Media and Blog Articles Open for Comments – Part 4 of 11 (Year 2017)
You can access all years at this link: Media and Blog Articles – Links for All Years
If clicking on a comment link brings you to the wrong comment, click here to get on the most recent page of comments.(alternatively, to reach the most recent comment page, go to the url in the bar at the top of your browser and delete everything after http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/media-and-blog-articles-open-for-comments-part-4-of-4)
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 usually very recent articles mentioned there that aren’t on this list yet.
2017.12.28
It’s time to address the double standard about tax havens, Angela Wrights, Macleans, Canada.
The US Is Becoming the World’s New Tax Haven, The Editors, Bloomberg View, US.
2017.12.21
Rep. Dina Titus Supports Americans Abroad Tax Reform, Democrats Abroad, US.
Now That The GOP Tax Bill Is Approved, The IRS Gets Busy, Brian Naylor, NPR, US.
2017.12.20
Taxpayers will have to wait to find out how they fare under new legislation , Renae Merle and Aaron Gregg, Denver Post (reprint from Washington Post), US.
U.S. Shareholders –Take Action by December 31, KPMG.
2017.12.18
Have You Ever Felt Sorry for the I.R.S? Now Might Be the Time, Patricia Cohen, New York Times, US.
2017.12.12
EU finance ministers issue warning to Trump over tax reforms, RTÉ, Ireland.
2017.12.11
Banque: les consequences étonnantes de l’accord FATCA, Edouard Lederer, Les Echos, France.
2017.12.10
As Australia ousts MPs with dual citizenship, Canada’s Parliament embraces many in its ranks, Kathleen Harris, Canada. (mentions MP who “assumed his U.S. citizenship was automatically rescinded because he did not meet several requirements for continued citizenship. [But when travelling to Washington] was told he was ineligible to enter the U.S. on a Canadian passport because he was a U.S. citizen. He was . . . allowed in on a one-time basis . . . it cost him $3,000 to later sort out the administrative requirements.”)
2017.12.09
The American Diaspora: Outreach and Organization, Victoria Ferauge, The Franco-American Flophouse, Japan.
2017.12.08
Foreign-owned banks to be hit by US tax rules, Financial Times, UK.
Trump Tax Plan Worries Europe, Christian Reiermann, Der Spiegel, Germany.
For articles earlier in 2017, click here.
I’ve lost track…
Do we want RBT or TTFI?
@ WhatAmI
Opinions vary on that but most of all, everyone wants relief from the CBT monster.
@GroverNorquist
Replying to @dkouba @SenDeanHeller and
We keep working.
We will win.
May take another bill to do this.
But we will win.
[is this some inside information about the current bill?]
https://twitter.com/GroverNorquist/status/933060881470148608
@Embee Trickster AARO people. Brock did not sign as well, because they don’t sign. If there is any signing related to Brock it would be from ADCS or ADCT.
If it takes trickster action, I am in support.
@ JC,
Re: “Trickster AARO people.”
My understanding is that AARO is one of several groups, including Brock, asked if they would support this statement.
Re: “Brock does not sign as well, because they don’t sign.”
Brock has issued or been party of several press releases and statements, maybe 5 or 6 in total, since issuing our first, warning about the dangers of OVDI, in January 2012, about a month after starting the website. In this case, we were one of several groups asked join on this statement and, having read it, the board decided to do so.
AARO has removed the statement from their site. As far as I know, AARO did not originate this statement, but they jumped the gun and posted it before ascertaining that all invited parties had agreed to it, as RO has posted that they did not.
Regarding Brock: RO implied that this statement was supporting the ACA’s RBT proposal and included an exit tax and a carve-out for FATCA. The statement was not in support ACA’s proposal nor did it advocate those measures (which we would not support either). It was a general appeal for RBT, citing the problems with CBT.
@ pacifica777
I do see that the plea is gone today. What a pity. I thought it was well written and, as you mentioned, quite general in its wording. I thought when I first read it that Jackie probably put most of it together. Hopefully they will repost it later. I don’t have a copy of it because I only saved the URL, never expecting it to go “poof”. Anyway, it was nice they thought of inviting Brock.
