Author Archives: USCitizenAbroad

http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/1414557890001/

Here is the link to the IRS News Room. I expect that within the next year, the U.S. will pass a law applicable to every  country, making this (IRS News Room) the home page on every browser of the world. Not only is intended to be the “Latest News”, but it is intended to be the only news.

Here is the part that announces the December FS – the information to U.S. citizens and dual citizens living outside the United States:

Information for U.S. Citizens or Dual Citizens Residing Outside the U.S.
FS-2011-13, December 2011 – This fact sheet summarizes information about federal income tax return and FBAR filing requirements for duel citizens in Canada, the United Kingdon and other countries.

Do you see anything wrong with this?  There are at least two mistakes. Do you think the use of the word “duel” is a Freudian slip?

Here is information from the Federal Register dates January 26, 2012. Note the penalties. If you are a permanent resident of Canada who has not become a Canadian citizen …

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-01-26/html/2012-1567.htm

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 17 (Thursday, January 26, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 3964-3966]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1567]

Continue reading →

This has been cross posted from RenounceUScitizenship.

In a recent post I suggested that there were two big obstacles to U.S. living abroad being in compliance with tax and reporting requirements. I identified the cost of tax and FBAR compliance as being one. I suggested that the second was the lack of clear guidelines and procedures from the IRS. This post generated a few comments. One of the most interesting was the following: Continue reading →

Check this out to learn how the mainland regards those who renounce citizenship – I’m flabbergasted.

https://twitter.com/#!/renounceus/status/162051454004232192

This post has been cross posted from RenounceUSCitizenship.

See also:
U.S. citizenship has been priced out of the market
The taxpayer, the IRS and the “cross border professionals” – where to go from here
U.S. citizens may have trouble finding qualified tax preparers

An inside perspective – Stacie Kitts, CPA:

“Choose A Tax Preparer That Has a Clue

Here it is, what all un-registered (non CPA’s, attorneys, or enrolled agent) tax preparers have been waiting for.  The specs for the competency test  that will award those who pass the title of  “Registered Tax Return Preparer.”

Wowwee doesn’t it just give you the chills….

No – well maybe that’s because CPA’s and attorneys can sign tax returns even if they don’t have a single clue what they are doing.  They get to do this without passing a test (other than the initial licensing exam which he/she could have taken a hundred years ago – so not even relevant today) or taking a single hour of tax related continuing professional education.  You know, training that would keep you up to speed on the actual tax laws that apply to tax return preparation.

So what do you think the odds are that  many of these licensed “professionals” would have a difficult time passing the new competency test?

Ya, scary jacked up regulation that leaves out a large number of people who are trusted to prepare your tax return.

Fixing the mistakes of these so called professionals is a large part of my practice.  I guess I should be grateful instead of loosing my mind over the absurdity of it all.”

http://staciesmoretaxtips.com/2011/09/07/irs-releases-specifications-for-registered-tax-return-preparer-test-doesnt-it-just-give-you-the-chills/

Gives you food for thought doesn’t it. Not all tax preparers are created equally and the one you choose better “have a clue”. Continue reading →

Great news!  Just received the following update from “Just Me”. Susan Tompor of the Detroit Free Press has written an article about the importance of reporting foreign bank accounts to the IRS.

You can find it here. I would suggest getting over there to post some comments. This article has great potential to focus this problem from the perspective of regular people – you know, the ones who use “foreign” bank accounts for day-to-day life.

Thanks to “Just Me”!

This post has been cross posted from RenounceUScitizenship

The costs of U.S. tax and reporting compliance

I have written a number of posts on the problem of compliance with U.S. tax and reporting requirements . Most people want to be and remain in compliance. My previous posts have opined that: the IRS and lawyer fear mongering coupled with  complexity have made compliance  difficult. The simple fact is that most people don’t know what to do. Taxpayers do NOT trust the IRS. Furthermore, the “not knowing what to do” is having a terrible effect on people’s lives (to the extent that they still have one). These views are echoed by the Taxpayer Advocate Report to Congress. Continue reading →

This post is cross posted from RenounceUScitizenship.

Let’s begin with an excerpt from a comment from a U.S. citizen living outside the United States.

“I have not been able to get advice from the IRS, from the IRS Tax Advocate, from my financial planner, from my government representatives, from the US Ambassador to Canada – it all goes in a circle and the easy answer – ‘get advice from a US tax accountant’. I do get my US taxes (and Canadian taxes) prepared through a cross-border CA and it is probably my mistake to not have asked the right questions in the first place, but here I am, as are many others, in trouble and also called by the US and even many in Canada, tax evader.”

What’s a poor expat to do? Continue reading →

Last night I found myself in a discussion with a U.S. dual  citizen. Basically, what she told me was that since she learned of the IRS assault against dual citizens that she felt that “her life had been stolen from her”. She listed a list of health and emotional problems. Furthermore like “a deer frozen in the headlights” she doesn’t know what to do. She is reaching retirement age and fears that her retirement savings will be taken. (By the way, she didn’t know about FATCA. I didn’t add to her misery.)

The “emotional and life aspects” of (what has become) the “War of 2012” are rarely mentioned. How has this affected your life?