Monthly Archives: April 2026

AARO To File Amicus Brief To Support Argument That FBAR Penalties May Violate 8th Amendment Prohibition On Excessive Fines

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The AARO brief is for the benefit of ALL Americans abroad. Please support AARO by completing their survey!

Call for Member Input – FBAR Case (Amicus Brief)

AARO to file an amicus brief with the 9th Circuit Court

AARO is working with a major U.S. law firm on an amicus brief (“friend of the court” brief), which it plans to file in May 2026, in the case United States of America v. Tuncay Saydam. Mr. Saydam was assessed penalties, now exceeding $500,000 with interest, for not having filed FBAR reports during the years 2013-2017 for his overseas bank accounts. Our amicus brief will support Mr. Saydam’s argument that these penalties are unconstitutional under the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the imposition of excessive fines.

Your answers to the questions below will help AARO describe in our amicus brief the difficulty for ordinary Americans to navigate the complexity and burden of compliance with the FBAR and other financial reporting requirements.

Here is the link:

https://aaro.org/issues/fbar/call-for-member-input-fbar-case-amicus-brief

John Richardson – Follow me on X.com/ExpatriationLaw

You Know A Tax System Is Broken When People Fear Tax Compliance As Much As They Fear Noncompliance

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When tax compliance is weaponized because of the "status" of an individual there is a risk in attempting compliance and a risk in non-compliance. The undocumented in the USA have a lot in common with US citizens outside the USA. (NYTImes.com gift article)www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/u…

— John Richardson (@expatriationlaw.bsky.social) 2026-04-17T12:52:36.628Z

U.S. citizens living outside the United States and “undocumented U.S. residents” have a great deal in common. They are both subjected to (1) more punitive taxation than U.S. residents with legal immigration status and (2) are forced to pay for programs they will never benefit from.

In addition, the integrity of tax systems is (I believe) dependent on their being focused on tax administration and not being used for other (including immigration) purposes. The New York Times article (referenced above) is an excellent example of using tax information for other purposes and who this creates disincentives to tax compliance.

I discuss this problem in more detail in the following post published at the Isaac Brock Society.

You Know A Tax System Is Broken When Individuals Fear Tax Compliance As Much As They Fear Tax Noncompliance

John Richardson – Follow me on X.com/ExpatriationLaw