Having a license to practise law (bar admission) does not a lawyer make. Admission to the Bar, gives an individual the legal right to conduct oneself as a lawyer. A lawyer operates within a specific construct of ethics and morality. The American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct make it clear that
A lawyer has an obligation to the client that is more important than loyalty to any other person or entity. This principle is made clear in Rule 1.7 of The American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Rule 1.7 clarifies that a lawyer should not act for a client if there exists any conflict of interest. It reads as follows: Continue reading →
The Isaac Brock Society is becoming a interest place to “hang out”. At least this is true for many U.S. citizens living abroad who are desperately attempting to ensure that they are in U.S. tax compliance Many people are grappling with how to be compliant on a “going forward” basis. Others are trying to figure out to deal with “past compliance issues”. There are of course a number of ways to come into compliance. What all these people have in common is a desire to be U.S. tax compliant. Yet, the IRS seems hell bent on continuing on treating U.S. citizens living abroad as though they are tax cheats. For many U.S. citizens living abroad the emotional strain is such that they are driven to renounce U.S. citizenship. This is the price of a good nights sleep.
So, what’s a poor U.S. citizen living abroad to do? Well, they consult a “cross border professional” where they get advice that comes in all shapes, sizes and perspectives. The advice is so varied that it reminds me of the line in Forrest Gump:
“Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”
When it comes to “compliance counseling” – You never know what you’re gonna get.”Continue reading →
Okay, not by name, but he did decry the American Thinker, where Petros published an article just a few days ago. Anyway, in case you missed the news, Chuck Schumer hijacked the Senate floor on Thursday, claiming that he planned to discuss S.A. 2146 (which criminalises certain synthetic drugs), but instead giving a three thousand-word declamation about his Expatriation Prevention Act.
I am admittedly way behind in reading the many recent good posts and comments here at Isaac Brock. I also have had a couple subjects I have wanted to weigh in on, and create new posts, but for the past couple weeks my time has been seriously constrained. However, this morning a previous post by renounceuscitizenship caught my attention. It was entitled
The following comment from the Isaac Brock Society about the Schumer Casey Ex-Patriot Act is deserving of a separate post and discussion: Continue reading →
How on the basis of these facts, specifically not knowing about Mr. FBAR in the past, could this be construed to be "willful non-compliance"? Are you saying that the IRS might just make a decision to treat this as willful.? It doesn't seem to me that in this letter you have:
These days, Americans cannot live decently overseas without renouncing. And that’s not just the high-rollers who are doing it to save taxes. Indeed, as a low-roller, I will pay more in taxes in the UK than I ever would in the US. However, with the onerous reporting the US demands of foreign banks regarding US depositors, it is getting impossible to do such simple things as open a savings account if one is an expat. Loans, credit cards? Forget it. When we needed a mortgage a year and a half ago, the only way we got it was to leave me out of it BECAUSE my being a Yank would have made the bank jump through expensive IRS hoops it didn’t care to encounter. And it’s getting worse. But that’s another story.
This one is about my renunciation of my US citizenship, something no other citizen of any other nation except Eritrea has to do to live and work peaceably in any other country that will have them. Continue reading →
In “Planet U.S.A”, the U.S.A. isn’t everything – it’s the only thing! The U.S. is of course also the world’s number one debtor. As was argued in a post yesterday, the U.S. is, through its attempts to increase the money supply, inflicting a vicious inflationary tax on the rest of the world. But, then again, they are the U.S. Therefore they can do what they want (or can they). How much longer is the rest of the world going to tolerate this? As one commentator noted, when it comes to other countries, the U.S. is kicking them in the banks. Of course, FATCA, the new Berlin wall of the financial system is a big part of this.Continue reading →
The senators will call Saverin’s move an “outrage” and will outline their plan to re-impose taxes on expatriates like Saverin even after they flee the United States and take up residence in a foreign country. Their proposal would also impose a mandatory 30 percent tax on the capital gains of anybody who renounces their U.S.
