This is another great article that gives people a concrete example of what could happen if this nonsense continues. A lot of Europeans I talk to think it’s not really their problem because they are duals or because, even if they did work a few years in the U.S., they argue, “Well what could the U.S. government possibly do to me? I don’t live in the U.S.”

They firmly believe (and I hope from the bottom of my heart that they are right) that their government (France, Germany, U.K. etc.) would stand up for them against the U.S. But are they right to be so confident? Sokol’s article gives a perfectly mundane example of what might happen to a French citizen if the U.S. government decides he or is a U.S. person for tax purposes. And then he follows it to its logical conclusion – the European Court of Justice. Have a read and pass it along to your European friends…

For Tax Purposes, We are All Americans Now

In a previous post I started talking about services. I fail to understand why some folks back in the home country are so insistent that we “pay our fair share” but they don’t have an answer when I reply, “For what?”

Continue reading →

This has been cross posted at the RenounceUScitizenship blog.

I can’t believe it. On January 5, 2012 I wrote a post about OVDI called: The Taxpayer, the IRS and the Cross Border professionals – where to go from here. Six hours ago I finished a lengthy post about OVDI called: Taxpayer Advocate vs. The IRS – It’s a question of trust.  I thought I would enter: “OVDI Blog Post Retirement”. My point was that the IRS has a real trust issue. |The “cross-border professionals are not much help either. And then, almost on cue (while I was writing the post) the IRS is at again! To emulate a famous Ronald Reagan quote:

“There he goes again!” Continue reading →

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CanadianAtHeart post on the Expat Blog:

Please check the latest report from the IRS regarding the reopening of the OVDI. The memo is also on the IRS website. Not sure what it means that they are putting everyone in this program that came forward after the last one closed. New increased penalties, etc. Please read.  IRS Offshore Programs Produce $4.4 Billion To Date for Nation?s Taxpayers; Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program Reopens

IRS Reopens Offshore Amnesty Program For Cheats And Non-Cheats Alike – Forbes

This is cross posted from the Renounceuscitizenship site.

Last week, I came across the 2008 edition of the following book:

The American in Canada by Canada by T. Ritchie of  Transition Financial. As you can see it is available from Amazon.com and from the author’s site. Since the summer 0f 2011 I have been learning more and more about the problems of being a U.S. citizen and living outside the United States. This book focuses on the experience of being an American in Canada. As a result not all the information will be applicable to those of you living in the rest of the world. Continue reading →

This is cross posted from the RenounceUScitizenship blog.

“Trust is like a vase.. once it’s broken, though you can fix it the vase will never be the same again.”

This post should  be read with a previous post: “The taxpayer, the IRS and the “professionals” – where to go from here“.  This post will suggest why,  given the IRS shift in policy on March 1, 2011 lawyers had difficulty advising clients  whether to enter OVDI (2011). With the exception of the most extreme cases (clear tax evasion at one end vs. Ambassador Jacobson’s 70 year old Gramma at the other), lawyers neither trusted nor understood the IRS. They could not. This post will suggest why. At the outset, it is important to recognize that “hindsight is always twenty twenty” and during the desperate summer of 2011, nobody had the benefit of hindsight.

The facts and issues are summarized by the conclusion of Taxpayer Advocates directive to the IRS on August 16, 2011: Continue reading →