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FATCA was initially introduced to target those who evade paying U.S. taxes by hiding assets in undisclosed foreign bank accounts. With such a noble goal, and with the strong backing of the Administration, Congress quickly drafted the FATCA legislation and quietly slipped it into the HIRE (Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment) bill signed into law by President Obama in March 2010. Most members of Congress are unaware of the unintended negative consequences this legislation will have when fully implemented in 2014.
Many Americans residing overseas are reporting banking lock-out. Many foreign financial institutions have simply chosen to eliminate their US citizens and US person client basis in order to minimize their exposure to FATCA reporting requirements, withholding fees and potential penalties.
originally posted by: 8675309jenny
As it sits right now, my future financial weapon.. oops, I mean CHILD will be in violation of the IRS if he/she doesn't file US income tax forms WHETHER or NOT they EVER set foot on US soil in their life. EVEN IF BORN IN UK! And if they ever decide to visit or immigrate here, could be subject to $10,000+ fines, arrest and who knows what else.....
I loved this country growing up, but it feels like the US doesn't love its people much these days... Actually it feels like the walls are closing in and I need to get out before it's too late...
en.wikipedia.org...
Birth abroad to one United States citizen[edit]
A person born on or after November 14, 1986, is a U.S. citizen if all of the following are true:[9]
The person's parents were married at time of birth
One of the person's parents was a U.S. citizen when the person in question was born
The citizen parent lived at least five years in the United States before the child's birth
A minimum of two of these five years in the United States were after the citizen parent's 14th birthday.
INA 301(g) makes additional provisions to satisfy the physical-presence requirements for periods citizens spent abroad in "honorable service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or periods of employment with the United States Government or with an international organization." Additionally citizens, who spent time living abroad as the "dependent unmarried son or daughter and a member of the household of a person" in any of the previously mentioned organizations can also be counted.
A person's record of birth abroad, if registered with a U.S. consulate or embassy, is proof of citizenship. Such a person may also apply for a passport or a Certificate of Citizenship to have a record of citizenship. Such documentation is often useful to prove citizenship in lieu of the availability of an American birth certificate.
Different rules apply for persons born abroad to one U.S. citizen before November 14, 1986. United States law on this subject changed multiple times throughout the twentieth century, and the law is applicable as it existed at the time of the individual's birth.
For persons born between December 24, 1952 and November 14, 1986, a person is a U.S. citizen if all of the following are true:[9]
The person's parents were married at the time of birth
One of the person's parents was a U.S. citizen when the person was born
The citizen parent lived at least ten years in the United States before the child's birth;
A minimum of 5 of these 10 years in the United States were after the citizen parent's 14th birthday.
For persons born out of wedlock, the person is a U.S. citizen if all the following apply:
the mother was a U.S. citizen at the time of the person's birth and
the mother was physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for a continuous period of one year prior to the person's birth.[10] (See link for those born to a U.S. father out of wedlock)[9]
Expeditious naturalization of children[edit]
Effective April 1, 1995, a child born outside the U.S. to a U.S. citizen parent, if not already a citizen by birth because the parent does not meet the residency requirement (see above), may qualify for expeditious naturalization based on the physical presence of the child's grandparent in the U.S. In general the grandparent should have spent five years in the U.S., at least two of which were after the age of 14.
The process of naturalization, including the oath of allegiance, must be completed before the child's 18th birthday. It is not necessary for the child to be admitted to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident.
globalnews.ca...
A controversial tax deal with the United States, under which Canadian banks agree to try to find U.S. citizen clients and report them to the IRS, using the CRA as an intermediary, took effect July 1.
But many dual citizens in southern Ontario aren’t waiting to be found – they’ve decided to shed U.S. citizenship. In the process, they’ve created a backlog at the U.S. consulate in Toronto that stretches into the third week of January 2015.
Nightingale says he charges $1,000-$1,500 for “very simple” U.S. returns.
“Filing U.S. tax returns is complex, and the reason is that everything that happens to a U.S. citizen in Canada is foreign. People who are able to do their Canadian tax returns easily and relatively cheaply, once you add the foreign layer on to it, ordinary people have problems that need to be dealt with sophisticated tax people.”
he U.S. State Department estimates that about a million people considered American under U.S. law (who may also be Canadian citizens) live here. In theory, all of them, unless their income falls under minimum levels, are supposed to file tax returns with the IRS, and report their bank accounts to an arm of the U.S. Treasury Department called the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, on pain of heavy fines.
