Author Archives: Patricia Moon

UPDATE MON FEB 13, 2017

The NYT reports today about the meeting of President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau including a possibly relevant statement to this post:

He (Mr. Trump) said the two leaders had spoken privately about “doing some cross-border things that will make it a lot easier for trade and a lot better and a lot faster.” They issued a joint statement pledging to continue border security programs that began under Mr. Obama, and reaffirming their commitment to NATO, an alliance that Mr. Trump had previously questioned.

Earlier today I noticed a tweet that brought this on-going development to mind:

Pre-clearance bill would give U.S. border agents power to search and detain Canadians on Canadian soil https://t.co/FiSdU9qE0D

— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) February 12, 2017

While this particular area may not directly impact expatriates resident outside of North America, it represents another area where information-sharing trumps privacy. In the case of Canada and the United States, an entirely new situation, shared policing on the opposite country’s soil, makes an awful lot of us more angry and nervous at being so vulnerable to the heavy-handed approach of the U.S. when it takes to protecting (enforcing) its interests.

The tweet references this article which defines new pre-clearance procedures at airports and outlines the following items of concern:

• Canadian permanent residents could find themselves in the same straits as some U.S. green card holders in the first days of President Donald Trump’s travel ban.
• Canadians who may change their minds about entering the U.S. can be held for further questioning by U.S. agents (in Canada)
• U.S. agents can strip-search Canadians (in Canada)
• U.S. officers are allowed to carry sidearms while on duty in Canada, if they’re working in an environment where Canada Border Services Agency

The United States has already passed legislation and Canada has before the parliament Bill C-23

Any Canadian would likely be outraged at the idea of U.S. officers having power over them on Canadian soil. Particularly because Canadian sensibilities are very different from the heavy law-and-order approach of the United States. One might wonder, how on earth did we get here?

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“Trump must show his mettle and reverse a fatally flawed, misguided law“

NEWS PROVIDED BY
Campaign to Repeal FATCA
Feb 07, 2017, 10:26 ET

Excerpts:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere Group, one of the world’s largest independent financial organizations, has launched a Washington, DC-based lobbying and media campaign to repeal the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA.

With Obama in the White House doing away with FATCA was virtually impossible, despite repeal bills introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC). “FATCA is a textbook example of a bad law that doesn’t achieve its stated purpose but does manage to unleash a host of unanticipated destructive consequences,” states Sen. Paul.

As his co-leader of the Campaign to Repeal FATCA, Green has turned to former U.S. diplomat and longtime Senate leadership staffer Jim Jatras of the media and government relations firm Global Strategic Communications Group (GSCG). Jatras, a leading authority on FATCA, edits the online publication www.RepealFATCA.com, which is dedicated to getting rid of what he calls “the worst law most Americans have never heard of.“

On Green’s initiative, Jatras is assembling a team of experienced DC professionals to push the repeal effort over the top. “Nigel’s deciding to step up to the plate is just tremendous,” says Jatras. “Billions of dollars have been wasted worldwide complying with FATCA, billions of words have been written complaining about it. Now it’s time for action. When that tax bill gets to President Trump’s desk, we want FATCA repeal in it.”

For more information on FATCA and the Campaign to Repeal FATCA, contact GSCG, below.

RepealFatca.com

Twitter @RepealFatca

cross-posted from MapleSandBox
also appeared yesterday on Rob Wood’s blog at Forbes

by Lynne Swanson

I am the author of this article in Forbes. I don’t know why Robert Wood didn’t use my real name as a signature. I submitted it to him and I have posted a comment asking him to include it. I refuse to hide or cower to a foreign bully.

Dear President Trump:

I realize that not paying taxes “makes (you) smart.” So you likely think I’m dumb for paying taxes to Canada, where I live. I think it makes me responsible. You probably would consider me “a nasty woman.” You might even call me a traitor because I have lived outside the United States for almost half a century, and relinquished American citizenship by becoming a citizen of the country I love—Canada—in 1973.

