CNN Money — Banks lock out Americans over new tax law
Americans, take your money elsewhere!
That’s what banks around the world have been telling their U.S. customers, as they try to avoid having to comply with a new tax law due to come into force next year.
… only a small sample of banks that are refusing to do business with Americans, who now face a “banking lockout problem,” said Marylouise Serrato, executive director of American Citizens Abroad.
This post appeared on the RenounceUScitizenship blog
#Americansabroad in Canada may soon be unable to receive payments from Government http://t.co/5eikEu9NXV
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) September 16, 2013
Update September 17/13:
What began as a simple post describing that the Government of Canada will soon be discontinuing sending cheques took a sharp turn. It quickly became an attempted discussion between:
U.S. citizens abroad desperate to be heard and a compliance lawyer. Although the comments have interesting content, they are more important for what they reveal about attitudes. It’s tough for tax tax chattels Americans abroad to be heard. The compliance lawyer tweeted some of his comments to this thread as follows:
https://twitter.com/dslesperance/status/379620042167418881
https://twitter.com/dslesperance/status/379631572279779328
https://twitter.com/dslesperance/status/379899029678592002
The discussion reminded me of two ships passing in the night – never to meet.
A research paper commissioned by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada concludes:
The current reality is that the parties are managing vast databases within which a variety of sensitive personal information from disparate sources is processed. For the most part, individuals have no legal rights to learn what information is contained therein, to access and correct those data, to remove themselves from the systems, or to restrict the collection, use and disclosure of their personal data. For the most part, parties have no legal obligations to keep that information secure, to only retain it for as long as necessary, and to control who has access to it.
The entire March 2012 paper, Canadian Federal Political Parties and Personal Privacy Protection: A Comparative Analysis, can be viewed at:
http://www.priv.gc.ca/information/research-recherche/2012/pp_201203_e.asp#toc6
Given this failure by dominant Canadian political parties to implement respectable privacy safeguards that restrict their own activities, expectations for maintenance of inconvenient privacy policy in the face of FATCA implementation seem unrealistic.
The following lists some arguments made in defense of FATCA, and this is only the beginning. The attacks against Americans in defense of FATCA will increase. FATCA teaches the American to hate Americans and for all the wrong reasons.
for the little UWFF (“quote“) unfuckable WhiteKat FBAR fraudster it is tick-tack , after you had the guts to come out of hiding and reveal yourself to the IRS and comply with current law we move to tick-tock which you might hear from the inside of a prison cell 1
What a jerk! “ lol……. keep dreaming my little fraudster, the clock is ticking. I am happy that you think in your little pathetic world you “beat the you know what out of him“….. wow please don`t forget to take your pills again. 2
Actually, he’s one of those spoiled self-centered Libertarian brats whining because the rest of the world won’t let him get away with whatever he wants the way his mommy and daddy used to. 3
nobody has a debate here with FBAR fraudsters like yourself – you have to earn that right which you fail by hiding and not complying with the law. Your are a cheat plain and simple who is barely capable of putting a sentence together. Talk to to the IRS and see if they think YOU make sense. 4
yes we know little FBAR fraudster like yourself do not believe in any authority especially when they come after you for not complying with the law. 5
you’re pretty stupid and have a hard time understanding things like politics and government. It’s only a human rights issue if people are denied access to services by government decree. If people cannot access services from the institution of their first choice as a result of a private sector response to a government policy then the denial of service is the result of a corporate policy and cannot be blamed on the government. 6
The good news is that she will now have to reconcile her FATCA position with the NDP position that FATCA is a fundamental violation of Canadian citizens’ rights! Consider emailing this to her! lmcquaig@sympatico.ca
The American government’s uber over-reaching and prying into the business of everyone who lives on the planet, American citizen or not, aka the NSA also devotes considerable time to watching over and collecting financial data. That is when they are not stalking their ex-girlfriends, copying your emails and follow your Twitter streams and Facebook pages.
In fact, the NSA spends so much of its time following everyone’s money that they even have an internal division called “Follow The Money” (FTM).
What kind of money?
Credit transactions specifically.