Canada’s 2006 census found about 300,000 people in Canada self-identifying as U.S. citizens. (The difference may be accounted for by Canadians who were born in the United States, or who have an American parent, but don’t consider themselves American.)
In the meantime, Nightingale warns, the tax side of renouncing U.S. citizenship can be expensive:
“If somebody comes to us and says, ‘I’m a U.S. citizen, I’ve never filed tax returns, I’ve got a pretty ordinary life, but I’ve got an RRSP, an RESP, a TFSA and some mutual funds, and can you prepare all my returns and get me ready for expatriation?’, by the time we do all that, it’s not hard to spend $15,000 or $20,000 for a fairly ordinary person.”
originally posted by: pikestaff
One thing to be thankful for, American citizens are not sent to the collusium, yet! (that place in Rome where gladiators fought each other to the death)
"What if my green card has been taken by or given to someone in the U.S. government?
If you’ve surrendered your green card, this doesn’t necessarily mean that your status as a lawful permanent resident has changed. Your status will not change unless and unt il you get an offic ial not i ce from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS ) that there has been a final administrative or judicial determination that your green card has been revoked or abandoned. You can contact the USCIS to check the status of your card.
What if I have been absent from the U.S. for a long period of time?
Your tax responsibilities as a green card holder do not change if you are absent from the U.S. for any period of time. Your income tax filing requirement and possible obligation to pay U.S. taxes continue until you either surrender your green card or there has been a final administrative or judicial determination that your green card has been revoked or abandoned. Therefore, even if the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) no longer recognizes the validity of your green card because you have been absent from the United States for a certain period of time or the green card is more than ten years old, you must continue to file tax returns until there has been a final determination that is not subject to appeal that your green card has been revoked or abandoned."
originally posted by: generik
people in Canada have pretty much overwhelmed the US consulate in Toronto to rid themselves of American citizenship. creating a major backlog. not only is this unfair taxation, it is also expensive to have even a simple tax return filed for the US, $1,000-1,500, just for a simple return, something that many people can not afford, forget the actual extra tax. and getting rid of your citizenship is not cheap either, you could be looking at $15,000-$20,000 for an ordinary person, by the time you are done something only the rich can really afford. yet there are only 300,000 that identified themselves as American citizens according to the 2006 survey, yet the U.S. State Department estimates that about a million people considered American under U.S. law (who may also be Canadian citizens) live there.
i suspect the same can be said by people around the world. since there are a heck of alot of American ex-pats running around having families all over the world.
globalnews.ca...
A controversial tax deal with the United States, under which Canadian banks agree to try to find U.S. citizen clients and report them to the IRS, using the CRA as an intermediary, took effect July 1.
But many dual citizens in southern Ontario aren’t waiting to be found – they’ve decided to shed U.S. citizenship. In the process, they’ve created a backlog at the U.S. consulate in Toronto that stretches into the third week of January 2015.
Nightingale says he charges $1,000-$1,500 for “very simple” U.S. returns.
“Filing U.S. tax returns is complex, and the reason is that everything that happens to a U.S. citizen in Canada is foreign. People who are able to do their Canadian tax returns easily and relatively cheaply, once you add the foreign layer on to it, ordinary people have problems that need to be dealt with sophisticated tax people.”
he U.S. State Department estimates that about a million people considered American under U.S. law (who may also be Canadian citizens) live here. In theory, all of them, unless their income falls under minimum levels, are supposed to file tax returns with the IRS, and report their bank accounts to an arm of the U.S. Treasury Department called the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, on pain of heavy fines.
Canada’s 2006 census found about 300,000 people in Canada self-identifying as U.S. citizens. (The difference may be accounted for by Canadians who were born in the United States, or who have an American parent, but don’t consider themselves American.)
