Liberty and justice for all United States persons abroad

The Isaac Brock Society

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.

1,720 thoughts on “Media and Blog Articles Open for Comments – Part 4 of 11 (Year 2017)”

  1. Some of the comments above are zeroing in on what I’ve always maintained as being the ONLY problem, and that’s CBT . Surprisingly to me, every time I mentioned this is the past one or more long-time Brockers would disagree and insist the US citizenship laws are the ONLY problem, not tax laws. That’s clearly short-sighted and doesn’t solve the problem for everyone effected. Ending CBT does. I think it’s a safe bet that many who have renounced or had successful back-dated relinquishments would have kept their USC if it weren’t for CBT. There has never been a downside to keeping it until the US started looking for money in all the wrong places.

    With CBT, even those who DO want to renounce would hopefully have a relatively easy and simple out to do so, as, presumably, no final tax filing obligations would be tied to renouncing under CBT.

    Somebody mentioned that some non-residents would want to continue to be taxed as non-residents, but I can’t imagine why they would opt for double-taxation and all the cost and grief. The only reason I can think of is voting? I had to look just now to verify that Canadian citizens _permanently_ residing abroad can NOT vote in Canada. I find that to be reasonable.

    I looked at the FB page and the name suggestions. The author got close IMHO when she (Karen?) asked if they should set a goal and direction before picking a name. Absolutely. Anything short of ending CBT is a half or partial measure, IMHO. I think many discussions here and elsewhere over several years now are focusing on what they think might fly and be accepted. Surely any such goal will not cover everyone.

    Plaxy made a list above of different people’s circumstances and what solution they might need. Why bother? Ending CBT covers everyone and the precedence is set world-wide. Well, one might bother if they aim low at a partial solution to help a particular group. I know the idea always comes up that a good strategy is to chip away at one thing at a time (FATCA, citizenship law, income exclusions, etc). Sounds reasonable, I suppose, but I have no idea if this works when it comes down to basically swaying Congress (which I know zero about). Is there a danger that after wining one or two small victories they might thereafter sweep our remaining objectives aside saying that they’ve dealt with it all enough already?

    As an extreme example, simply repealing FATCA only makes it a little easier again to hide form the IRS. Clearly not enough.

  2. WhatAmI: it is for countries to decide about voting rights from abroad. I for one support them and I note that many RBT countries allow it. France even has MPs for various areas of the world. Naturally I do understand the opposite position. Just saying you can have voting from abroad AND RBT.

    As for repeal of FATCA please note that the majority of those affected are NOT hiding from the IRS. How is not owing anything hiding? On the other hand repealing FATCA would spare me reporting zero sum accounts via a potentially hackable website to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, putting my data at risk, polluting the US with my useless data, and wasting everyone’s time and money. So,at this point, yes, I’ll take FATCA repeal if that’s all we can get.

  3. @Fred,

    Good to know that some countries allow citizens permanently abroad to vote. I didn’t know.

    FATCA doesn’t report to FinCEN, FBARs report to FinCEN. I hadn’t thought of it before, but switching to RBT wouldn’t directly end FBAR filing. However, one would hope that along with RBT, they would make the corresponding change to FBARs such that only homeland USCs (and resident aliens or whatever) would have to report FBARs, just like FATCA or its global equivalent would still report foreign accounts held by USC homelanders.

    FATCA roots out filing omissions. If you haven’t filed taxes the IRS doesn’t know that you don’t owe anything. Just because you don’t owe anything doesn’t mean they will never come looking for you. FATCA might find you. So yes, repealing FATCA makes it easier to hide from the IRS even if you are legally avoiding them. The CRA has to report accounts held by USCs whether or not they owe anything to the US. At a minimum, these account holders owe the US some paper filing (FBARs), and there are fines for not filing those papers. We all know they can make more money from non-filing penalties than collecting taxes.

  4. Interestingly, FBAR’s report the account’s highest bank balance from the year, whereby in Canada at least, the bank reports the year end balance under the IGA. Hardly an efficient apparatus to determine FBAR penalties.

