Media and Blog Articles – Part 7 of 11 (Year 2020)
2021.01.01. This thread is now closed. It continues at Media and Blog Articles Open for Comment – Part 8 of 9 – Year 2021.
This is a continuation of the Media and Blog Articles Open for Comments thread (part 6 of 9).
Part 1 covers up until 26 May 2015. Part 2 is from 27 May 2015 to 1 January 2016. Part 3 is 1 January – 31 December 2016. Part 4 is 1 January – 31 December 2017. Part 5 is 1 January – 31 December 2018. Part 6 is 1 January – 31 December 2019. Part 8 is 1 January – 31 December 2021. Part 9 is 1 January – 31 December 2022.
Media and Blog Articles
EmBee suggested that it would be good if there was a thread for new articles, so that people would be aware of where to comment. So, I created this permanent page. I’ll make a permanent list of links posted here and keep adding to it, but not deleting, so we’ll end up having sort of a “bibliography” of FATCA/CBT articles. [Note: Some articles are not open for comments]
For more articles on FATCA, enter FATCA into Google then click on the link “more news for fatca” just below the most recent featured article.
Notes:
From JC: To see #FATCA on Twitter for latest breaking news. JC finds that is quite a good source and there even are some international articles that one may read using Google Translate. Others may help certain tweets and articles remain in elevated position by retweeting them.
From Badger: On an important archival note, please use the Internet Archive Wayback machine https://archive.org/web/ (see bottom right ‘Save Page Now’ box to enter URLs of webpages you want saved for posterity, and try to save backup copies of articles and other items of interest in some other form – such as a datastick or external drive. Some important and very significant webpages and the fulltexts of articles are no longer available (although some can be retrieved if someone using the Wayback machine saved them).
Be sure to read the comment stream for this thread — there are often very recent articles mentioned since this list was updated.
How the IRS Prioritizes Compliance Work on High Income Non-Filers Through National and International Enforcement, IRS, Tax Connections.
2020.12.02
Constitutional lawyer Joseph Arvay remembered as tireless defender of the underdog, Bethany Lindsay, CBC, Canada. (Mr. Arvay was lead counsel for the ADCS constitutional challenge of the FATCA IGA legislation at Federal Court (Trial Division), 2014-2019.
2020.11.02
Goodbye, USA: The story of how I left the USA. Larry Salibra, Larry Salibra, Hong Kong.
2020.10.31
How the coronavirus made it nearly impossible to tenounce citizenship,, Adam Taylor, Washington Post, US.
2020.10.16
More Americans Are Renouncing Their Citizenship, Jo Craven McGinty, Wall Street Journal, US.
2020.10.15
Would I Ever Renounce My Citizenship?, Evan Edinger, YouTube.
2020.10.07
McAfee Founder Accused Of Evading Taxes While Allegedly Earning Millions, Reese Oxner, NPR, US.
2020.09.15
Toronto Star virtual event: US Election 2020: Why votes from abroad matter, and explaining the battle to overcome voter suppression, Toronto Star, Canada. (Event occurs 2020.09.22)
2020.09.07
Republican group calls on Donald Trump to change Fatca [sic], Cristian Angeloni, International Adviser.
Geld aus den USA fur viele Pensionisten, ORF, Austria.
https://slate.com/business/2020/01/irs-audits-revenue-declining.html
“This week brought yet another stark reminder of how a decade of budget and personnel cuts have crippled the IRS. On Monday, the agency reported that it only managed to audit 0.45 percent of all personal income tax returns in 2019, less than half the share it examined in 2011. The audit rate has now been declining for eight straight years.”
And yet, the legal and accounting professions will insist that non-compliant US persons should come forward before they are caught and punished, that dual citizens should renounce to protect themselves, and that anyone who renounces without tax compliance has a great big target on their back. Hmm…
Just wondering if the latest announcement from Meghan and Harry that they would live some of their time in US and that they also plan to be financially independent has something to do with the inability of Americans abroad to function financially in many ways. The Royal family would have sought to protect their finances from Meghan and she would be unable to share any accounts or share property without IRS tax implications. Without employment she would have found it impossible to have any kind of financial independence in the UK. She had once stated she would take up UK citizenship and we here thought she may then give up US citizenship but it seems the opposite may happen.