But hear me out on a real “total disaster.” The United States demands that I file tax returns to a country where I haven’t lived for 47 years just because I was born there. Even worse, the U.S. Treasury Department demands invasive information about all of my Canadian accounts. You see, Democrats, with support of some Republicans, passed the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) back in 2010. It is nasty, believe me.

I know you’re a really, really smart guy because of that not paying taxes thing. So let’s talk about FATCA, which is complex, believe me. Imagine if all of Melania’s accounts—including personal, business and even joint accounts with you—had to be reported to Slovenia just because she was born there! Or, if all of your accounts were required to be reported to Scotland because your mother hailed from there. Or, if the Czech Republic demanded all of the financial records of your three oldest children because of their mother’s birthplace. You get the idea.

This may sound like fake news, but is quite real for Americans abroad, including anyone born in U.S. These Americans are under attack, but not from terrorists. This FATCA attack comes from U.S. government! Terrible. You want to strip U.S. citizenship from anyone who burns an American flag? Ironically, if it was that easy to ditch U.S. citizenship, I’m afraid there would be Stars and Stripes ablaze around the globe. In fact, renouncing is costly, complicated and sometimes devastating.

Yet, renunciations of U.S. citizenship soared under President Obama’s administration. These people didn’t renounce because they are traitors or tax cheats. Many are patriotic Americans who built lives and paid taxes from Australia to Zimbabwe. But, IRS wants to claim them and seize their financial records because of their birthplace. Others are Accidental Americans because parents were temporarily living in the U.S. when they were born (like London’s Boris Johnson), or because a U.S. hospital was the closest one for their birth (like a Canadian police officer). I know of one Canadian caught in the FATCA nightmare whose mother went into premature labor over 50 years ago on an overnight trip to Buffalo!

Many financial institutions Build the Wall by refusing accounts to anyone born in America. Sadly, there are so many people now wanting to shed American citizenship that some U.S. Consulates have waiting lists of a year. Some are no longer responding to requests. Armed with alternative facts, sanctions and penalties, the U.S. Treasury and IRS have forced financial institutions and governments around the globe to comply with FATCA through bully-boy tactics. Your Russian Putin pal signed on, and so did China, Iraq and Mexico. But not Iran, Syria or Eritrea.

It’s strange about Eritrea, because it is the only other nation on the planet that taxes its citizens living outside its borders. But this tiny African dictatorship at least makes it easier than America does. Eritrea requests expat citizens pay 2% of their income using one simple form. No demand for financial records. No imposition of unwanted citizenship on everyone born there. In contrast, some tax compliance thugs threaten Americans outside the U.S. that the IRS will “Lock them up” if these mainly middle class folks don’t file tax returns. Notably, you haven’t released your tax returns, so I have no idea if you have offshore accounts or if you reported them.

You can straighten this out with an Executive Order for U.S. Treasury to stop tormenting millions of honest law-abiding folks who just want to live their lives in peace and protect their families and their privacy. You can urge Republicans in Congress to repeal FATCA and move to resident taxation as part of tax reform. Please ask your Chief of Staff to help. Mr. Priebus said FATCA is unconstitutional. The Republican National Committee even passed a resolution vowing to repeal FATCA and adopt residence based taxation. So dump FATCA, a “failing piece of garbage.” Please do it now. Make America Great Again, for all Americans.

Sincerely,

A concerned former U.S. citizen”

cross-posted from citizenshipsolutions.ca

by John Richardson

Introduction …

Most meetings with Mr. #FBAR take place in "The Twilight Zone" https://t.co/9UJw0GxGIf pic.twitter.com/uqjqYsKKtZ

— Citizenship Lawyer (@ExpatriationLaw) February 5, 2017

This post is one more of a collection of FBAR posts on this blog. The most recent FBAR posts are
here and here.

The “unfiled FBAR” continues to be a problem for certain Homeland Americans with “offshore accounts” and all Americans abroad, who continue to “commit personal finance abroad”.
 

