U.S. Citizenship Abroad in a FATCA and FBAR World
FATCA has inflicted pain on the world. The pain has been most acutely felt by those with a U.S. place of birth. The following report is shocking in its brutality.
Listen to the pain and anguish of the woman interviewed who can’t have a bank account simply because she is a “U.S. person”. Listen to the language she uses. Jen is proud to be an American, feels that she is being forced to renounce U.S. citizenship, and considers the current U.S. government to be a “bunch of extortionists”. She is clearly suffering extreme pain and anguish. Listen to the French citizen and resident, who doesn’t speak English and is claimed by the United States to be a “U.S. person”. Then listen to the unnamed “Voice of the Obama Administration”, which says:
“The U.S. Treasury Department has worked tirelessly to address many of these problems and most have been resolved. All you have to do is look to see how many countries have agreed to the law and how many financial institutions have signed on to the law.”
Clearly the voice of the Obama administration is either a liar or is delusional.
How we got there – A brief backgrounder on “how many countries have agreed to the law and how many financial institutions have signed on to the law”
As you know the U.S. Government is hunting for those they consider to be “U.S. persons”. The hunt is taking place outside the United States. The hunt is intended to identify the residents and citizens of other nations that the U.S. chooses to define as “U.S. persons”. The vast majority of those deemed to be “U.S. persons”, are deemed so because they were born in the United States. To put it simply: The United States exercises taxing jurisdiction based on reasons that include “place of birth”. The fact that somebody is a citizen and resident of another nation is irrelevant. If you were born in the United States, then you are subject to U.S. law and control wherever you may reside. The only defense is to have “relinquished U.S. citizenship”. Relinquishment is a broad term that includes “renunciation”. President Obama promised “change you can believe in”. President Obama delivered. The most enduring legacy of the Obama presidency will be that he has made a “Certificate of Loss of U.S. Nationality” (“CLN”) the most sought after document in the world today.
Furthermore, the United States and the United States alone decides who is a U.S. citizen.
See comments about the BBC Interview here and here.
Some of the interesting comments include:
Great job Keith. Hearing Jen (?) speak was very powerful. Even with understanding what is going on with this mess, to hear her speak just opened the wound a little wider if possible.
How they cannot see how absolutely disgusting CBT/FATCA is and how “exceptionally” abusive they are I will never understand. This mess has taught me what hatred feels like, something I could have well lived without.
and
Made my blood pressure boil hearing Treasury quoted as saying the rest of the world wants FATCA – Mythster Stack is a &%#*}#!!!!
and
Giving up US citizenship is not an alternative. It is a last resort solution. Cutting off one’s arm to escape the trap. One doesn’t get rid of a problem by getting rid of the victims of the problem. The only real solution to this problem is for the US to adopt residence as a standard for taxation, the same as every other country in the world. Only then will non-resident US citizens be placed on an equal footing with other non-resident citizens from other countries and no longer have to suffer the consequences of discrimination.
