ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Ed. note: William Olenick has been active in Republicans Abroad in Switzerland, where he is a longtime resident. He sent the following email letter to friends 28 January; we reprint it in full as part of our coverage of the ongoing problems for US citizens in Switzerland.
Amy Feldman has written a second article:
“The Perils of Overseas Tax Disclosure: An Immigrant’s Story”
It features more adventures in FBAR. It also raises the issue of the (possible) relationship between FBAR compliance and becoming a U.S. citizen.
Here are some comments from another blog
When I first read this article I thought it was a joke. This is so crazy that I still can’t decide. Has the US gone completely out of its mind? This reminds me of Mr. FBAR.
What do you think?
According to the article:
This is now the law of the land:
ADVISORY
BY DECREE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS
IT SHALL HENCEFORCE BE ORDERED THAT AMERICANS SHALL NOT UNLOCK THEIR OWN SMARTPHONES.
PENALTY: In some situations, first time offenders may be fined up to $500,000, imprisoned for five years, or both. For repeat offenders, the maximum penalty increases to a fine of $1,000,000, imprisonment for up to ten years, or both.*
The real story (assuming it is true) is NOT becoming a citizen of Switzerland. The real story is the renunciation of U.S. citizenship. Switzerland does NOT require her to renounce U.S. citizenship to become a citizen of Switzerland. Furthermore, becoming a citizen of Switzerland does NOT mean that she loses her U.S. citizenship. Hence, it is clear that she is voluntarily relinquishing her U.S. citizenship. Chances are she will pay (or has already paid) a good deal of money in the form the Exit Tax to do this. To put it simply:
Tina Turner is paying money to get rid of her U.S. citizenship!
It’s gotten to the point where people are buying their way to freedom from the U.S.
It will be interesting to see how the “Homelander Elite Corp” spin this story.
She’s simply the best!
“Numbering well over one million and representing the United States around the world in all aspects of commerce, these overseas Americans constitute an important national asset. Recently, however, U.S. law governing the rights and obligations of these citizens has fallen subject to increasing criticism – first, as to its fairness; and second, as to its wisdom, at a time when America’s international economic competitiveness, which depends heavily on effective business activity by U.S. citizens abroad, is under severe challenge. I therefore deemed it important that the policy implicit in this diverse body of law be subjected to a fresh and comprehensive examination.” – Senator George McGovern July 2, 1980 – From: U.S. Law Affecting Americans Living and Working Abroad
This post is an attempt to bring together a number of comments at the Isaac Brock Society. It is interesting to compare the Democratic Party of the Carter years to the Democratic Party of the Obama years. It appears to be “night” and “day”. It is important to note that President Carter does believe that the Obama administration is committing human rights abuses. It would be interesting to know what his opinion would be of the way in which the Obama democrats are treating U.S. citizens abroad.
The attack on U.S. citizens abroad by the Obama Democrats has been duly noted. It is interesting to note that another Democratic President – Jimmy Carter was friendly to U.S. citizens abroad. President Carter now runs the “Carter Center” in Georgia, which among other things, promotes human rights. In a June 2012 op-ed in the New York Times:
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Thanks to Just Me for posting this video at the Isaac Brock Society.
From Osama To Obama
This is a great video that focuses on the consistent:
1. Evolution of the loss of rights in the U.S.;
2. The inevitable progress of the United States into becoming a police state.
Overall impression of the conference:
Tax policy is simply to important to allow the discussion to be shaped and dominated by tax professionals! Perhaps they should not even be included in the discussion.
Advice:
Enjoy the video – first tweet.
Are you a U.S. citizen abroad?
If you are not a U.S. citizen (or other kind of U.S. person) you may have little to worry about. Panic is starting to set in. There were many U.S. citizens who became citizens of other countries. They may or may not have lost their U.S. citizenship. Even if at this moment you believe you are a U.S. citizen, I urge you to consider this issue.
If you are NOT a U.S. person there is no reason for you to read the rest of this post. But, if you are then:
It’s all about Cause, Reasonable Cause
The Good News – FATCA Is In Trouble
FATCA is in trouble – it appears to be stalled. Treasury was (at least it said) anticipating up to 50 IGAs by December 31, 2012. As of today, they have a total of four. That is a pathetic and pitiful number. To make matters worse, Treasury failed in its commitment to get regulations/information/direction to the foreign financial institutions by the December 31, 2012 date. (The word is that the release of the final FATCA rules is imminent. Update January 18: the IRS has finally released the final FATCA rules.)
At best FATCA is not going as smoothly as Treasury predicted. At worst FATCA is in serious trouble. As James Jatras preaches, it is a mistake to think that FATCA is inevitable. Furthermore, Canada (the Government and the banks) can put an end to FATCA by just saying no. Just Say No!
The Good News – We Are In A Pre-FATCA World For Non- Complaint U.S. Persons
Comment on the taxation of Green Card holders who reside outside the U.S.:
Most of the discussion of FATCA revolves the technical complexities, compliance costs and logistical impact on U.S. citizens abroad. FATCA is all those things but it is something far more important.
FATCA is an attack on human freedom everywhere! I have explored this in a previous post: FATCA: Freedom is only one generation away from extinction.
U.S. Persons Abroad - Members of a Unique Tax, Form and Penalty Club 