In the meantime, Nightingale warns, the tax side of renouncing U.S. citizenship can be expensive:
“If somebody comes to us and says, ‘I’m a U.S. citizen, I’ve never filed tax returns, I’ve got a pretty ordinary life, but I’ve got an RRSP, an RESP, a TFSA and some mutual funds, and can you prepare all my returns and get me ready for expatriation?’, by the time we do all that, it’s not hard to spend $15,000 or $20,000 for a fairly ordinary person.”
you know what really strikes me is that the people in the US aren't outright panicking between this scam they are pushing onto other countries and their people, as well as all the fuss about companies trying to move their tax Base out of the US. after all why such a fuss about these things from the government if they didn't feel they were in dire straights? seems to me like an act of desperation trying to grasp at any money they think they can steal. that does not bode well at all for a government if they need to resort to blackmailing people and countries trying to steal cash off those who have possibly never even set foot in the US, don't vote, don't have American passports, heck don't even have a US social security number or ever even thought about moving to the US. has the US ever looked for these people to try to insure they vote? or even ask them if they want to be a citizen? no? then why decide to steal their money now? the only reason is DESPERATION.
originally posted by: IkNOwSTuff
Yeah you guys get it pretty bad, I still live as an Expat in Asia and Americans are the only people I know of who their government taxes even while working OS.
originally posted by: Aloysius the Gaul
originally posted by: IkNOwSTuff
Yeah you guys get it pretty bad, I still live as an Expat in Asia and Americans are the only people I know of who their government taxes even while working OS.
That's certainly not true.
I know a lot of people from the UK, Australia and New Zealand who have worked in various places around ht world (Mid East, Far east, Eastern Europe, US, and reciprocally in each others countries) and sometimes been required to pay domestic taxation even if they are relatively lone term expats (5 years or more)
It is a complicated business and anyone thinking of doing it would be well advised to take professoinal advice on setting their affairs in order.
originally posted by: generik
people in Canada have pretty much overwhelmed the US consulate in Toronto to rid themselves of American citizenship. creating a major backlog. not only is this unfair taxation, it is also expensive to have even a simple tax return filed for the US, $1,000-1,500, just for a simple return, something that many people can not afford, forget the actual extra tax. and getting rid of your citizenship is not cheap either, you could be looking at $15,000-$20,000 for an ordinary person, by the time you are done something only the rich can really afford. yet there are only 300,000 that identified themselves as American citizens according to the 2006 survey, yet the U.S. State Department estimates that about a million people considered American under U.S. law (who may also be Canadian citizens) live there.
i suspect the same can be said by people around the world. since there are a heck of alot of American ex-pats running around having families all over the world.
globalnews.ca...
A controversial tax deal with the United States, under which Canadian banks agree to try to find U.S. citizen clients and report them to the IRS, using the CRA as an intermediary, took effect July 1.
But many dual citizens in southern Ontario aren’t waiting to be found – they’ve decided to shed U.S. citizenship. In the process, they’ve created a backlog at the U.S. consulate in Toronto that stretches into the third week of January 2015.
Nightingale says he charges $1,000-$1,500 for “very simple” U.S. returns.
“Filing U.S. tax returns is complex, and the reason is that everything that happens to a U.S. citizen in Canada is foreign. People who are able to do their Canadian tax returns easily and relatively cheaply, once you add the foreign layer on to it, ordinary people have problems that need to be dealt with sophisticated tax people.”
he U.S. State Department estimates that about a million people considered American under U.S. law (who may also be Canadian citizens) live here. In theory, all of them, unless their income falls under minimum levels, are supposed to file tax returns with the IRS, and report their bank accounts to an arm of the U.S. Treasury Department called the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, on pain of heavy fines.
Canada’s 2006 census found about 300,000 people in Canada self-identifying as U.S. citizens. (The difference may be accounted for by Canadians who were born in the United States, or who have an American parent, but don’t consider themselves American.)
In the meantime, Nightingale warns, the tax side of renouncing U.S. citizenship can be expensive:
“If somebody comes to us and says, ‘I’m a U.S. citizen, I’ve never filed tax returns, I’ve got a pretty ordinary life, but I’ve got an RRSP, an RESP, a TFSA and some mutual funds, and can you prepare all my returns and get me ready for expatriation?’, by the time we do all that, it’s not hard to spend $15,000 or $20,000 for a fairly ordinary person.”
you know what really strikes me is that the people in the US aren't outright panicking between this scam they are pushing onto other countries and their people, as well as all the fuss about companies trying to move their tax Base out of the US. after all why such a fuss about these things from the government if they didn't feel they were in dire straights? seems to me like an act of desperation trying to grasp at any money they think they can steal. that does not bode well at all for a government if they need to resort to blackmailing people and countries trying to steal cash off those who have possibly never even set foot in the US, don't vote, don't have American passports, heck don't even have a US social security number or ever even thought about moving to the US. has the US ever looked for these people to try to insure they vote? or even ask them if they want to be a citizen? no? then why decide to steal their money now? the only reason is DESPERATION.