On April 26, 2017, the House will hear testimony as to the damage done to overseas Americans by FATCA.
For background information on FATCA, click here.
Video: Donna Lane Nelson Testimony
Written: Donna Lane Nelson Testimony
In a Facebook post published on April 20, 2017, Democrats Abroad attacked Republicans Overseas’ FATCA hearings scheduled for April 26th.
However, comments on their post clearly demonstrate how far DA’s pro-FATCA position deviates from the anti-FATCA position of their constituents.
TERRE HAUTE, IN – Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC) will chair a hearing of the Subcommittee on Government Operations of the House Committee of Oversight and Government Reform on “Reviewing the Unintended Consequences of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)” on Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at 2:00 pm in the Rayburn House Office Building (Room 2154).
FATCA has been the primary factor in the dramatic increase in citizenship renunciation by Americans overseas for the past five years. Last year, 5,411 individuals gave up their US citizenship (compared with 231 in 2008); many chose the irrevocable option simply to be able to have basic bank accounts in the communities where they live overseas.
“Dear Speaker Ryan, Majority Leader McConnell, Rep. Brady, and Sen. Hatch:
As free-market and taxpayer protection organizations representing millions of Americans, we urge that repeal of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)—a plank in the 2016 Republican Party Platform—be included in any tax reform package sent to the White House.
Enacted in 2010 by a Democrat-controlled Congress and signed into law by President Obama, FATCA purports to catch rich tax cheats hiding their wealth overseas but instead has ensnared innocent Americans in an appallingly draconian scheme that true wealthy tax evaders can still easily avoid. It treats any American asset held abroad as tantamount to criminality, demanding reams of private financial data without the need for a warrant or a showing of probable cause.
Since FATCA’s introduction, Americans living overseas have lost access to their banking and investment accounts as foreign financial institutions drop clients rightly perceived as toxic. This has not only impacted the welfare of the estimated nine million Americans who live and work abroad but hampers small businesses owned and operated by Americans attempting to compete internationally.”
Read the complete letter here: 2017-FATCA_repeal_coalition_ltr
Click below to read the letter urging the Trump administration to support the repeal of FATCA and listing steps that can be taken immediately.
© Greg Nash
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced legislation to repeal the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), with U.S. Representative Mark Meadows (R-NC) introducing a companion bill in the U.S. House. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) joined Dr. Paul as an original cosponsor.
Enacted by Congress in 2010, FATCA mandates that foreign financial institutions regularly report private financial information on American citizens under threat of a 30% withholding tax on U.S.-source income. The law has impeded international financial transactions and investment by leading many foreign banks to simply deny services to Americans rather than navigate the burdens and costs of compliance.
“FATCA disregards the Fourth Amendment and privacy rights by requiring the bulk collection of innocent Americans’ financial records,” said Sen. Paul. “It discourages foreign investment and prevents Americans from accessing the financial system overseas. It is time to repeal this job- and privacy-killing law.”
“For all of FATCA’s aims to improve tax compliance, this law is not worth the burdens it imposes,” said Sen. Wicker. “We have seen the negative implications on foreign investment and regulatory compliance costs. We should address these repercussions and repeal FATCA.”
“Any time we deal with tax laws and the disclosure of information that’s required, it is critical to remember that the Fourth Amendment right to privacy is non-negotiable,” said Rep. Meadows. “Over time, it’s become clear that FATCA goes well beyond what is permissible under Fourth Amendment protections and places a serious burden on taxpayers. I’m proud to join my friend Senator Paul to support a repeal of FATCA and to demonstrate a serious commitment to upholding our Constitution as the law of the land.”
You can read Senator Paul’s legislation HERE.
This week, Senator Paul and Representative Meadows sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney urging the administration to publicly support repealing FATCA and to take steps within its power to limit the law’s damaging effects.
You can read that letter HERE.
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https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/press/sen-rand-paul-introduces-bill-to-repeal-fatca
Washington, D.C. – On Thursday, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) joined Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) to introduce a bill that would repeal America’s global tax law, which has caused U.S. citizens to renounce their citizenships in record numbers.
The bill would repeal provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), included as part of the 2010 HIRE Act, that was originally designed to prevent tax evasion by increasing access to foreign bank accounts held by U.S. citizens.
As part of FATCA, foreign financial institutions are required to report on all account holdings and assets of U.S. taxpayers to the Internal Revenue Service. Failure for these institutions to do so could result in a penalty of up to 30 percent of their U.S. source income. Requiring institutions to disclose information such as this violates a U.S. citizen’s rights to privacy and harms taxpayers with burdensome regulations to abide by.
“Any time we deal with tax laws and the disclosure of information that’s required, it is critical to remember that the Fourth Amendment right to privacy is non-negotiable,” Rep. Meadows said. “Over time, it’s become clear that FATCA goes well beyond what is permissible under Fourth Amendment protections and places a serious burden on taxpayers. I’m proud to join my friend Senator Paul to support a repeal of FATCA and to demonstrate a serious commitment to upholding our Constitution as the law of the land.”
Senator Paul offered the following statement:
“FATCA disregards the Fourth Amendment and privacy rights by requiring the bulk collection of innocent Americans’ financial records. It discourages foreign investment and prevents Americans from accessing the financial system overseas. It is time to repeal this job- and privacy-killing law.”
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https://meadows.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-meadows-introduces-fatca-repeal-bill
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered legislation Thursday to repeal an Obama-era offshore tax law.
The bill would do away with provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which requires foreign financial institutions to report information about accounts held by U.S. citizens to the IRS.
Read more at The Hill.
WASHINGTON – April 5 – Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group and Co-Leader of the Campaign to Repeal FATCA, today lauded a letter from Rep. Mark Meadows and Sen. Rand Paul to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and OMB Director Mick Mulvaney urging actions to “mitigate the ongoing damage” caused by the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act pending its anticipated repeal.
“This is a major landmark moment,” said Green. “FATCA has only rolled on because of legally unauthorized ‘intergovernmental agreements’” – known as IGAs – “but if the White House and Treasury overturn the previous administration’s power-grab, that alone would doom this terrible, toxic law.”
Read more at ValueWalk.
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered legislation Thursday to repeal an Obama-era offshore tax law.
The bill would do away with provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which requires foreign financial institutions to report information about accounts held by U.S. citizens to the IRS.
FATCA was designed to fight offshore tax evasion. But Meadows and Paul said that the law violates citizens’ privacy rights. A release from Meadows’s office also claims the law has led to people giving up their U.S. citizenship in record numbers.
