Cross posted from USxCanada InfoShop

 
Uncertainty has two poles. One, external conditions may be unclear or unstable. Two, an affected person may be unable or unwilling to take action. Factors from the two poles may interplay. A high level of uncertainty tends to parallel a high level of risk.

Expatriate Americans start from a situation where much is confused. Why can’t life be as it has been, with most Americans de facto enjoying the same status as that of practically all other nonresident citizens throughout the world — taxed only in place of residence?

Questions proliferate. Who is an American? Can problems be solved by ceasing to be American? What is required to become compliant with US tax expectations? Is it possible to become compliant without paying extra taxes and/or exorbitant penalties? Is there any hope for an individual to complete in a correct fashion the complex, unfamiliar, multiple paperwork that needs to stretch back over a series of years? If not, will the individual face paying thousands of dollars to uncertainly qualified “professionals” who can offer no guarantees? Will the IRS launch an ongoing regime of torturous scrutiny?

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For fantastic info on foreign bank reporting rules and the whole FBAR mess, check the blog of the Isaac Brock Society.  It was started by dual nationals living in Canada but is useful for everyone.  Every US citizen living overseas should read it, and every member of Congress and the Administration and the IRS and the Treasury Department should read it too !!!

This post has been cross posted from RenounceUSCitizenship.

See also:
U.S. citizenship has been priced out of the market
The taxpayer, the IRS and the “cross border professionals” – where to go from here
U.S. citizens may have trouble finding qualified tax preparers

An inside perspective – Stacie Kitts, CPA:

“Choose A Tax Preparer That Has a Clue

Here it is, what all un-registered (non CPA’s, attorneys, or enrolled agent) tax preparers have been waiting for.  The specs for the competency test  that will award those who pass the title of  “Registered Tax Return Preparer.”

Wowwee doesn’t it just give you the chills….

No – well maybe that’s because CPA’s and attorneys can sign tax returns even if they don’t have a single clue what they are doing.  They get to do this without passing a test (other than the initial licensing exam which he/she could have taken a hundred years ago – so not even relevant today) or taking a single hour of tax related continuing professional education.  You know, training that would keep you up to speed on the actual tax laws that apply to tax return preparation.

So what do you think the odds are that  many of these licensed “professionals” would have a difficult time passing the new competency test?

Ya, scary jacked up regulation that leaves out a large number of people who are trusted to prepare your tax return.

Fixing the mistakes of these so called professionals is a large part of my practice.  I guess I should be grateful instead of loosing my mind over the absurdity of it all.”

http://staciesmoretaxtips.com/2011/09/07/irs-releases-specifications-for-registered-tax-return-preparer-test-doesnt-it-just-give-you-the-chills/

Gives you food for thought doesn’t it. Not all tax preparers are created equally and the one you choose better “have a clue”. Continue reading →

Filesonic.com has bitten the dust – almost. They have turned off all file sharing capabilities. But I have noticed something: until now, it is only foreign websites that are being targeted. Meanwhile, American companies such as Mediafire.com, Box.net, and Google continue on as normal. US authorities can’t possibly deny that there is zero copyrighted material on American servers.

Could this the FATCA equivalent to the file sharing world, where the US deems that servers outside of their control are “bad”?

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I think Spartacus is right and our options to get justice through the American political process are very limited. Our representation is simply too diluted to make much of a difference. The U.S. courts are probably no use – my understanding is that citizen-based taxation has already been challenged and upheld.

That leaves the political processes and courts of other states. I won’t hide from anyone that I am counting on Canada to a great extent for short-term relief. Not only does Canada have a large number of American expats and duals, Americans perceive Canada as “not so foreign.” They can relate to you in a way that they can’t relate to those of us who live in Rio or London or Paris.

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We were wondering what was happening with the Fredericton group.  They have created a blog that has only one post, which refers to a summary statement of the problem and to Russ Hunt’s amazing FBAR / FACTA / Expat tax information page.  The Isaac Brock Society gets favourable mention (which contributes to my favourable impression).  Thanks Russ!  I like this line the best:

I’m increasingly convinced that doing nothing is the best course of action: something has to happen to straighten this out. But it’s clear that I’m not going to be eager to cross that border any time soon. It seems clear the IRS can’t come across the border after me; what they could do if I crossed it, though, still isn’t obvious.

Great news!  Just received the following update from “Just Me”. Susan Tompor of the Detroit Free Press has written an article about the importance of reporting foreign bank accounts to the IRS.

You can find it here. I would suggest getting over there to post some comments. This article has great potential to focus this problem from the perspective of regular people – you know, the ones who use “foreign” bank accounts for day-to-day life.

Thanks to “Just Me”!

This post has been cross posted from RenounceUScitizenship

The costs of U.S. tax and reporting compliance

I have written a number of posts on the problem of compliance with U.S. tax and reporting requirements . Most people want to be and remain in compliance. My previous posts have opined that: the IRS and lawyer fear mongering coupled with  complexity have made compliance  difficult. The simple fact is that most people don’t know what to do. Taxpayers do NOT trust the IRS. Furthermore, the “not knowing what to do” is having a terrible effect on people’s lives (to the extent that they still have one). These views are echoed by the Taxpayer Advocate Report to Congress. Continue reading →