UPDATE SUNDAY NOVEMBER 13, 2016
REINCE PRIEBUS CHOSEN TO BE PE TRUMP’S CHIEF OF STAFF
EXCERPTS:
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump on Sunday chose Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee and a loyal campaign adviser, to be his White House chief of staff, turning to a Washington insider whose friendship with the House speaker, Paul D. Ryan, could help secure early legislative victories.
But as chief of staff, Mr. Priebus will be the one who has several hundred White House staff members reporting to him. He will be the primary gatekeeper for Mr. Trump and the person most responsible for steering the president’s agenda through Congress. That role will be especially critical for Mr. Trump, who has never served in government and has few connections to important political figures.
As Mr. Trump denounced the Republican primary process as rigged and, on occasion, threatened to quit the party and run on his own, Mr. Priebus remained neutral. And when Mr. Trump secured the nomination, Mr. Priebus stood by his side.
Mr. Priebus worked with Mr. Trump on the nuts and bolts of presidential politics, trying to smooth his rough edges and staying in close contact as a bare-bones campaign prepared to go up against the Clinton machine.
PRESS RELEASE VIA MR. PRIEBUS JULY 2015
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I found myself wondering just what it is expats will want to focus on now, that the Republicans have the Presidency, and control of the House and the Senate. As Stephen Kish pointed out, this could change in two years (well, really just a bit more than a year as once the campaiging for the interim elections in 2018 start, we will likely have lost our chance to get this done quickly. What we do in the next year is critical to dumping FATCA and CBT.
I started thinking about what they promised and have gone through the Platform. I am going to list the main things I found that relate to our issues; if anyone finds more, please post. I also have two documents that focus specifically on FATCA and RBT as well as the link to Republicans Overseas Resolutions posted long ago on their FB site. It would be helpful if others want to isolate points and phrases to focus on in communications to the Republicans.
People may. may not want to coordinate efforts but I assume there will be letters written, emails sent and so on. You may remember that Congressman Mark Meadows (R NC) introduced H.R. 5935 seeking to have an oversight hearing on FATCA repeal. Once we know the date of the hearings and who will sit on the committee, we would start there I presume. And then follow the movement of what occurs……Calls for witnesses were posted on the Isaac Brock Society indicating interested parties should contact Keith Redmond by email at FATCA_Testimonials@outlook.com
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THE REPUBLICAN PLATFORM
excerpts from sections related to our issues
RESTORING THE AMERICAN DREAM
Fair and Simple Taxes for Growth p 1
The current tax code is rightly the object of both anger and mockery. Its length is exceeded only by its complexity. We must start anew. That will be an enormous undertaking and, if it is to succeed, it must command the attention and approval of the American people………….. We will welcome all to this enterprise — to discuss, debate, challenge, and amend — so that together we can restore economic growth for the American people and, even more important, renew their faith in the future
NB:This is their promise to listen.
Our Tax Principles p 2
To ensure that past abuses will not be repeated, we assert these fundamental principles. We oppose retroactive taxation. We condemn attempts by activist judges at any level of government to seize the power of the purse from the people’s elected representatives by ordering higher taxes. We oppose tax policies that deliberately divide Americans or promote class warfare.
NB:This would deal with the bizarre idea that 877A is retroactive.
To guard against hypertaxation of the American people in any restructuring of the federal tax system, any value added tax or national sales tax must be tied to the simultaneous repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment, which established the federal income tax.
NB:This would eliminate the whole need for filing in terms of taxes as value added or national sales tax will not affect Americans abroad in any significant way.
A Competitive America p 2
American businesses now face the world’s highest corporate tax rates. That’s like putting lead shoes on your cross-country team. It reduces companies’ ability to compete overseas, encourages them to move abroad, lessens their investment, cripples job creation here at home, lowers American wages, and fosters the avoidance of tax liability — without actually increasing tax revenues. A more damaging policy is hard to imagine.
NB:Please see an excellent paper by Roger Conklin which outlines how CBT directly affects Trade.(via The Revenue Act of 1962 & The Tax Reform Act of 1976; the U.S. has never recorded a trade surplus since 1975).
We endorse the recommendation of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, as well as the current Administration’s Export Council, to switch to a territorial system of taxation so that profits earned and taxed abroad may be repatriated for job-creating investment here at home. We believe American companies should be headquartered in America. We should reduce barriers to accomplishing that goal. A Winning Trade Policy International trade is crucial for all sectors of America’s economy. Massive trade deficits are not. We envision a worldwide multilateral agreement among nations committed to the principles of open markets, what has been called a “Reagan Economic Zone,” in which free trade will truly be fair trade for all concerned.
NB:Trade is important to Trump. He needs to know how CBT affects it. If they offer territorial taxation to corporations,they can offer RBT to Americans abroad.