Thanks to their secret insertion in the Brussels based Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), a network that is used by thousands of banks to send information securely, the NSA is effectively able to monitor the credit transactions of basically anyone. Anywhere.
This means that information on any credit purchase whether it be groceries or stocks, and regardless of whether it takes place in Atlanta, Georgia or Georgia the country, is scooped up and stored indefinitely – for purposes unknown – by the United States government.
Given the growing ease with which people conduct transactions that don’t involve physical cash, or even leaving your house, one should wonder just how much financial data Uncle Sam’s spy network has, and why it feels entitled to it.
What does this all mean?
Hard to say. These days the American government is fairly cagey about its reasons for anything, but on the surface it appears as though the United States government will happily steal whatever information on the finances of ordinary people and financial institutions of other countries that it can’t coerce out of them through extra territorial law making schemes like FATCA.
Whatever is going on, it’s not about taxes.
So, there you have it. According to America, all Americans living abroad are “offshore tax dodgers” since they are taxed where they live to pay for the infrastructure they use.
A poll this year commissioned by the Main Street Alliance and the American Sustainable Business Council found 85 percent of small business owners oppose the “territorial” tax system pushed by offshore tax dodgers. By a margin of more than two to one, small business owners prefer closing corporate tax loopholes over cuts to education, infrastructure or Social Security and Medicare.
It’s time to end offshore tax dodging and close tax loopholes that benefit large corporations and wealthy special interests. Use the revenue to invest in strengthening the economy and creating jobs.
A residency-based tax system is pushed by Americans living abroad and anyone who pushes a residency-based tax system is automatically branded by America as being an “offshore tax dodger”, or “trash” which needs to be thrown away.
Whether you’re a small business owner cleaning restaurants in Billings or a U.S. Senator cleaning up the tax code in D.C., the first step is taking out the trash.
Why does America seek to trash its diaspora? Because it believes that they are pirates sailing around with stolen treasure.
Against this backdrop, some big business titans amazingly have the gall to advocate doubling down on offshore tax dodging, aggressively lobbying for a permanent tax “get-out-of-taxes-free” card on offshore profits — a so-called “territorial” tax system — while backing cuts to Social Security and Medicare that would wreak further havoc on the Main Street economy. In short, small business owners and our customers get trash while corporate pirates sail offshore with the treasure.
I doubt that Gy Moody, the owner of Cleaner Image Janitorial in Billings, Montana, and writer of this article realized that he was advocating for Americans living abroad to be thrown away as “tax cheats”. Yet, the impact of US policy on Americans living abroad has never been an American concern, as one fellow kindly stated to one who does not live in America:
The government is not responsible for actions of private sector organizations. To support a claim of rights violations you have to be able to demonstrate the denials were the result of an order given by a government to not provide services. Claiming that rights are being violated because a bank executive opted not to provide services will not stand up in court. The fact that you didn’t understand that concept, and see how adjusting Federal policy in response to decisions made by Swiss bank executives tells me that you’re pretty stupid and have a hard time understanding things like politics and government. It’s only a human rights issue if people are denied access to services by government decree. If people cannot access services from the institution of their first choice as a result of a private sector response to a government policy then the denial of service is the result of a corporate policy and cannot be blamed on the government.
FATCA: The end of financial privacy
The US government clearly doesn’t give a damn if Americans are harmed as a result of US policy, but it is eager to brand its expats as “tax cheats” and to throw them away as “trash”.
Most Homelanders think Americans abroad renounce citizenship because they “hate America” and “don’t want to pay their fair share for being a citizen of such a great country”. But really, if your only motivation is hatred, you might well come to regret your decision to renounce. In reality, as pointed out in a heartfelt piece by Dr. Leigh-Davis, now a proud citizen of the United Kingdom, people are happiest when they renounce for love, whether love of a person or love of the country which took them in and gave them a wonderful life:
Sure, one could argue, if you are making over $155,000 in another country, one will have to pay the U.S. taxes on this excess. But certainly, if you are making a lot of money, isn’t it worth spending a little of it on the pleasure of having a U.S. Passport to go back and forth as one desires, and benefit from all the great attributes of the United States? Moreover, the process of renouncing one’s citizenship and getting one’s U.S. affairs in order is an arduous and confusing one, which will most likely require the “expensive” assistance of financial professionals and attorneys. Additionally, if you are truly making so much money, the exit tax alone could offset any financial benefit.