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/residency-based-taxation-americans-living-in-israel-may-soon-see-benefits/
I don’t much care what the reformed US tax system is called as long as it abolishes CBT, for ALL and for ALL TIME.
@MuzzledNoMore
AMEN
Senators Cruz and Scott to Face Off Against Senators Cantwell and Sanders in a CNN Town Hall Debate on Nov. 28
Senators Cruz and Scott to Face Off Against Senators Cantwell and Sanders in a CNN Town Hall Debate on Nov. 28
Jake Tapper and Dana Bash to Moderate Live Town Hall Debate on the Fight Over Taxes
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nov. 21, 2017 — Anchor Jake Tapper and chief political correspondent Dana Bash will moderate a CNN Town Hall Debate on the fight over taxes at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 28.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) will debate Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in a 90-minute Town Hall Debate that will air live from Washington, D.C.
The CNN Town Hall Debate comes as Republicans and Democrats in the Senate are deeply immersed in a philosophical battle over the GOP’s plan to remake the U.S. tax code that may include repealing the Obamacare individual mandate.
The Town Hall Debate will air on CNN, CNN enEspañol, CNN International, stream live for subscribers via CNNgo (at CNN.com/go and via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Samsung Smart TV and Android TV) and on the CNN mobile apps for iOS and Android. The Town Hall Debate will also air on CNN’s SiriusXMChannel 116 and Westwood One Radio Network. The Town Hall Debate will also be available November 29 on demand via cable/satellite systems, CNNgo platforms and CNN mobile apps.
“Blog: Corporate Canada Beware – Our Neighbors Want to Change the Tax Rules of The Game”
https://crowesoberman.com/blog/corporate-canada-beware-neighbors-want-to-change-the-tax-rules/?utm_source=Mondaq&utm_medium=syndication&utm_campaign=View-Original
@plaxy
Interesting article. Given the effects that US tax reform will have on large, public corporations, it certainly would seem to me that the CDN govt will be forced to deal with the the effects on the smaller private (individual) corporations much discussed already. There is simply going to be too much money involved (CDN loss).
I have been rather incensed by the CDN govt’s pushback on current NAFTA negotiations which suggest to me that we have more economic clout than was admitted at the time of the IGA hearings.
Wonder if the interaction of all these components might eventually help undermine the IGA(s)- esp when downloading all of the costs to Canada/the other countries with virtually no real benefit (even IF the US reciprocated, it would not be even remotely equal to implemen- tation/ongoing expenses involved).
This is how our most important trading partner treats us. “Sunny days” boy is wrong. The US is no friend of Canada.
Patricia Moon – “Given the effects that US tax reform will have on large, public corporations, it certainly would seem to me that the CDN govt will be forced to deal with the the effects on the smaller private (individual) corporations much discussed already. There is simply going to be too much money involved (CDN loss).”
Any idea about what steps the Canadian govt might consider taking?
With regard to NAFTA / IGAs: it seems a different situation. The US is clearly trying to apply pressure to Canada and Mexico to “rebalance” the NAFTA agreement in America’s favor. The aims and motivations of the rich OECD signatories to the IGA are not so apparent, at least not to me.
“This is how our most important trading partner treats us. “Sunny days” boy is wrong. The US is no friend of Canada.”
No. Or of anyone, really. US exceptionalism is fast leading to US isolation.
I just received the full text of this in an email. The key points for me are (1) Rep. George Holding’s plans to introduce a separate bill before the end of year dealing with our issues and (2) Grover Norquist’s comment that our issues will be dealt with “most likely in entitlement overhaul legislation he expects to come up in April.” The first sounds good but the second sounds like more opportunity for dashed hopes.
Anybody who’s tired of waiting is welcome to add their signature to the UN Complaint. Please see the recent post at: http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2017/11/17/united-nations-human-rights-complaint-seeking-advice-and-additional-signatures/
***
Republicans Overseas
11 hrs ·
U.S. expats may be out of luck in tax reform
By Aaron Lorenzo
11/24/2017 08:00 AM EDT
U.S. citizens who live abroad are still pushing for their voices to be heard in tax reform, though their window of opportunity looks to be in the future.
