Retain or Renounce US Citizenship with John Richardson and Karen Alpert
VIDEO
PDF
DC
John will also be doing information sessions in Sydney (Nov 1) and Auckland (Oct 31). See details and email the address given to register.
I watched this last night. John and Karen did an excellent presentation. Thanks to both! John travels so much I wonder how he copes with jetlag.
Hey John
What do you think about making the argument that the term “foreign” does not apply when a bank account is local and in the country of the person’s birth?
Example: I am a US citizen born in Australia to American parents. I open a bank account at the branch at the corner of my street. Can I argue in US court (if the IRS chooses to prosecute me) that the account is not “foreign” ?
@Sam
If you do not have a US birthplace, do not disclose your US citizenship to the bank. Easy-peasy. FATCA problem solved. No need to be compliant either. The best thing you can do with the IRS is ignore it.
Even if you were born in the US, if you live in a country where birthplace is not on the ID required to open an account and/or banks are not strict (like Canada or Australia) then simply do not “self-certify” as being a US person. Say no and leave it at that.
Also, the IRS cannot “prosecute” you unless you have US assets. The IRS isn’t actually likely to be interested in you if your money is outside the US, because they can’t touch it.