A REBIRTH OF CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT
The Fourth Amendment: Liberty and Privacy p 13
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the Foreign Bank and Asset Reporting Requirements result in government’s warrantless seizure of personal financial information without reasonable suspicion or probable cause. Americans overseas should enjoy the same rights as Americans residing in the United States, whose private financial information is not subject to disclosure to the government except as to interest earned. The requirement for all banks around the world to provide detailed information to the IRS about American account holders outside the United States has resulted in banks refusing service to them. Thus, FATCA not only allows “unreasonable search and seizures” but also threatens the ability of overseas Americans to lead normal lives. We call for its repeal and for a change to residency-based taxation for U.S. citizens overseas.
NB: This needs no comment. Other than it might be pointed out that many of the accounts reported on FBAR and 8938, are registered government plans. Some even include government grants which are taxed. The idea that these can be used for money laundering or terrorism is simply absurd.
GOVERNMENT REFORM
Reforming the Treaty System p 26
We intend to restore the treaty system specified by the Constitution: The president negotiates agreements, submits them to the Senate, with ratification requiring two-thirds of the senators present and voting. This was good enough for George Washington but is too restrictive for the current chief executive, who presumes to bind this country to bilateral and multilateral agreements of his devising. His media admirers portray his personal commitments — whether on climate change, Iranian weapons, or other matters — as done deals. They are not, and a new Republican executive will work with the Congress to re-establish constitutional order in America’s foreign relations. All international executive agreements and political arrangements entered into by the current Administration must be deemed null and void as mere expressions of the current president’s preferences. Those which are in the national interest but would traditionally have been made by treaty must be abrogated, renegotiated as treaties, and transmitted to the Senate for its advice and consent as required by the Constitution. The United States will withdraw from all agreements and arrangements failing those standards.
NB: Bye bye IGAs
Please see Professor Allison Christians excellent paper The Dubious Legal Pedigree of IGAs (and Why it Matters)
Internal Revenue Service p 27
We also support making the federal tax code so simple and easy to understand that the IRS becomes obsolete and can be abolished.
NB: Bye bye OVDP, Streamlined, threats of penalties etc
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Here are three more direct sources of the Republican positions. I will probably do the same with these as above. But the more the merrier!
Resolution Supporting Residence Based Taxation
Resolution toRepeal the Foreign AccountTaxCompliance Act
A proposed RNC Resolution titled — Resolution to Repeal the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) compiled by Republicans Overseas.
We also need to get the expatriation taxes repealed so we can renounce and get free of the beast.
Get a hacker, or a Edward Snowden character to get FATCA data. It’s the only way in such a small time period.
If someone can get Clinton’s email, or rob 20,000 Tesco bank customers last week, FATCA data should be alot easier.
If you want to get the attention of hackers, ask nicely at 4Chan.
Thanks, @Tricia, for pulling all of this together and detailing all the ways the platform can be used to address the issues affecting US expats. I think you’re right. We have a small window of opportunity and we need to take advantage of it.
I hope I might be proved wrong but I believe it’s incredibly naive to expect that the change of government will result in any major changes to CBT. Those who would rip-up up free-trade agreements and renegotiate them to reduce job-killing US imports (i.e to reduce trade) are not going to take notice of a paper outlining how CBT directly affects trade. If the US government reduced corporate tax and applied “territorial” taxation to corporations (i.e. a corporate form of CBT), it’s hard to see how or why that could spur a move from personal CBT to RBT. The best we might realistically hope for is to avoid retroactive tax changes, and maybe some easing of FATCA and FBAR rules.
The behaviour I expect will be similar to the way opposition politicians in the UK in favour of ending unfair pension freezing then switch to opposing it once they get in power, echoing the same Sir Humphrey arguments the previous government used.
May I suggest that we proceed with the assertion that Democrat vilification of expats cost them the election. Part of the message here is expats mater and not to take them for granted, and don’t vilify them or the “boomerang” will come back at you!
Retweets welcome:
https://twitter.com/JCDoubleTaxed/status/796474816983273472
I’ll start with a letter of congratulation to my rep in Florida, anti-FATCA Congressman Bill Posey.
http://www.repealfatca.com/downloads/Posey_letter_to_Sec._Lew_July_1,_2013.pdf
@fn0 – I don’t expect major changes either. But, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. And this is an opportune time to ask.
The track record of politicians on following through with pre-election promises is abysmal. But if no one holds them to account, then this track record will only get worse.
JC, I have heard that the expat vote was not even counted.
Karen, did you notice the mention of treaty reform? I wasn’t aware of it and immediately thought of you. And oddly enough, heard the young blonde CNN commentator (Trump supporter) say that one of the first things Pres Elect Trump would do is fix the NAFTA Treaty. Without Congress! She didn’t read the Platform
I seem to remember another politician campaigning against the evils of FATCA and our IGA. Funny, where is he now on this? I wouldn’t put 5 cents on a change.
Well the good news is SCSH is gone. It’s all or nothing time!
@JackSpratt
Rand Paul?
I agree that it would be naive to expect the change in government to also mean the sweeping changes we need. However, if we do not give it our best shot at holding them to their word, then the failure is ours. If we give it our best and they refuse to move, then it is their fault. Let’s let them earn the blame.
I click on the link for the platform and “page not found” comes up.
