Will Obama’s New FATCA Legislation Cost You Your Bank Account?
New legislation intended to catch tax cheats, called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act or FATCA, is having the unintended consequence of costing expats around the world their bank accounts. Due to the high cost in becoming FATCA compliant, foreign banks must decide if compliance is more cost effective then simply cutting ties with American account holders all together. As reported by Forbes, http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2011/06/20/why-obamas-fatca-law-is-a-threat-to-business-growth/, Americans around the world have begun to feel the effects of FATCA:
- From a retired teacher in Germany — “I was denied the policy because I am an American citizen. My agent very clearly said that he could sell the policy that I wanted to any other nationality, except me - because I was American!”
- From an American working in Saudi Arabia — “As a resident of Saudi Arabia, I have twice been rejected as a customer, purely on the basis of my US citizenship. In both instances, I was told that increased administrative and compliance burdens imposed by US authorities have led the banks in question to refuse to open securities accounts for American citizens.”
- From an American in Japan — “All of these banks and institutions are cutting me off from participation in any but the most simple of basic bank account. Why? Because they do not want to take the time and instill the systems and carry the cost of reporting the income of each of their US citizen clients to the US government.”
But, besides threatening expats ability to financially function, and therefore compete abroad, this legislation adds to the already overwhelming paperwork expats face, exposing them to further penalties with the IRS.
This law penalizes law-abiding expats affecting their ability to work and compete abroad. FATCA isn’t fair and needs to be repealed now!
29 SIGNATURES
GOAL: 1,000 signatures
Like this to spread the word:
Diane Hooper signed
via 1389
2013-04-21 19:07:22 -0400
I am a dual citizen of Canada and the U.S. though I have lived in Canada for over thirty years. I am a stay at home mom with a Canadian husband and a Canadian son. Under FATCA I will be required to a.) take my name off our local checking account with my husband. B.) divorce to protect him or C.) Report my foreign husbands accounts money made by him only at his Canadian job in HIS HOMELAND to the U.S. A country that is “foreign” to him. He objects to this of course as any reasonable person would as he pays his taxes to his home country of Canada faithfully and wishes nothing to do with the U.S. IRS based solely upon who he is married to. He has supported myself and our disabled son all these years and I would owe ZERO in taxes to the U.S. However, costly fines on FBAR, fees for tax preparers on nothing owed would come out of HIS Canadian income. I cannot see Canada standing for this as it violates Canada’s human rights code put into place in 1982 by Trudeau and still in force today. You cannot treat someone differently under the law based on citizenship in Canada though FATCA is asking Canada to violate it’s own laws. My husband has asked me to consider renouncing my U.S. citizenship and I can’t say I blame him though this would be VERY hard for me to do. It would protect my foreign spouse and child and their foreign earned assets which to them are NOT foreign at all! FATCA places people like me in an impossible and outrageously unfair situation. I’m not sure I can ever forgive this government for coming up with something as cruel as this is. Repeal this or be considered as cruel as any King the “Americans” were trying to get away from to begin with.
@1389
tweeted
link to this page.
2013-02-04 16:28:28 -0500
Sign the petition: FATCA http://www.republicansabroadeurope.org/fatca_petition?recruiter_id=425
Marco Elser signed
2012-10-04 10:03:13 -0400
I agre wholehartedly… We have to stop this before it gets all Americans who live in Europe arrested!!
@GenevieveBesser
tweeted
link to this page.
2012-09-17 17:32:38 -0400
Sign the petition: FATCA http://www.republicansabroadeurope.org/fatca_petition?recruiter_id=331
Howard Bisk signed
2012-06-21 18:27:02 -0400
Hundreds of thousands of voters being driven crazy by illogical bureacrats making things up as they go along. Many expats not making enough to even qualify to pay income tax as overseas residents. One wonders if it is even profitable for the tax authorities or is it just another career opportunity for the bureaucrats. This whole thing should be investigated by a congressional committee.
And I have never voted Republican; but believe that stupidity is truly bi-partisan!
And I have never voted Republican; but believe that stupidity is truly bi-partisan!
C Miller signed
2012-06-16 06:29:21 -0400
I am a long-term resident of a European country and recently had my rental deposit account cancelled, solely due to the fact that I have US citizenship.
Sheila Lawlor signed
2012-06-15 17:35:48 -0400
I am a dual citizen of US and an EU country and I have been denied an account by a leading banking institution. Does anyone know whether this is possibly contrary to EU law?
Anonymous signed
2012-05-28 21:13:13 -0400
Ex Expatriate in Peru and Brazil, now returned home because of US tax laws which made it impossible to survive.
T Myers signed
2012-05-16 08:40:43 -0400
FATCA will not only destroy the lives of US persons abroad by denying them bank accounts, but will also cause capital to flee the US.
Richard Lombardi signed
2012-05-03 02:39:14 -0400
I, too, have been denied purchase of an insurance policy with Zürich for my daughter because I am an American. Other securities as well have been denied me. I am left with several savings account with various rates of ridiculously low rates of interest.
