FCAT causing record numbers of people to renounce U.S. citizenship.

[Anarchist420]

[Link]

I don't get how $1Tn in income tax revenue alone isn't enough for this year.

Obama, every member of the Supreme Court, and every member of Congress are nothing other than centralist, pro-public spending, revenue-loving tyrants... they can inflate, they can borrow and they can pillage/plunder and steal. Borrowing gold and decentralizing that debt is tolerable but having the power to tax and print money at the same time is ridiculous.

I guess Congress wants a brain drain and then all the poor people will be trapped right inside the tyrannical State like the Soviet Union.

 

[Fern]

The Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (not FCAT) is about trying catch those engaged in off shore tax cheating. However, as usual the govt has F'd it up completely.

The reporting requirements are extraordinarily burdensome, complicated, not even the IRS understands them, there are all kinds of forms but what's really causing fear is the huge penalties. If you don't file this stuff properly, and the IRS doesn't even seem to understand the requirements, you're subject to very large penalties. And because of the complexity etc, the fees to pay professionals to do this for you are quite expensive.

It's just not worth it.

Fern

 

[fstime]

The Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (not FCAT) is about trying catch those engaged in off shore tax cheating. However, as usual the govt has F'd it up completely.

The reporting requirements are extraordinarily burdensome, complicated, not even the IRS understands them, there are all kinds of forms but what's really causing fear is the huge penalties. If you don't file this stuff properly, and the IRS doesn't even seem to understand the requirements, you're subject to very large penalties. And because of the complexity etc, the fees to pay professionals to do this for you are quite expensive.

It's just not worth it.

Fern

The government bureaucracy is operating in an overly complicated way, no way!

 

[WelshBloke]

To get some context here we are talking about just over a thousand people out of the three hundred and something million that are US passport holders.

 

[IronWing]

To get some context here we are talking about just over a thousand people out of the three hundred and something million that are US passport holders.

One thousand people who put greed ahead of country, yes.

 

[Engineer]

One thousand people who put greed ahead of country, yes.

When you have billionaires that risk going to jail for a few million dollars, this is what you get.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertw...y-warner-to-pay-53m-for-offshore-tax-evasion/

 

[Lithium381]

We're one of the if not the only nation to charge income tax on worldwide income. . . why?

 

[Lithium381]

One thousand people who put greed ahead of country, yes.

Curious to know if they're actually CHEATING the system and not paying what they "owe" or are applying the law to their advantage. . .

 

[WelshBloke]

One thousand people who put greed ahead of country, yes.

You can look at it however you want its still a vanishingly small proportion of the population.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

You can look at it however you want its still a vanishingly small proportion of the population.

It's not even accurate. The BBC article explains how people are paying thousands for tax returns due to complexity. I wonder if people even read articles.

 

[boomerang]

To get some context here we are talking about just over a thousand people out of the three hundred and something million that are US passport holders.

That's almost the entire population of the U.S. I think you've made an error there. Also, you need to quote the number of Americans who are living out of the country for any meaningful correlation.

 

[IronWing]

It's not even accurate. The BBC article explains how people are paying thousands for tax returns due to complexity. I wonder if people even read articles.

People come up with spectacularly complex schemes to avoid taxes and then get pissed because explaining their schemes takes expert time and effort? I can't say I feel much pain on their behalf.

 

[boomerang]

People come up with spectacularly complex schemes to avoid taxes and then get pissed because explaining their schemes takes expert time and effort? I can't say I feel much pain on their behalf.

Schemes? Once again you show that you have either not read the article or you can't comprehend what it's saying.

 

[boomerang]

We're one of the if not the only nation to charge income tax on worldwide income. . . why?

Because we need money for programs to teach African men to wash their dicks. That was not sarcasm, we the taxpayers spent money on that and tons and tons of more idiotic shit.

 

[IronWing]

Schemes? Once again you show that you have either not read the article or you can't comprehend what it's saying.

I read the article. My statement stands.

 

[Murloc]

We're one of the if not the only nation to charge income tax on worldwide income. . . why?

Eritrea does it too.

I think it's a concept of the government owning its citizens instead of the other way round or something, or some weird concept that expats are betraying their country of origin.
Also you pay for worldwide police service, nevermind that that is the UN's job, which everyone already pays for in the country of residence.

