According to Charles S. Clark, (article in Government Executive, April 11, 2012), the IRS is likely to get a temporary successor. Due to the fact that IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman’s term ends the same month as the elections, it is highly unlikely that Obama will appoint a successor in the event he does not win the election.
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Category Archives: Issues regarding US persons abroad
South Korean finance minister sells his country's sovereignty to the IRS, surrenders to FATCA
South Korean tax industry publication Josei Ilbo is reporting that Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan met with Timothy Geithner at the G20/IMF/World Bank meeting this weekend and came to an agreement on the implementation of FATCA in South Korea. Their journalist has written a shoddy and clueless article which makes no mention of the potential effects on Korean Americans, returned South Korean expatriates still holding on to their green cards, Americans working in South Korea, South Korean privacy laws, or anything else — just the usual cross-border services firm propaganda on “minimising the burdens of financial institutions”. Translation after the jump.
"Pre-Crime Prevention" Technology at the US Border
Check this article out:
The US Department of Homeland Security wants to implement scanning technology at airports which will attempt to determine if you pose a security risk by analysing “behavourial and physiological cues” . The author of the article above argues that it won’t be likely to work, but I’m more concerned with the fact that the US government thinks that it can work and is likely to implement it anyways, warts and all.
By the way, following the best of cheesy US Government acronyms, this one is called FAST (“Future Attribute Screening Technology”)
Is the US trying to everything that it possibly can to make it the least desirable country to visit possible…?
Obama Responds to OVDI Concerns, or NOT!
I have been in contact with a victim of the current IRS OVDI who is living in Europe. I have been asked to share some details of this person’s situation plus a copy of a recent letter that has been received from President Obama. This was written in response to a letter sent to the White House petitioning for redress of the current IRS OVDI program for minnows.
As a preface to that letter, what follows is an Executive Summary of the situation I am writing about. I have been asked to share this, while maintaining anoymity which I am respecting.
The Peter Dunn (x2) interview uploaded
Thanks to Deckard1138 for recording and uploading this segment. Used with permission.
Thanks also to Pacifica for the transcript of the interview.
Mark Nestmann's story of a Mexican
Monty Pelerin kindly sent me a link toMark Nestmann’s article, Growing Numbers of Tax Refugees Exit USA – Permanently. Nestmann tells the story of man from Northern Mexico, whose mother gave birth to him in a border hospital on the United States side of the border. In his retirement, he bought a condo in San Diego to have a cooler place in the summer (I am going to quote a little too much for fair usage and yet I hope that Mr. Nestmann won’t mind–this story is too important for Isaac Brock): Continue reading
Institute for Justice is suing the IRS
Comments on my post about Remaining a Dual Citizen have led me to think I should post about the Institute for Justice.
They are a group of lawyers who spend their time fighting against laws that unnecessarily restrict individual private economic activity and defending people caught up in these laws. They have recently launched a lawsuit against the IRS for a new policy that forces tax preparers to be licensed before they are given IRS permission to help people fill out their tax returns. (JustMe commented on this and linked to another story on a previous IBS post)
This has affected thousands of independent tax preparers who help many more thousands of taxpayers file correctly and remain compliant with US tax law.
As the IJ says,
“Congress never gave the IRS the authority to license tax preparers, and the IRS cannot give itself that power. That is why the Institute for Justice has joined with three independent tax preparers to bring a lawsuit in federal court challenging the IRS’s statutory authority to impose these regulations on them and other entrepreneurial tax preparers across the nation.”
We have often talked here on the Isaac Brock Society about filing legal action against the IRS to challenge its treatment of expats, citing the violation of numerous Constitutional amendments and clauses in IRS regulations, actions and penalties. The IJ takes on more than economic freedom cases. They have “ four core mission areas: economic liberty, property rights, political and commercial speech, and school choice” but they also work on other legislation cases. And they are a 501(c)(3) organization, so it is non-profit. I’d think that unconstitutional taxation would be a property rights issue. Perhaps this is a resource that would be worth pursuing.
IRS FAQs on "Canadian and U.S. Tax Issues"
It looks like the IRS set up a FAQ category for Canadian and U.S. Tax Issues back in February 2012!
"Professional" Misinformation
Check out Wayne Bewick on 18 April 2012 as he trolls for business and purveys misinformation via a Globe and Mail video.
Video: Tax tips for Americans living in Canada
Bewick says that FBAR reporting to the United States is all about the compliance —
if you have an aggregate of more than $10,000 in
accounts outside of Canada.
Radio Interview with Pete the Planner
UPDATE: Click here for the audio of this interview.
Hi everyone, I’ve done the 10 minute spot with Pete the Planner, and I think it went pretty well; I was able to touch on many of the important issues that affect all of us.
What: The Pete the Planner Show on 93 WIBC
When: Friday nights from 7-9pm and then podcast online anytime
Once the podcast is available, we will make a link.