The only way she can function independently without her feeling she was solely dependent on the Royals for her livelihood would be for them to live in the US.
I wonder how it will work out…
Not sure if this has been posted, but the new Taxpayer Advocate has issued the Annual report
https://taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/reports/2019-annual-report-to-congress/full-report#MSP
A quick glance over the headings failed to locate anything specifically re the burdens borne by ‘international taxpayers’ or taxablecitizens ‘abroad’.
re above, a search of the TAS Annual report for 2019 does find in Appendix 1
“Appendix 1:Past TAS Recommendations on Taxpayer Service ” – which provides an interesting overview of most serious problems that mention ‘international’ taxpayers. Search using the word ‘international’ , and ‘abroad’ for a quick scan. However, I didn’t see anything recent, and the problems raised in prior years remain mostly unaddressed by the IRS. Unsurprisingly.
Som compare the fines you get when you don’t file FinCen 114 or fail to keep records of the accounts with the fines you get if you work for finCen and leak the information:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-15/irs-leaker-who-outed-trump-fixer-s-banking-secrets-spared-jail
Sickening.
@Neill
Except of course that anyone not in the US tax system already is not going to be hit with these fines, nor can they be collected from anyone with no US assets.
Not be be disrespectful of those Canadians And other passengers who recently lost their lives in Iran and their families, but guess which phrase reared it’s ugly head again in the context of returning their remains to Canada?
“From our point of view a Canadian, is a Canadian, is a Canadian,” he said. “We will do our utmost to make sure that those rights are accorded to them.”
https://globalnews.ca/news/6415512/rcmp-identifying-victims-iran-plane-crash/amp/
My condoleances as well to those affected by that tragedy. There are over ninety cointries with embassies or consulates in Teheran excepting ,of course ,Canada and the US . Even GB after its embassy ransacking a few years ago still maintains an embassy. Canada”s cowtowing US foreign policy making Canada appear even more weak globally and foreign policy even more indistinguishable from our southen neighbor’s.
I wonder if Trudeau and company would have shown such theatrics if a similar accident would have occurred to Canadians the over US .
Another point of fact , since Iran does not recognize dual citzenship, there were very few Canadians on that flight.
Another point of fact.
There were 63 Canadian citizens on flight 752.
The idea that because they were dual citizens, they were not Canadian may be the Iranian position but not ours and shouldn’t be yours.
Imagine if someone ,born in the USA and also a Canadian was told by the US State department that said person was ONLY a US citizen. You would go bananas.
Has anyone heard how we’re doing in France, and Europe in general, now that the Dec. 31, 2019 deadline regarding the collection of TINs has come and gone? If I recall the numbers correctly, some 40,000 bank accounts of “Americans” were in danger of being closed this month if TINs weren’t produced. I just did a brief google search for news on this and couldn’t find anything. Has anyone else run across anything?
@ MuzzledNoMore
This is all I’ve found …
https://americanexpatfinance.com/news/item/354-dutch-parliament-to-meet-accidental-americans-next-week
Just got a French bank account closed, I had ignored their letters until the last one, and then sent back their questionnaire stating I was a French citizen. This was not enough apparently, as Société Général closed the account and shortly after blocked online access. Now I’m waiting for them to transfer the money to my account in Belgium.
The Dutch, in the article referenced about, seem to be quite active and well-organized. They are also more practical minded than the French, and speak perfect English. And they are perhaps more agressive financially. This gives me hope that they will make more progress than others have. Fingers crossed.
EmBee and Fred (B): Thank you both so much for the information. Fred, I’m so sorry you’ve been caught up in this most recent manifestation of the FATCA/CBT travesty. I hope the transfer of your funds goes smoothly and that you have better luck in Belgium.
In the Burggraf article I noted the statement that a CLN costs 11 times as much as a U.S. passport. Ironically, through the imposition of the outrageous $2350.00 fee, the U.S. government itself asserts that the lack of U.S. citizenship is far more valuable than its possession!
The question that I have is why are the Eurobanks so freaked out about a few accidental Americans lurking amongst their customers while the Canadian banks are by now totally bored with FATCA and don’t seem to be particularly interested in trying to ferret out US persons. Presumably the same rules apply on both sides of the Atlantic.
Probably because they saw what the US did to the Swiss banks.