 

[Anarchist420]

I think it's a concept of the government owning its citizens instead of the other way round or something, or some weird concept that expats are betraying their country of origin.

Govts always own their Subjects. That is, there is no such thing as a "tax-paying citizen", it's simply a misnomer.

 

[Fern]

People come up with spectacularly complex schemes to avoid taxes and then get pissed because explaining their schemes takes expert time and effort? I can't say I feel much pain on their behalf.

Umm. People who come up with "spectacularly complex schemes" aren't the ones affected by this. For one thing, avoiding this reporting requirement would be part of the scheme, and for another they are already paying int'l tax lawyers etc.

In my tax practice the people it's affecting fall into a couple of categories:

1. Your standard citizen who is employed abroad. They have to deal with this for their regular foreign bank/savings accounts and any foreign 401K plans etc. they have being employed abroad.

2. Non-citizens who have a Green Card. Again, they have to worry about their checking/savings accounts and retirement accts held abroad in their home countries.

I'm seeing Green Card holders no longer working here give up their Green Cards to get out of this. And I'm seeing dual citizens with a connection to another country give up their US citizenship.

For the wealthy who have a lot of foreign investments and already report them, e.g., MItt Romney, it's just more forms prepared by their international acct firm or lawyers they must sign.

For the people who are evading taxes to begin with, well this isn't going to make them suddenly start complying. It would just expose the crap they've been doing for so long. They'll just ignore this law as well.

Fern

 

[Engineer]

Don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.

 

[Jhhnn]

For the people who are evading taxes to begin with, well this isn't going to make them suddenly start complying. It would just expose the crap they've been doing for so long. They'll just ignore this law as well.

Uncle Sam has been working with foreign govts to close off tax evasion avenues. Witness the number of people coming forward to accept amnesty wrt previously unclaimed Swiss accounts.

Just imagine what the NSA may have found out so far. If they were only spying on Joe & Joan Sixpack, I doubt that the pundits of the financial elite would be squawking at all.

Other than that, I figure that expats who were straddling the fence wrt citizenship just have another reason to make up their minds, one way or the other. It's not like the numbers are significant, anyway.

 

[StinkyPinky]

Umm. People who come up with "spectacularly complex schemes" aren't the ones affected by this. For one thing, avoiding this reporting requirement would be part of the scheme, and for another they are already paying int'l tax lawyers etc.

In my tax practice the people it's affecting fall into a couple of categories:

1. Your standard citizen who is employed abroad. They have to deal with this for their regular foreign bank/savings accounts and any foreign 401K plans etc. they have being employed abroad.

2. Non-citizens who have a Green Card. Again, they have to worry about their checking/savings accounts and retirement accts held abroad in their home countries.

I'm seeing Green Card holders no longer working here give up their Green Cards to get out of this. And I'm seeing dual citizens with a connection to another country give up their US citizenship.

For the wealthy who have a lot of foreign investments and already report them, e.g., MItt Romney, it's just more forms prepared by their international acct firm or lawyers they must sigh.

For the people who are evading taxes to begin with, well this isn't going to make them suddenly start complying. It would just expose the crap they've been doing for so long. They'll just ignore this law as well.

Fern

Greencard holders can't live outside of the country for a long period of time anyway. One year max I think. They can get a one off two year dispensation I believe. Either way I don't think there's many GC holders earning huge money overseas that still have a valid greencard that hasn't expired. Once that expires you would think they would not be held accountable to US tax laws.

 

[trenchfoot]

The fat cats, via their bought off legislators have been having their way for umpteen years with all of the breaks and loopholes they've bought for themselves via big campaign donations and other corruptive devices at their disposal, of which the middle class and working poor have been made to make up for.

*Fern correct me if I'm wrong, as this is an opinion of mine given the 50+ years I've been paying taxes and comparing the deductions I am eligible for and what the very rich/Corp's have been blessed with in the way of devices to reduce their tax burden, many of them being jaw dropping in nature.

 

[OverVolt]

Posting in a crazy crazy thread.

 

[hans030390]

LOL what a bunch of whiners. I feel for the "regular" or "innocent" people that have to fill out extra tax forms (first world problems), but perhaps those unnecessarily affected should complain to tax dodgers for dodging taxes instead of the group that is trying to correct things and prevent tax dodging...

 

[dank69]

"all kinds of forms"