Be careful what you "fix for"! What to do about the unfiled #FBAR https://t.co/sAh01HpWin via @ExpatriationLaw = "small steps = big results"

— Citizenship Lawyer (@ExpatriationLaw) February 5, 2017

 
The above tweet references a recent post which discussed how to “fix past compliance problems“. The introduction included:
 
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reposted from cafemoi blog
by John Hanson

This is one of the finest posts I have ever read. And while it does not address all expats (i.e., Accidentals may not identify with this), it is perhaps, the only way we will ever change the minds of Homelanders and the U.S. government. As John so eloquently states:

People are the front line of foreign relations. If you can sway the people, you sway the government. You cannot sway the people by swaying the government first.

I am also reminded of Don Maisch’s wonderful paper outlining the potential loss of foreign students due to FATCA.

@smerconish You've been blogged #FATCA https://t.co/KlGDP601O0

— John Hanson (@JohnXHanson) February 5, 2017

I watched Smerconish last night on CNN. And before you label me a Libtard or a liberal lackey, and yes, I despise Fox News and the alt right, I am quite disgusted with mainstream media’s filtering the real Obama stories. I rarely watch any news on television anymore, and when I do, it’s usually Canadian CBC, CTV, or BNN. I like my news to be about the news. Stations like Fox and CNN should have the word News stricken from their titles.

Anyway, I like Smerconish. He tends to speak his mind, and his mind is very much in line with my own leanings: centrist, questioning all, and searching for the best. I know you righties cannot comprehend these concepts, so please stop reading before your brains explode. Except I am done with left-right bullshit in this post.

At one point he interviewed Mark Wrighton, chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis. He was a spokesman for 48 university heads who oppose the seven-nation ban. When Smerconish made the following statement, my hackles raised.

Who would we rather Iranians get their news and information about the United States from, their Supreme Leader or the twelve thousand who come here to study and go home to spread the word about the United States?

It is a valid point. It is a point I can relate to; because it is a point I have been making for years. People are the front line of foreign relations. If you can sway the people, you sway the government. You cannot sway the people by swaying the government first. This ban cuts off the cultural exchanges, it is a virtual wall that ensures prejudice on both sides will fester and metastasize. Such a ban not only shuts off all grass roots reconciling but also spurs anti-American sentiment and terrorist recruitment. That this and other bans are bad is a no-brainer to a thinker and someone who wants a peaceful world.

I have been making this point not about students or immigrants but about emigrants. The United States has some 40 million foreign nationals (people with foreign citizenships), but it also has some 9 million citizens living abroad. I am one of these people, or I was. We live in foreign countries, live foreign lives, speak foreign languages, immerse ourselves in their cultures, collaborate with them in all facets of life, and if we stay long enough, we become one of them. We are the front line of spreading the ways of America to the rest of the world. We are plenipotentiaries with boots on the ground.

We should be treasured assets of freedom, democracy, and world peace, yet we are treated as criminals and called traitors by the Treasury Department, former President Obama, the dipshit lefties (sorry, but the idiot and his ilk infuriate me) like Chuck Schumer, and we are ignored by all mainstream media, like Smerconish who can rail about 12,000 foreigners but ignore 9 million Americans.
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FATCA is NOT about PROTECTING America’s Tax Base.FATCA is about EXPANDING America’s Tax Base into the Economies of Other Nations

Yesterday an article made the rounds with an interesting idea;

THE ONLY REFUGEES WHO SHOULD BE ENTERING THE UNITED STATES ARE THE AMERICAN REFUGEES WHO FLED OBAMA’S AMERICA…. WE HAVE THAT DUTY TO OUR FELLOW AMERICANS”

In 5 years I have never heard anyone come forward with this attitude. In spite of having no desire to go back myself, I do appreciate that somebody is finally showing some concern for us. It’s refreshing!

But they didn’t give up their citizenship because they all of a sudden became un-American; no, they did it because of a law that has turned living and/or working abroad into an expensive, onerous, bureaucratic nightmare for the ordinary American citizen.

FATCA and its ridiculous system has ensnared law-abiding American expats into a constant battle with the IRS, all over the day-to-day activities all citizens engage in.

A well-known citizenship lawyer clarifies that after years of confusion about tax, penalties, IRS programs and information reporting forms, to add insult to injury, FATCA is not even about tax! Read John’s interesting observation; it is our governments who did not understand what they signed by implementing the IGA’s and they need to reverse this before each country loses too much capital due to unfair citizenship taxation.