Legislation moving quickly through Congress would end U.S. taxes on American companies’ foreign profits, under a system known as territorial taxation, but it wouldn’t alter the equation for their American employees stationed overseas, nor would it address other expatriates living outside the U.S. for other reasons.
Instead, they would continue to face citizen-based taxation rather than residence-based taxation, or RBT, a change they’re fighting for in tax reform.
In citizen-based taxation, expatriates are subject to U.S. taxes on their foreign- and U.S.-source earnings; they get credits and allowance for taxes they pay abroad, though there can still be double taxation. Under RBT, their earnings from foreign sources would not be subject to U.S. taxes.
But the House passed legislation, H.R. 1 (115), without such a provision. The Senate bill scheduled for a floor vote next week also excludes RBT language.
“I’m disappointed this wasn’t in the House or Senate packages,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.
At this point, the best chance to make the change is probably down the road, said one of the issue’s chief champions on Capitol Hill, Rep. George Holding (R-N.C.). He plans to introduce a bill as a separate follow-up to the sweeping legislation that GOP lawmakers hope to get to President Donald Trump by the end of this year.
A provision in the broader tax legislation that would allow companies to benefit from a territorial tax system should also extend to U.S. expatriates “to ensure that American citizens have a level playing field around the globe as well,” said Holding, who sits on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.
It’s a matter of fairness, Norquist said, to give equal treatment to U.S. multinational companies and U.S. citizens abroad. If the fix for individuals doesn’t ride with switching to territorial taxes for companies, it will be addressed soon, most likely in entitlement overhaul legislation he expects to come up in April.
“The current system disadvantages Americans working overseas just as it disadvantages American multinationals overseas,” Norquist said.
An estimated 8 to 9 million Americans live and work abroad, and about two-thirds of them consider themselves long-term or permanent overseas residents. Most are well-educated, white collar workers, Holding said.
All of them benefit to some degree from credits and exclusions that account for taxes they pay where they live, but they nonetheless must deal with compliance that involves extensive paperwork to report to U.S. authorities. An exclusion for foreign earned income totaled $102,100 per person this year, and expatriates can claim a credit for foreign taxes that are imposed by a foreign country or U.S. possession.
According to Holding, the citizen-based taxation system they continue to face is outdated, complicated and costly. Expatriates pay $4,000 on average to file their taxes annually, a factor, along with burdensome bank reporting requirements in the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, in prompting some to renounce their U.S. citizenship, he said.
“That’s a base erosion of human capital,” Holding said.
In addition, switching to an RBT system would harmonize the U.S. with much of the rest of the world, and it wouldn’t overly burden the IRS with new rules since it already applies RBT to nonresident aliens in the U.S.
But Holding hasn’t decided on exact language for a bill, which according to some estimates could result in $20 billion in lost revenue over a decade, Norquist said.
Among options Holding is considering would be legislation to allow full RBT, or instead changes to the foreign earned income exclusion.
One group representing U.S. expatriates, American Citizens Abroad, is pushing a bill that wouldn’t reduce federal revenue by changing to RBT. The current citizen-based taxation only raises about $5 billion to $8 billion annually.
The group’s plan would include a number of requirements meant to guard against abuse, such as compelling U.S. citizens to prove they’ve established residence in a foreign country with an individual income tax greater than a token amount.
It would also require expatriates to prove that they resided in their adopted country for a five-year period prior to getting into the RBT system and that they filed all required U.S. income tax returns over that period. It also proposes a departure tax if the expatriate’s assets exceed $3 million, part of preventing someone from opting into the RBT system for tax evasion purposes, and they’d have to pay a $2,350 fee to choose RBT.
But these anti-gaming provisions could be waived to grandfather in expats who can prove they’ve established overseas residences long ago.