  5. WhatAmI: Does the CRA really report even unreportable accounts (Under IGA terms)? Do banks report unreportable accounts (Under IGA terms)?
    Certainly I get your points. I just don’t like, even if it is somewhat true, the term “hiding” from the IRS. It implies that I, or in general USPs abroad, have something to hide, which sort of puts us in the same bag as homelanders with untaxed millions in Switzerland. But again, you are right.

    I had to read it twice but your point is interesting: RBT would not take care of FBARs. That said, the only point of FBARs is to find money you are, uhhh, hiding. If RBT magically materialized, and one was no longer taxable in any way by the US of A, I cannot imagine what use FBARs would have for people no longer considered tax residents. But of course they would continue for homelanders. I don’t know enough about the subject to put it all together, but intuitively it seems like FBARs for non-residents in the context of RBT would be totally useless.

  6. FBARs only work in conjunction with FATCA when applied to a US citizen who is filing 1040s and has US assets.

    The bank reports to prove the accounts exist;

    the unticked box on the 1040 + absence of FBAR to establish criminal deception – or “wilfulness” as the US calls it;

    the US assets for collection;

    Streamlined to filter off compliant or would-be compliant US taxpayers.

    The system wasn’t designed to identify and fine non-filing US citizens abroad who have no US income or assets. The US can’t enforce US taxation on non-US-source income/assets and doesn’t try.

  7. Fred(B) – “I just don’t like, even if it is somewhat true, the term “hiding” from the IRS. It implies that I, or in general USPs abroad, have something to hide, which sort of puts us in the same bag as homelanders with untaxed millions in Switzerland.”

    I agree. Also dislike “under the radar” as it implies not only that we’re hiding, but also that the US is seeking. Which they clearly aren’t.

  8. Indeed, Plaxy, they are probably not seeking. Which is why there are, I believe, no reported cases of innocent USPs abroad hurt by the IRS, unless they did the “right” thing, alone or with condor help, and attempted to comply. It’s really hard to know what to do. There is probably, although it is aggravating, no danger in giving the bank all the info they want (W9 form). But I still don’t want to.

  10. I don’t mind signing a bank’s non-US form stating countries of tax-residence. It’s signing a foreign country’s tax form under penalty of perjury that I object to.

  11. The W9 is indeed the crunch. Not legally enforceable on the USC accountholder, therefore no route to legal challenge.

    Possible solutions:

    1 – accountholder renounces
    2 – accountholder lies
    3 – accountholder signs W9 and files
    4 – accountholder signs W9 but doesn’t file
    5 – US creates option for non-resident USCs to cease US-tax-residency
    6 – US shifts to RBT for all

    2 and 4 criminalize the accountholder.

  12. But effectively the only sure options for the USC accountholder are renunciation or compliance. Because a change in US law can always be changed back again under a new administration.

    US lobbyists and PACs and politicians are always looking for “revenue” which they can use to balance the scoring in the struggle to get tax cuts for their clients / donors passed by Congress. USCs abroad will always be vulnerable. Dumping US citizenship is the only sure way to get out from under US law.

  13. Sorry guys but CBT going wouldn’t help me one bit. My problem is complex tax rules that what to punish anything foreign. Clearly I would like CBT to go just in case I ever want to leave the US.
    Think about if CBT goes away but you wanted to return to the US for a while. The foreign accounts and financial instruments would still kill you.

  14. Yes, US-resident US citizens are presumably always going to be subject to US tax and reporting laws. Neither RBT or FATCA Repeal would change that as far as I can see.

  18. HR1 Passes Senate.

    This is what Solomon Yue says:

    Republicans Overseas plans to organize another overseas petition drive to Congress: expressing our frustration & asking #TTFI & #FATCA repeal to be part of next reconciliation bill in April. I spoke to VP Pence, the potential 51st tie-breaking vote in Senate about this last week.

    Please RT/Like.

    https://twitter.com/SolomonYue/status/943353495465463809

  22. We have come this far, making another yell is definitely worth doing.

    A big hat tip to both Solomon Yue and Grover Norquist !!!

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