In the past, one used to seek to win friends and influence people. Such was even updated for the digital age. Yet, now times are changing, as explained in this excellently written article:
How to Lose Friends, Citizens and Influence
The U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act seeks to co-opt foreign banks as long-arm enforcement agencies of the IRS.
The author of this article used to have a high position in the US Department of State.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colleen_Graffy
A great article! Definitely worthy of comments.
It is nice to finally see a publication such as WSJ doing an article like this. Hopefully, the real FATCA fall out will get more press soon.
Great article, glad to see it in a major US media outlet. Echoes of many of the comments and objections we’ve espoused here.
I am willing to bet that Ms. Graffy has read this blog at least a few times.
She definitely deserves some positive comments.
Fabulous overview article. Very well done!
One of the best articles yet! As a dual citizen herself, the writer understands the negative implications of FATCA.
I like how Ms Graffy has framed the subject for general consumption by homelanders. She sounds like a Brocker, or at least should be! I suppose WhoaitsSteve would find her abrasive however.
I like your comments on the article (on WSJ, not here on IBS), Atticus! Well said!
Some may recall it was Pepperdine University, where Ms Graffy is a law professor, that hosted a tax conference last January, during which Professor Allison Christians made a presentation:
https://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2013/01/21/fatca-may-end-the-taxation-of-us-persons-abroad/
@Bob, thanks! I just hope we see more of this accurate truth telling about FATCA from now on.
This joke pretty much sums up how I feel about the US Congress and House of Representatives at this point:
————————————————
A driver was stuck in a traffic jam on I-95 just outside
The District. Nothing was moving.
Suddenly, a man knocks on the driver’s window.
The driver rolls down the window and asks, “What’s going on?”
“Terrorists have kidnapped the entire US Congress, and they’re asking
For a $100 million dollar ransom … Otherwise, they’re going to douse
Them all in gasoline and set them on fire. We’re going from car to car
Collecting donations.”
“How much is everyone giving on average?” the driver asks.
The man replies, “Roughly a gallon.”
——————————————————–
Yep… sounds about right.
@the Animal
Lol. You can probably substitute “congressman” for “lawyer” to come up with a lot of jokes about congressmen.
@the Animal
I researched my theory and found this:
Q: What do you call a lawyer with an IQ of 100?
A: Your Honor.
Q: What do you call a lawyer with an IQ of 50
A: Senator.
@bubblebustin;
Looking forward to seeing more public critiques of the US tax system and tactics from US Tax scholar/lawyers who have real life experience in both the US system and Canada’s, (or the US system and another country like UK) writing about the true impact of FATCA, FBAR/BSA and citizenship-based extraterritorial taxation on real ordinary people who are already law abiding taxpayers living outside the US, but subjected to the draconian, confiscatory and extortionate demands that the US places on those without any real US economic connections. Good to hear from some who haven’t drunk the US Treasury and IRS kool-aid. Especially when they aren’t US crossborder tax lawyers trolling for business, or with their own practice liabilities re Circular 230 as their foremost consideration. The more press given to the TRUE story and the REAL impact, vs. the US self-serving disingenuous propaganda and officially prepared and promulgated distortions, the better.
Hope their example will encourage others outside the US to write about the US incursions from the context of countries other than just Canada – for example, India -where countless new immigrants to the US face confiscatory penalties on their pre-existing country of origin accounts.
@Badger
Yes of course, and all kidding aside, I too have an immense appreciation for the efforts of lawyers like Ms Graffy and Allison Christians. Neither should consider my posted joke as an insult as there’s no doubt their IQ’s are well above 50. More of a comment about congressman, but in all fairness, they shouldn’t be painted with the same brush either 🙂
…and of course, friend of Brock James Jatras. I’m sure they’ve all heard a few lawyer jokes in their day.
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Blasts FATCA Didn’t know that was who the author was! This from CF&P
Few know better than Americans living overseas the punitive and capricious nature of U.S. tax policy. Writing in today’s Wall Street Journal, law professor and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Colleen Graffy provided a clear and concise accounting of FATCA‘s destructive flaws from the point of view of an American overseas.
@bubblebustin, I didn’t actually notice any potential connection to the lawyer jokes as I was just fixated on the WSJ piece by Graffy.
Was just commenting on the good fortune of having that WSJ piece appear, authored by someone with those impressive credentials.
Hope it gets read far and wide, and shows that FATCA critics are everywhere.
@Just Me
I wish a current Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Tax Affairs felt the same way!
Unfortunately only sufferers are persons who are law abiding honest and want to do right thing even at the risk of getting noticed by admitting mistake and being potential target for extraction of unconstitutional FBAR penalties (even when no taxes are due).
How many FBARS are filed each year and what percent of the FBARs are by wealthy US residents and corporate heads who have bee parking trillions offshore (unable to bring home due to huge double tax)? I believe, vast majority of 7 million expats and 20 million immigrants (e.g. H1 or Green card holders) simple ignoring the draconian FBAR law.
Most people believe, over 99% of the people who ignored law would get away. In case of expats or green card holders the risk is so low and even if caught, they just need to avoid visiting the USA. Unfortunately IRS made trying to do right thing and obey law is far more risky than ignoring the law. Many of the expats in the forum tried to be compliant by filing nil tax returns for 3 to 6 years and suffering due to the fear what IRS would do for doing the right thing.
@Indian, according to the latest news, the IRS is threatening to punish the hell out of those who chose to become voluntarily compliant with US policy:
Oh this is good. No, it’s GREAT. To have an article by a former State department person in the WSJ is outstanding. Made my day. This is one to spread far and wide. Off to do my part…:-)
@SwissPinoy: I know how hard it is to do right thing. That is the reason most expats or green card holders choose to rather risk being caught than comply, especially in India. Many people told me they would never visit the USA, if caught. Others think, how IRS can catch minnows, since corruption is so high in India. In India every day we see in the news that even whales use banks to hide hundreds of millions from income tax department. Just 3% to 5% of the population pay taxes and rest have no tax-ID numbers or proper identification. The mostly paper based system or no proper IDs, it is nearly impossible to track 1.2 billion populations, which was further burdened by corruption and bare minimum staff (e.g. most court cases drag on for 20 to 30 years). I can’t even imagine, how India could implement FATCA and bear the huge additional costs.
@Indian, I heard EXACTLY the same thing from a contact in Thailand. No worries for us US Persons, he said, because there is no way the banks there can comply – just not possible given the state of their current systems.
The corruption angle however is one that is going to be a problem whatever the state of the technology. France has good systems but you cannot tell me for one moment that whatever administration is in power at any one moment (Socialists right now) will not vet that list before it goes to the US so that their friends and family don’t appear on it. That’s damn near guaranteed.