- Jane Bruno’s letter to the Treasury Department about Form 8938
- URGENT: Tell the IRS what you think of their new financial report form!
- Living Abroad: What Do You Know?
- Higher Passport and Consular Fees
- How New US Banking Laws Threaten Overseas Americans
- Banks blasted for fee smokescreens
- States Move to Allow Overseas and Military Voters to Cast Ballots by Internet
- More American Expatriates Give Up Citizenship
- U.S. Expat Taxes Drive Americans to Give Up Citizenship
- What the Health Care Overhaul Means for Americans Abroad
- Internet Voting, Still in Beta
- Medicare Savings: Is the Answer in Mexico?
AARO - Association of Americans Resident Overseas
It's FBAR time again!
Do remember that all Americans and greencard holders (in the United States or abroad) are required to file a Foreign Bank Account Report every year IF the AGGREGATE value of ALL their bank accounts abroad exceeds $10,000 (around 7,000 euros) on ANY ONE DAY in the preceding year. If you think about it, that means the vast majority of us.
Fortunately the Treasury Department has thought about it, too, and made it easier to file than it used to be. The form can now be filled out on line using Adobe Reader and saved (do not use last year's form, however! You can copy from last year's and paste into this year's, but you must use the current form). Also, for those wishing to use express/courier mail for speed or security reasons, there is now a "real" street address to which the form can be mailed.
The penalties for not filing are very high and we all know that banks are talking to each other more and more, so it's just not worth ignoring this obligation (which has nothing to do with income taxes - the form is not filed with your tax form or sent to the IRS).
Your FBAR must be received (not sent) by June 30, 2013, so you might as well get it done now! The form can be downloaded at: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f90221.pdf
European Parliament Committee Hearing on FATCA
The fight against tax evasion - FATCA as a step towards international automatic exchange of information?
Summary prepared jointly by Ellen Lebelle and Victoria Férauge
We attended this public hearing on May 28th at the European Parliament in Brussels. Before the meeting started, we were fortunate to have an opportunity to speak with Sophie in't Veld, the MEP from The Netherlands. She had read the letter that AARO's president and FAWCO's U.S. Liaison Lucy Laederich had sent to her ('t Veld letter) and we were able to discuss those and other points with her. To be clear, she is a supporter of the fight against tax evasion, but insists that initiatives to combat it must be debated in a public, transparent, democratic way.
6.32 Million Americans Abroad Map
More than 6.32 million Americans (excluding military) live in 160-plus countries.
Read more...
- AARO is a volunteer, non-partisan service organization representing the interests of more than 6.32 million U.S. citizens living and working abroad. Its mission is to ensure that Americans resident overseas are guaranteed the same rights and privileges as their counterparts in the U.S.
- AARO updates its members on vital issues such as taxation, citizenship, voting rights and Social Security through its quarterly newsletter, bimonthly e-mail bulletins, periodic seminars and other events. It also conducts ongoing advocacy efforts in Washington.
- AARO offers a reasonably priced health insurance plan to members who are U.S. citizens living overseas.
- Learn more about AARO, listen to a World Radio Paris interview.
Why I joined AARO
AARO has members in 38 countries and we're growing every day!
Watch video clips from Americans living abroad who support AARO by their membership.
Want to join us?
Visit our How To Join page.
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Debate Corner
A Few Ideas for Resolving the American Diaspora Tax War
The following proposals are published, with permission, from The Franco-American Flophouse (thefranco-americanflophouse.blogspot.com).
There is a lively discussion going on over at Mother Jones in response to their article, Rand Paul Wants to Loosen Laws on Offshore Tax Evasion. The article refers to a bill sponsored by Senator Rand Paul to repeal FATCA.
You can learn more about Paul's effort at Overseas Exile and Repeal FATCA. The latter is reporting that Paul's bill has been endorsed by the U.S. Credit Union National Association.
In one comment a FATCA supporter asked a very good question, "So if you folks hate FATCA, what is your counter-proposal?"