Speaking out again, 30-year IRS Vet tells us that Isaac Brock was a great guy but that FATCA is not the hill that any of us wants to die on.
Tag Archives: FATCA
I breathed a sigh of relief that Reuters didn't mention people who renounce their citizenship
Anti-government extremists opposed to taxes and regulations pose a growing threat to local law enforcement officers in the United States, the FBI warned on Monday.
Hat tip: Zerohedge
Politicians all around the world discuss FATCA
Americans abroad — frustrated by the uncertainty of what FATCA will do to their financial lives, and facing repeated delays of the IRS’ promises to bring some clarity through proposed regulations — are increasingly turning to the politicians of the places where they live in an effort to get some answers. In the past week several government officials at the national or supranational level have brought up the issue of FATCA, in response to concerns expressed by constituents — both dual citizens who elected them, and banks and other institutions for whom FATCA amounts to yet another extra-territorial unfunded mandate by the US. A number of scholars have also released draft papers about FATCA and FBAR. Here’s the roundup for the past week or so. If you see any more, leave them in the comments:
New Debate on Swiss TV
Again for those of you that understand French or that do not mind making sense of translation tool outputs, please find here a link for tomorrow night’s live debate on Swiss bank secrecy and US attempts to weaken it: http://www.infrarouge.ch/ir/1887-banquiers-suisses-tricheurs The debate will be available for view on the tsr.ch website by at least Wednesday night. Please feel free to enroll on the site and post your comments straightaway, (even in English— I have seen at least one comment in English accepted and displayed on the site).
The rationale behind FATCA: 30-year IRS vet
30-year IRS vet writes, as a veteran litigator for the IRS who is now in private practice, about the IRS and about the rationale behind FATCA.
Scotia Bank: December 31 Letter to Clients from Scotiabank, for review
Sent to me from a friend:
Letter from Scotia Bank (update, I’ve removed the pdf and have included a link to Scotiabank’s nicely formatted Winter newsletter which contains the same text).
FATCA, Place of Birth in Passports & Second Class Citizenship
My place of birth has begun to bother me more than ever with the systematic rise in discrimination of those with US birth places, clearly obvious for all to see the moment that you open your passport, by banks and other financial institutions due to FATCA. Yes, that horrible component of your personal data that, along with your name and date of birth, allows you to be systematically categorised and cataloged. For many, where you were born also happens to be where you grew up and where you most identify with. Many are born, live and die in the same city their entire lives and come from families that go back generations in the same city as well. Some of my French friends have even told me that an unwritten rule in Paris is that you need to be no less than the 5th generation to be born and raised in the city to be a real “Parisian”.
US tax policy, FATCA, FBAR criticized on a Swiss website: the embarrassment of the United States — English translation of the open letter
I would encourage anyone here who has the time to post responses on the TSR Infrarouge website in order to fuel the debate and increase awareness amoung the Swiss of how bad the situation is:
http://www.infrarouge.ch/ir/thread-364069-suisse-protege-assez-peuple-contre
US tax policy, FATCA, FBAR criticized on a Swiss website: the embarrassment of the United States
I am pleased to have now invited Jeff D Tomas, nom de plume, from Switzerland to contribute here at Isaac Brock. To give you a sample of his writing, I reproduce here his recent comment at Isaac Brock and his editorial, in French, at Infrarouge. As many at Isaac Brock are able to read French, they can see how embarrassing it should be for the United States to be criticized in this manner, as the US policies violate not only the US constitutional protections but forces other sovereign states to violate their own human rights codes, not to mention the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. Jeff commented:
Dual citizen from Brazil trying to do the right thing
I love to share my concerns with you all. I am a dual citizen Brazil/USA and I always saw the USA as a fair country, like they say, Americans always do the right thing after trying everything else. But lately I have been questioning this belief because of the enormous difficulties I am having trying to comply with the IRS demands on Americans Living Abroad.
They seem so unfair to me. My reactions so far can be summed up under FEAR. And perhaps CONFUSION. Love to exchange ideas with you all.