Please, it’s way too soon be cynical and start sneering, “Oh, nothing will change, but may as well ask.” Come on, people! We need a better attitude than that.
We have a rare and valuable chance to get something done, but it’s only a short window. The way I see it, we have a year. By January 2018 midterm campaigning will be in full swing and no Congresscritter will dare do anything controversial, and the result of the midterms could very likely bring the Democratca Party goose-stepping back in.
We need a coordinated effort to hold the Republicans’ feet to the flames and get them to live up to their promises about FATCA and RBT. As for the other things Patricia highlighted: I think it’s a pipedream to ever imagine repeal of the 16th Amendment. It’s also asking way too much to expect a sincere effort by Congress to chuck out the whole tax code and reduce it to a few pages. We would be wasting our breath, and distracting from what should be our main focuses, spelled out in black-and-white in the Republican Party platform:
* Repeal FATCA
* Invalidate IGAs
* Switch to RBT
In terms of achievability, I think the first two are well within reasonable expectation. RBT is also something that a few well-briefed Congresscritters could quite possibly stick into a tax reform bill without anyone else noticing.
I believe we here at IBS, who have done so well in coordinating other efforts, should put together a policy statement of our own, demanding the above three items. Keep it simple and to the point. I’m ready and willing to stick 200 letters in the mail, to each and every Republican Senator and Representative, and to the White House, in the hope that others will do the same, making similar statements.
In lieu of our having a lobby organization, we also need to pressure those who have access–I’m talking about Republicans Overseas and people like Solomon Yue–to put some genuine persuasive effort into this.
For once I am somewhat hopeful that there is this brief window of opportunity to end the nightmare. Anyone have other suggestions of what our talking points should be, and what are the best arguments in support of their living up to their platform promises?
With these election results the possibility of positive tax reform went from zero to the plus side (how far remains to be seen) so that’s something to be guardedly hopeful about. On FB Republicans Overseas wrote:
That’s good to hear. 🙂 Right, Bubblebustin? 😉
Thanks EmBee. Solomon Yue from Republicans Overseas can be reached at:
solomon@fatcalegalaction.com
“I seem to remember another politician campaigning against the evils of FATCA and our IGA. Funny, where is he now on this? I wouldn’t put 5 cents on a change.”
‘Rand Paul?’
Canadians should think of someone closer to home.
@Bubbles
got it. Sorry about that. Had typed a colon instead of quotation mark in link code. My bad.
Thanks Trish, and thanks for the post.
There are protests going on in several cities – Anti-Trump protests
http://www.cnn.com/specials/live-video-1
http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/09/politics/election-results-reaction-streets/index.html
That kind of protest is uncalled for. Democracy worked. If those people have a beef, they should demannd dictatorship — the kind that will punish them for protesting.
@Norman
These two seem to be uncommon. However, 5 people have been shot in Seattle, 2 with life-threatening injuries
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/seattle-police-responding-to-reports-of-4-shot-downtown/
UPDATE:
http://q13fox.com/2016/11/09/5-people-shot-in-downtown-seattle-fire-department-says/
This is a good place to see where the marches are:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2016/nov/09/donald-trump-us-election-2016-live-reactio
so far:
NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia, Wash D.C., Portland OR, Austin TX, Omaha NB, Richmond VA, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Oakland
In LA they are burning pinata heads of Donald Trump
Let’s hope people remain calm………
@ Norman Diamond
I am.
@Barbara
You are on the right course. Note:
• Yes, of course the Platform gives a powerful lever.
• Very soon after taking office, the Trump administration could be Executive action cancel the IGAs, thus crippling FATCA. They could also inform Congress they’d welcome a repeal bill.
• A free-standing FATCA repeal bill could be moved in either chamber. OTOH, that would be easily attacked by Dems as GOP’s “helping tax cheats”
• Better to put it into a large tax reform bill, which Trump has already said he wants and is very likely to happen. That would also provide the best chance to piggyback RBT on FATCA repeal, which I think is the best way to get RBT, which is a tougher sell.
Any/all of this could fall into place by itself but we can’t count on it. It would be much, much, much better to have a funded effort to press for these wheels to turn. Obviously that is no more likely materialize than in the past though the effort yawns in front of us.
Also, I note with some chagrin that it WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE if some recognizable support for Trump from expats had been shown BEFORE the election (and which I suggested back in August http://www.repealfatca.com/index.asp?idmenu=4&idsubmenu=325&title=will-american-expats-miss-this-years-historic-opportunity-on-fatca-and-rbt-by-chasing-a-same-country-exception-mirage ), so they’d feel they OWE YOU SOMETHING. Instead, is seems too many people were content to take a position of “naw, you get anything from anybody” (so why bother to play at all?) or “Hillary’s going to win anyway, so let’s aim for some ‘same country exception'” thin gruel — which the Democrats didn’t even promise.
Still, here we are. Perfect language in the GOP platform, the first united GOP control of the White House and both houses of Congress since 1928, and the President-elect asking for a legislative package. It would have been better if expats had committed earlier, but there’s still a lot to work with here and excellent prospects. I