A comment from FATCA needs to go but unfortunately the FATCA refugees are never coming back

John Richardson:

Thanks for drawing attention to #FATCA and #Americansabroad.

It has become clear that FATCA is is NOT about identifying American residents who engage in tax evasion. In other words;

FATCA is NOT about PROTECTING America’s tax base.

Rather:

FATCA is about EXPANDING America’s tax base into the economies of other nations.

"Thanks for drawing attention to #FATCA and #Americansabroad.It has become clear that FATCA is…" — John Richardson https://t.co/OY15EmerG1

— Citizenship Lawyer (@ExpatriationLaw) February 1, 2017

The United States believes that any person “Born In The USA” (and therefore a U.S. citizen) is required to pay taxes to the United States REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY LIVE IN THE WORLD AND REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEIR INCOME IS EARNED. This requirement exists with respect to income earned outside the United States.

Think of it: the mere fact of a U.S. birthplace obligates somebody to pay taxes to the IRS for life! Somebody “Born In The USA”, who may have left the United States as a child, has a lifetime tax obligation to the United States.

The United States is currently expanding it’s tax base into other nations. It does so by hunting for people who (1) were born in the United States and (2) live in other nations. How is “FATCA Hunt” taking place? How does “FATCA Hunt” actually work?

In practical terms, the USA is forcing non-U.S. banks to “hunt” for people with a U.S. place of birth. Once identified their existence is reported to the IRS. The vast majority of people identified are actually citizens and residents of other nations. For example, on or about September 30, 2016 the existence of approximately 315,000 Canadian bank/brokerage accounts of (mostly) Canadian citizen/residents were reported to the IRS. Why? Because the account holder had a U.S. place of birth or were otherwise under suspicion of having a “U.S. connection”. Most of these reported do NOT consider themselves to be U.S. citizens at all.

Citizens of some European countries (example France) are not able to maintain bank and financial accounts because of a U.S. place of birth.

So, yes people are severing any possible ties to America. Believe me, if you were being “hunted” because of a U.S. place of birth, you would do the same thing! If severing that “U.S. tie” includes “renouncing U.S. citizenship” (which it often does), this is perfectly understandable.

Surprising number of foreign students r Muslim -universities could see revenues shrink if students r barred https://t.co/2SnTZxTN8i pic.twitter.com/SBCf3SgPZJ

— Patricia Moon (@nobledreamer16) January 29, 2017

Recently I received a paper from an expat in Australia-it is a submission to the Ways and Means Committee. I am very impressed with it and shortly thereafter came across this article at the NYT.

Both Canada and Australia choose to take a positive approach and encourage the immigration of those who have studied in their countries; the citizenship process is fast-tracked. The U.S. on the other hand, has an extremely difficult regime which makes the path to citizenship much more difficult. As with other policies we are aware of, the U.S. once again, shoots itself in the foot with it’s exclusionist attitude. Add to that, President Trump’s Executive Order effective today, will likely prevent some who are already studying in the U.S., the ability to return and continue with their studies. The following groups of people find themselves barred from entry into the United States:

• suspended entry of all refugees to the United States for 120 days
• barred Syrian refugees indefinitely
• blocked entry into the United States for 90 days for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen
• barred green card holders from those countries from re-entering the United States

It is fairly well-known in the expatriate community that USCIS has no information for new immigrants warning them of what is involved in citizenship-based taxation and the ramifications of it should they desire to return to their home countries one day, without renouncing their U.S. citizenship. The more likely “hit” they will take, are the FBAR and FATCA provisions with the emphasis on reporting foreign accounts and assets. This is particularly obscene in that many of these students will have accounts in their home countries solely for sending money back to help their families. So perhaps the students who will NOT come to/remain in the U.S. are, for the moment, more blessed than they can possibly appreciate, by not entering/remaining in the U.S.
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I recently celebrated my fifth anniversary of freedom from all things “American.” Ironically, it coincided with the inauguration of Donald J Trump as POTUS. I’ve been a bit distracted by the confirmation hearings and the immediate movement via Executive Orders on some of the less than charming policies that to my mind and heart, are completely un-American. Oddly enough, it reminds me of the beginning of my expat saga, with the all-too-familiar horror of how vicious and unrelenting the US has become. The main thing that becomes apparent, is how important Brock has become, not only to all of you, but also, to me.

