An update to our last post about Lebanon. The American invasion is a hot topic in the Middle East today. Tim just posted some news about Israel. Now, a Lebanese newspaper has come out with a new article: “FATCA, la loi américaine qui bouleverse le secteur bancaire libanais” (FATCA, the American law which is turning the Lebanese banking sector upside-down). I’ve translated two interesting quotes below. (I’ve also included the original text, since most people here speak much better French than me).
Author Archives: Eric
Congressional Progressive Caucus "Budget For All" would end Foreign Earned Income Exclusion
The Congressional Progressive Caucus, one of the larger Democratic Party caucuses, has proposed to end the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion in their 2013 “Budget For All”, details of which were revealed yesterday following a vague press release last week. As U.S. persons abroad have already learned, when American homelanders use words like “all” and “us”, we are decidedly not included, except when they want money from us. Indeed, with this latest budget proposal, even members of the Americans Abroad Caucus have come out in support of eliminating the FEIE.
Video: Robert Wood speaks with Scott Drake on loss of U.S. citizenship
Another video I came across today on the subject of taxation of U.S. Persons in non-U.S. jurisdictions, and specifically on giving up U.S. citizenship — Robert Wood talking with Scott Drake on the Legal Broadcast Network. Looks like renounceuscitizenship beat me to it and wrote about this one a few weeks ago over at his own blog! Anyway, for those of our readers who are hard of hearing or just too impatient to watch a whole video, I’ve written up a transcript — you can click “continue reading” below to see the transcript, along with my own comments. Be forewarned: you will probably find the level and tone of discussion in this video to be rather disappointing.
Head of Americans Abroad Caucus questions Geithner about banking issues
Via Just Me on Twitter, we learn that Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), head of the House’s Americans Abroad Caucus, posted a video of her questioning Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on, among other things, banking issues faced by U.S. Persons in non-U.S. jurisdictions. For those of you who hate watching videos (like me), after the jump I’ve made transcript of the relevant section, which begins around 3:14.
How the IRS treats foreigners in the US
Via TaxProf Blog, a new paper by Linda Dodd-Major and Paula N. Singer: “When Immigration and Tax Converge“, which criticises the the IRS’ confusing treatment of foreign nationals living in the U.S. I’ve quoted some choice bits below.
U.S. taxation of non-resident citizens places unfair burdens on our countries of residence
In lieu of original content, here is an excerpt from Angelo Nikolakakis’ “Civil Law and Common Law Perspectives: A View from the Left”, in Guglielmo Maisto, Residence of individuals under tax treaties and European Community law (IBFD, 2010). Beginning at page 81 (footnotes omitted):
Generally, non-residents are either not entitled or not in a practical position to enjoy the same public benefits as residents. Why then should they bear similar — or more onerous — income tax burdens as residents (all the while focusing the question on domestic sources), putting aside source-country opportunism? Continue reading
Senate passes passport-confiscation "highway bill" (S. 1813)
S. 1813, the highway (robbery) bill with amendments that let the Treasury Department ban credit cards from non-FATCA banks and give the IRS the power to take away expats’ passports, passed the Senate by a vote of 74-22 with 4 abstentions. The bill will now go to the House, where it will face off against H.R. 7, a competing surface transport bill by Rep. John Mica (R-FL).
Congress to introduce Foreign Washing Machine Compliance Act (FWMCA) to fight offshore abuse of Tide Detergent
Recently, reports have surfaced that drug dealers are abandoning the U.S. dollar in favour of a cleaner, more liquid medium of exchange. From The Daily:
Tide has become a form of currency on the streets. The retail price is steadily high — roughly $10 to $20 a bottle — and it’s a staple in households across socioeconomic classes. Tide can go for $5 to $10 a bottle on the black market, authorities say. Enterprising laundry soap peddlers even resell bottles to stores. “There’s no serial numbers and it’s impossible to track,” said Detective Larry Patterson of the Somerset, Ky., Police Department, where authorities have seen a huge spike in Tide theft. “It’s the item to steal.” …
Senators cram multiple anti-expat amendments into "Surface Transportation Bill" (S. 1813)
The so-called “Surface Transportation Bill” is proving to be a remarkably “fruitful” platform for senators to use the amendment process to push through their pet legislation. Tim just posted about Carl Levin’s SA 1818, which gives Timmy Geithner the power to outlaw credit cards from countries that Carl Levin doesn’t like. Now, American Citizens Abroad, via an update on their Facebook page, tells us that Harry Reid snuck in something much more sinister: a provision allowing the Secretary of State to deny U.S. passport renewal to — or revoke the existing passport of — anyone with outstanding tax debts over a certain threshold. Continue reading
Taiwan bankers urge government to surrender sovereignty to IRS on FATCA
If you’re an American expat in Taiwan, or an immigrant from Taiwan living in the U.S., or even a former immigrant who went back to Taiwan after you got your green card or U.S. passport, look out: your bank in Taiwan wants to sell you and your kids down the river in order to cut their costs of complying with FATCA. Here’s two recent items of coverage from Taiwan newspapers that I’ve translated into English. Continue reading