At the very least, proving this bill language can be revenue neutral establishes a useful baseline for advancing the cause, said the executive director of American Citizens Abroad, Marylouise Serrato.
In the more immediate term, the group is pressing for a Senate floor amendment to get RBT included into the Senate bill next week, though Serrato declined to identify members who might introduce such amendments. Whether RBT gets added to the Senate tax bill or tacked onto entitlement legislation, Norquist said American expats deserve to be next in line.
“We’re talking to interested parties on the Senate side and we’re making our case,” Serrato said.
Why are we hearing about the ACA proposal? I thought it was Republicans Overseas and Territorial Taxation for Individuals the only option under consideration. What about the whole “scoring” of it all?
@ MuzzledNoMore
I’m usually jumping at something which sounds the least bit hopeful but this really isn’t even wiggling my toes. It sounds like more “mañana” and I’m just yawning. I’m not giving up; I’m just having trouble staying motivated. Maybe it’s the shorter days of winter …
IMHO, ACA’s version of RBT is rubbish. Furthermore, I think it could actually be a “bait and switch” which would lure folks into the system, only to have the rug pulled out from under them.
EmBee: I agree with you. I’m pretty sick of “mañana” too. First we were told this would all be over by the end of the summer; then it was “this fall”; then it was November; then it was “the end of the year”. And now, as Grover Norquist suggests, it could be April! Then what? Why should we keep shouting in the same old deaf ears? It’s time to win the attention of others who might listen and might act on our behalf. We can but try.
JC – “Why are we hearing about the ACA proposal? I thought it was Republicans Overseas and Territorial Taxation for Individuals the only option under consideration. What about the whole “scoring” of it all?”
ACA says:
https://www.americansabroad.org/news/aca-submits-statement-urging-senate-to-include-rbt-in-senate-bill/
It seems that if the requirement for dynamic scoring gets waived, and the vote goes to the floor on Thursday, the RO approach might not be completely ruled out by the scoring hurdle.
Whereas if they wait for the dynamic score before going to a vote, then if ACA’s arithmetic adds up, their proposal might be the only one that could survive.
But the most likely outcome (in my view) is that nothing at all about CBT will be included in the final bill.
https://www.cbo.gov/publication/53348
“a foreign country with an individual income tax greater than a token amount.” Hopefully the 53% I pay will qualify.
“Rep. George Holding … plans to introduce a bill as a separate follow-up to the … [tax] legislation…
Among options Holding is considering would be legislation to allow full RBT, or instead changes to the foreign earned income exclusion.”
A mention here of the kind of FEIE changes Holding might propose:
http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/11/02/americans-on-pace-for-record-year-in-renouncing-citizenship.html
Simply lifting the FEIE cap would do nothing to address CBT’s aggressive double-taxing of what the Americans are pleased to call “passive” income.
I wonder what he means by “full RBT.”
Plaxy,
Re what Holding means by “RBT”, I just posted this on the RO site:
“Just called Rep. George Holding’s office to get clarification on what he means by “RBT” (RBT vs. TTFI). The response was that he “does not like citizenship-based taxation” and is promoting “Territorial-Residence-based taxation” and that both [RBT, TTFI] are “:two sides of the same coin.”
Holding is one of the few Congresspersons who we know has actually mentioned our problem as part of the tax reform bill (video proof on this site) and who is advocating on our behalf.
Instead of complaining to each other on this page I suggest that readers call his office TODAY at 202-225-3032 and leave a one sentence message of encouragement. Send also a short email to his legislative assistant at Matt.stross@gmail.house.gov with your support and your thoughts.”
Stephen Kish:
Thanks. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
“…switching to an RBT system would harmonize the U.S. with much of the rest of the world, and it wouldn’t overly burden the IRS with new rules since it already applies RBT to nonresident aliens in the U.S.”
That’s an interesting point. Green card holders can exit the US system by handing back their Green Card in time. It should be easy to devise a similar system for US citizens moving out of the US. Apply for a “living elsewhere” card, hand it back in time and hey presto you’re US-taxable only on same basis as a NRA; and you still have the passport.