Many people thought I was crazy, when I left the U.S. for love, and then thought I was pathetic when it turned out to be an unrequited love, and today I may never find the love of another. However, when weighing the financial benefits against the financial disadvantages, I would reiterate my argument: that love is always the motivating factor. Whether it be love of a new country; love of a new culture; love of new people; or love of a career; few people would undertake the complicated and difficult task of renouncing their citizenship, if there was not some love in there somewhere.
This is what the people in the country we left behind find hardest to stand: that among nearly two hundred other countries & territories on earth, the U.S. is not only one that is worthy of love. There are many places that can give us a good life, there are many that take in foreigners to whom they have no obligation and treat them as neighbours, and there are many in which we emigrants can become proud citizens.
UPDATE: This is the interview we’ve been waiting for:
Roundtable Full Interview
I wish I had time to listen to it, but I’m off to Calgary demonstration soon — almost an hour’s worth of Roundtable on this link. THANKS SO MUCH!!
Again,
James J Puplava, CFP, President, Chief Investment Strategist at PFS Group, with:
…Mark Nestmann, President of the Nestmann Group, Ltd.; Marylouise Serrato, Executive Director of American Citizens Abroad; Daniel Küttel, American expatriate living in Bremgarten, Switzerland; and Douglas Benedict, Canadian citizen and retired investment advisor. Daniel and Douglas share personal testimonials as expatriates enduring the overzealous pursuit of a government that has wrongfully identified them as tax evaders. Mark sheds light on the draconian FATCA compliance regulations that have erroneously identified law-abiding citizens as suspects, and Marylouise provides insight into the challenges of Americans who have elected to live abroad, offering help with the rigors of tax compliance and life away from the homeland.
Dear Doug,
I wanted to follow up and say thank you very much for your participation on our program for our recent expatriation roundtable discussion, and for helping to make the event a success. Jim was very pleased with the discussion, which I am sure will be very helpful and a welcome voice to expatriates in our listening audience.
Our recording of the discussion has been posted to our website, and is available for listening at http://www.financialsensenewshour.com/broadcast/insider/fsn2013-1022-expatrt-j8d3k9s.mp3.
Please accept my best wishes for your health and happiness in all your future endeavors.
Cheers,
Kyle
Kyle Otto
Program Manager
Greetings, Brockers!
I’ve been asked to recruit a panel of people who have been affected by FBAR/FATCA/Ex-PATRIOT, and to recommend an outline for a round table discussion on the FinancialSense Newshour. The purpose of this thread is to facilitate a community discussion about who would best represent the community and what topics should be discussed. Specifically, I’m hoping participants here will both volunteer to participate on the panel, and/or nominate or endorse others who they think would make good representatives of the community. Panelists need not be Brockers, but I’m hoping the Brock community will help me identify and recruit the panel.
Jim Puplava’s Financial Sense Newshour (www.financialsense.com/newshour) is the biggest investment-related podcast in existence, and is also one of the top 50 podcasts on the entire Internet, with over 250,000 regular listeners to the weekend program. There is also a weekday “premium” service offered on a paid subscription basis. The subject matter is primarily focused on markets and investing, but often extends to political and social issues.
Mr. Puplava would like to host a round-table discussion about how both American citizens living abroad and American expatriates are being treated in the “new normal”, including FBAR, FATCA, Ex-PATRIOT, etc. Specifically, a goal is to dispel the common assumption that the people involved are all greedy, rich tax-evaders, and shed some light on the reality of the situation, i.e. that most people being affected do not have a tax evasion motive, and are being unfairly targeted. I’ve been asked to help recruit the panel, and to suggest talking points for the discussion.
http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/12/fatca-the-end-of-financial-privacy/
This is an excellent article by Andrew F. Quinlan, Center for Freedom and Prosperity. Note the first comment made.
