Here is a comment I made to my own post at the Isaac Brock Society – Yes we can!! – Change we can believe in – Organizing the community of U.S. citizens abroad – One community at a time! This is my attempt to explain why I see the election as an opportunity to begin a public discussion about citizenship-based taxation and the problems of U.S. ExPat Compliance. The complexity of U.S. tax and information return compliance is causing people to renounce U.S. citizenship.
renounceuscitizenship
@All
Thanks for all the great thoughts/comments. With the greatest respect to all, I would like to express my view that the real issue is:
That the election is the only forum that we have to educate Obama and Romney. It is the only opportunity we have to get this issue on the table. I agree it is hard. I agree that expats are not liked. I agree that it is frustrating. But, is the only chance we have.
Now, as I am sure you have figured out, I have a very low opinion of Obama. But, that is not even the issue. Nor is the issue whether Romney would be better. The approach – they are both bad candidates, – so who cares is off the mark.
Because Obama is the President and because he has been the architect of so much misery: I remind you again that our problems fall squarely on his administration. This is the first administration that has launched a public and frightening assault on U.S. citizens abroad. Obama is 100% accountable for this – he controls, Geithner, the IRS, etc.
The problem is that we have not and will not (in the general scheme of things) be heard. We have no voice. Not even ACA (in spite of all it’s great work) has been able to make even one bit of difference to the government. They have done a good job of educating expats and we owe them a great debt for this remarkable achievement.
The only – and I repeat only – weapon at our disposable is the fact that this is an election year. This means far more than that we can vote. It means that we can get this issue on the table. It means that Obama will be under the microscope. He himself (with all his social media stuff) has opened up channels of communication. The goal is to get citizenship-based taxation and the gross unfairness that results from it on the radar. In a practical sense this can be done in at least two ways both of which should be done at the same time and with equal conviction.
1. Attack all things Obama – keep the attacks coming and coming – every tweet of lies that his people send should be replied to and questioned. The only thing that Obama understands is votes.
2. Support Mitt Romney – Even if you don’t like Romney (and I can see that most of you don’t) the principle is simple: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Let’s get some organized support. Let’s make that phone call. For God’s sake let’s try.
It is no more complicated than that. We must use the fact of this election to use the only opportunity we have to GET THE ISSUE OF CITIZENSHIP-BASED TAXATION ON THE RADAR!
Attacking Obama and supporting Romney is the only way to do this.
Therefore, with the greatest respect, to consider this question is terms of “Well, I don’t Romney or Romney is no better” or something like that is (IMHO) irrelevant and misguided.
What we do know about Obama is that all the world is political stage. If he perceives the negativity from this as a problem that could gather momentum, I believe he is likely to respond. Now, holding Obama to a promise may be difficult. His website “promises kept” is the greatest Freudian slip of all time.
What we know about Romney is that he needs to get votes and support from all places. If he perceives this as an issue that could generate votes for him he will respond.
Let me try this another way: We need to use the election to create conditions so that these people will see that ignoring U.S. citizens abroad will be costly to them.
Although I have always had a low opinion of Obama (he is nothing but a media creation) and a fairly high opinion of Romney (hey at least he has accomplishments), at the end of the day:
They are responsive only to votes. It is this fact that we must take advantage of.
So, for those of you who are thinking:
1. Who cares, Romney is no better; or
2. Well, I can’t make a difference anyway
You have surrendered the battle. And that is of course your right. But, you have spent a lot of time suffering from oppression and persecution, you continue to be treated unjustly. You have nothing to lose by simply transferring some of your emotional energy (that is gong to spent on this anyway) to something that could be productive.
Thanks for reading this – I respect you matter what your views.
and because he has forced so many people to renounce as an act of self defense, he needs to go. We don’t know where Romney would be on these issues. But, it is inconceivable that he could be worse.
U.S. citizenship-based taxation has made U.S. citizenship second class citizenship the world over!
There is a reason why renunciations of U.S. citizenship are soaring under Obama.
U.S. Persons Abroad - Members of a Unique Tax, Form and Penalty Club 