Looking back, it is hard to imagine any part of my expat experience that does not include Brock (probably about 6 weeks total). The site has been so much more than we anticipated. We developed our knowledge and outlook through combined research, in order to protect ourselves from the “alternative facts” being promoted at the time by the tax compliance industry, the media and government figures like Levin and Shulman. Secondly, it was the ONLY place expats could go for support; to get reassurance that this was not imagined or exaggerated. Everything about the OMG moment was 100% true. People leaned on people for the support they didn’t get from their spouses, parents, families, friends, employers or representatives. Without Brock, I don’t think there would be ADCS-ADCS or the Canadian lawsuit. There would not have been the network of people to help with and promote the Information Sessions. There would not have been such a massive submission to the Senate Finance Committee. No Brock SWAT team on the endless comment sections of articles. (SWAT=”Special Writers and Thinkers). No expansion into the various FB groups and Twitter accounts. No ADCT. No mini
protests. No “We Are Not a Myth.” No submission to the United Nations. No campaigns to reach out to journalists, mayors, other expats, etc. I am probably missing things but you get the idea.

Perhaps one of the most unexpected directions Brock took was to be the focal point for donations for the ADCS-ADSC lawsuit in Canada. It is probably this that changed Brock more than anything else; Brock is not at all the same as it was in the beginning. This is hard to explain to newer people but it is true all the same. And over time, Brock has developed an international visibility. It is a place where letter writing campaigns and Twitter rallies are organized. It is a place where the more “shocking” ideas are explored (shocking to the Homelander-American exceptionalist viewpoint). It was, I believe, from Brock, that the strongest “screaming” became evident and which helped push certain changes that have occurred in the last five years. The fact we were not “politically correct,” not afraid to speak out against US policy, Shulman, Levin, Obama, et al is what made us different. Things we started with (renunciation, remaining full-ostrich) were so taboo five years ago. I remember being shocked at renounceuscitizenship’s blog -wincing at the very title (even though I had already decided that was what I was going to do)! These developments were what didn’t happen in the other expat forums, groups (or considered by the professionals) and absolutely what needed to happen. There is not one shred of doubt in my mind that Brock is what made the now common renunciation movement, possible. We own that.
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reposted from MapleSandbox

by Lynne Swanson

#FATCA Americans overseas: Do NOT allow US tax pros scare u into entering US tax system. Many have no business entering!

— Keith REDMOND (@kredmond_global) January 19, 2017

Backing up the above tweet, Keith Redmond posted the following on Facebook:

Dear Members: I just had a lengthy, robust call with an individual who spent 25 years in upper management with the Department of Treasury IRS Criminal Investigation. He confirmed what I thought about the IRS. There is more bark than bite. He stated that there are many, many Americans overseas ho have no business in entering the US tax system and that Accidental Americans UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should enter the US tax system. He confirmed that there are MANY US tax pros who prey on Americans overseas and Accidental Americans through fear and falsehoods. (e.g. you will get arrested, etc.). Any US tax professional who pushes and scaremongers these individuals to comply are not professionals and should not be used! He confirmed that the IRS is NOT going to go after you in your country of residence (most especially if you are a citizen of that country) and the IRS is NOT going to arrest you at the US border. The IRS does not have the resources to do this plus they go after those who have committed a crime not the average American overseas. He stated that Americans overseas need to not succumb to the fear. Excellent conversation and I am glad my views have been validated.

This reflects what I have long believed. Unfortunately, there is still the nightmare of FATCA to deal with. In some countries, anyone born in the US cannot even get bank accounts. We are treated as criminals just for banking where we live.

I asked Keith how his contact explains and justifies this.

Keith replied:

He can’t. He finds the whole situation abhorent…