: Berlin, London and Rome have backed Paris in its push to have its concerns about so-called US extraterritoriality discussed when leaders of the world’s top 20 economies meet in Brisbane in Australia in November, according to French and other European officials. All the U.S. has to do is fine a different FFI for $8.9 Billion every year and that would bring in lots more then FATCA.

  21. @ NotThatTara
    Does this mean every time a person clicks open a Robert Woods article he gets paid more? If so, I’ll not be doing any further clicking there. Why would I want to make my pain his gain? (I’m thinking about the recent “prison could be in your future” article, in particular.)

    Contributors to Forbes are paid using a “compensation model”. Writers made a “minimum commitment” in terms of how much content they will produce, Federle explained, with a certain rate based on unique visits to that content, which is then boosted for repeat visitors with the same month.

    According to Federle, some of its contributors are “making over $100,000”.

  22. Thanks for letting us know how Forbes contributors are compensated, NotThatTara. It seems it’s not we who should be “called out” at Forbes for using us as cash cows.

  23. RE: Woods making money off of our misery. I feel better about it than those in the compliance industry such as the recent PWC announcement saying that US Persons need to get compliant and we will help.

    Yes Woods is making a living. Most everyone in the press is suffering from the collapse of printed newspapers. I hope that Mr. Woods finds this topic worthwhile because he is drawing attention to how the USG treats US citizens abroad and is kind of taking our side. These are good things. We need to get the word out more. The Forbes brand name is good to have attached to articles on topics that impact us.

    Woods is saying unjust, not fair, while those in compliance are saying this is the US law and pay up.

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