Here is a Washington Post article that just broke that seems to contain a lot of text that we have already seen at sources like Bloomberg and WSJ. Nothing really that new.
Foreign banks freezing out U.S. millionaires
The comments page is interesting: there is one remark mentioning the fact that FATCA-level reporting is not required of American banks. Perhaps IBS members could put some comments there.
At the Isaac Brock Society we are the masters of parody and satire. But nothing is truly funnier than when real life imitates the Onion:
Customer Satisfaction Survey of Taxpayers at an All-Time High, Says IRS Commissioner
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (BSP) Nicolas (Claus) Santa, Bishop of Myra, has been in federal custody since his arrest at the North Pole on Christmas Eve, 2011. Fish and Wildlife agents apprehended him and seized several tons of exotic woods forbidden by the Lacey act. Santa has been charged with multiple counts of money laundering, illegal exportation of currency, illegally importing into the United States toys made of contraband–rare woods, ivory and other banned substances, as well as violating slave labor and child labor laws. A grand jury has also indicted Santa on 190 counts of criminal failure to file the Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR). For those charges alone, Santa risks a sentence of 950 years in prison and fines equal to 300% of his wealth. Santa was laundering money from his illegal trafficking in toys.
A reader, Alex, has a question regarding the Visa Waiver Program (ESTA):
Does anyone have experience or information about people with ESTA citizenships (countries who are in the visa waiver program) who renounced and then wanted to return to visit USA as a tourist?
Michael Lewis at the Toronto Star covers the Saverin story and quotes me from an Isaac Brock Society comment.
See, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s taxing connection to U.S.-Canadian dual citizens
Lewis also cites Nina Olson (emphasis mine),
U.S. National Taxpayer watchdog Nina Olson in a public letter warned that the IRS is driving “benign actors” underground with draconian penalties and a byzantine international tax reporting regime.
Tax Rule Provokes Foreign Banks’ Ire
Takeways:
Whatever lobbying Democrats Abroad and ACA is basically completely ineffective and disregarded if you believe what is said in this article. I might send an email to Joe Green himself to get his reaction. An unnamed Treasury Department official appears to view the Democrats Abroad FBAR/FATCA survey as a “joke” because its anonymous. It appears Treasury has very much made up its mind on this issue prior to next weeks hearing.
Fellow Isaac Brocker, Blaze has heard the following:
To help save the economy, the U.S. Government will announce next month that the Immigration Department will start deporting seniors instead of illegal’s in order to lower Social Security and Medicare costs.
Older people are easier to catch and will not remember how to get back home.
She noted that the US is kicking out all the Grandmas on the bus so they can seize their life savings because they didn’t know they had to file FBARs before they were deported.
Enjoli Saverin has covered Eduardo Saverin’s expatriation, and in the process, has given the Isaac Brock Society the spotlight.
Facebook’s Eduardo Saverin Joins Americans Renouncing Citizenship
Great analysis! Thanks Dan.
https://twitter.com/#!/renounceus/status/201047860702224384
Don’t know if any of you are familiar with Patrick Weil. He is a researcher at CNRS here in France and he has written extensively on citizenship and integration issues. He’s done some amazing work (I have read almost all of his books.)
A few days ago this article by him appeared in La Tribune, Une taxe internationale sur les ultrariches.