Maz57…
“Presumably the same rules apply on both sides of the Atlantic.”
The difference = Most European financial institutions (not UK) require government issued ID cards to open any financial account, swipe the card and up comes place of birth in glorious and unmistakable detail as an immutable part of your ID.
These banks can’t say they didn’t know these people were US citizens, they can’t say their clients hid the fact or that they did due diligence to find out but were mislead, not when the fact the person is a US citizen is staring them in the face. (I’m aware of the possible exceptions to the rule).
Incidentally, on another forum somebody asked what could possibly be wrong with ID cards when you are doing nothing wrong and have nothing to hide.
This, this is what can be wrong because the presumption that governments will always be benign is an assumption for fools that never went to school or dusted off a history book.
Maz57 & Mike: I’ve had the same question and I’m pretty sure, Mike, that you’ve supplied the answer. Thankfully, in Canada we don’t have the type of I.D. card that they apparently use in Europe. I hope it stays that way.
@Portland and Mike: That pretty well clears that up! I had forgotten about the Swiss debacle of a few years back. No wonder the European banks are running scared.
@ Muzzled: That’s what I like about Canada. Even in this age of the nanny state and massive government intrusion into our private lives, in Canada we are still able to do pretty much as we like as long as we don’t make a mess, don’t hurt others, and quietly go about our business without attracting the attention of the cops. (Or bank officials, lol.) The US likes to brag about its freedoms, but Canada is, in fact, a much freer society. I hope it stays that way, too.
Trump says new tax cut plan to be unveiled in 90 days
By Naomi Jagoda – 01/21/20 01:48 PM EST
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/479196-trump-says-new-tax-cut-plan-to-be-unveiled-in-90-days
My comment on the article, pls uptick: http://disq.us/p/26u81zm
Please Retweet/Like on Twitter:
Americans Abroad For Tax Reform
@AA4TR
Will people with links to citizenship-based taxation get relief? Trump says new tax-cut plan to be unveiled in 90 days #FATCA #DoubleTaxation #tax #FAIRtax #citizide #citizenshiptax #AccidentalAmericans
https://twitter.com/AA4TR/status/1220038451749359616?s=20
Keith Redmond Replying to
@AA4TR
Let’s only hope it will not screw further Americans overseas as last tax cut plan ruins Americans overseas w/small 2 medium sized biz who were trying to be ‘good Americans’ and comply with US tax law! America needs to stop screwing Americans overseas! #FATCA #DoubleTaxation
https://twitter.com/Keith__REDMOND/status/1220098627231797259?s=20
Pls RT/Like on Twitter.
@SolomonYue
Are you pursuing this opportunity to insert residence based taxation into the tax code? Re: Trump says new tax cut plan to be unveiled in 90 days
STOP double taxing residents of other countries!
@RepHolding
@GroverNorquist
@aaro
#FATCA
https://twitter.com/JCDoubleTaxed/status/1220105866105380864?s=20
@ JC
RE: The Hill article. After I upticked your comment and posted a little reply the comment section would no longer download for me. Gremlins again? But is it them or my computer?
Thanks for the uptick and comment. It works for me.
@ JC
Found out it works on our laptop but not on our desktop computer. Got some cranky little gremlins in there I guess (overworked perhaps).
This is what you get when you try to deal with a bank based in the most hypocritical nation of Do-What-I-Say-Not-What-I-Do (DWISNWID).
https://international-adviser.com/goldman-sachs-cannot-comply-with-fatca-in-the-uk/?fbclid=IwAR3G6kBiL24qmsr9NnX6zOKiuS2s8A4N5p2_0qyMERIbif5v1-X6qQ6dhv8
Matt Taibbi described Goldman
SachsSucks this way …“great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.”
Apparently the squid feels American citizens living abroad are too icky-sticky to get entangled with, thanks to FATCA with all its befuddling and onerous rules which the USA commands every foreign financial institution in the world to figure out and administer on the behalf of the IRS.
“great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.”
Not sure what a “blood funnel” is but apparently it automatically retracts if it gets a whiff of anything that is a money loser. I’m liking the irony.
There is a tiny ray of hope here, however. Maybe, just maybe, a back channel message will be sent that FATCA seriously impedes the mega bank’s ability to suck cash out of the economies of non-US countries.