Posts Tagged ‘FATCA’
FATCA: Big Brother Goes Global
Sometimes people ask what I fear most. My answer isn’t really what they expect. It’s not riots in central cities, a collapse of food supplies or other essential infrastructure, a terrorist attack, or even the growing U.S. police state. All of these threats are real, but all of them can be dealt with successfully through [...]
To Attract Foreign Direct Investment to the USA, Start by Abolishing These Laws and Regulations
Last November, President Obama said that the United States has become “lazy” about attracting foreign investment, and suggested the government should become “more aggressive” to attract overseas dollars. Well, Mr. President, I have several suggestions. First, repeal the notorious Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which will impose a 30% withholding tax on many money [...]
Form 8938: Not a Prelude to a Wealth Tax…This Time [Part II]
In my last blog entry, I described the latest salvo against offshore financial privacy from the IRS: the requirement to file a tell-all form annually with your tax return detailing “foreign financial assets” with an aggregate value exceeding $50,000. The IRS recently issued a draft version of this Form 8938, along with preliminary regulations on [...]
Form 8938: Not a Prelude to a Wealth Tax…This Time [Part I]
Back in 2010, President Obama signed the infamous Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”). Among other provisions, FATCA provides that if you hold a “specified foreign financial asset” (SFFA), you must attach a disclosure statement to your income tax return for each year in which the aggregate value of all such assets exceeds $50,000, or [...]
USA to Non-Resident Citizens: “Pay Up, or Face the Consequences” (Part II)
Approximately seven million U.S. citizens live overseas. And while most of them don’t realize it, they’re subject to the same U.S. tax and reporting obligations as any other U.S. citizen. In Part I of this article, I described how the U.S. government has embarked upon a massive effort to force non-resident U.S. citizens to comply [...]
It’s Official: FATCA Reporting Provisions Delayed One Year
Last March, President Obama signed into law the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which greatly expanded the reporting obligations of U.S. taxpayers holding offshore assets. These provisions apply if you hold more than $50,000 of “foreign financial assets,” consisting of: * Any ownership of non-U.S. securities, no matter how you hold them. * Any [...]
It’s Official: You Must Report Offshore Insurance, Annuity, and Gold Accounts (Part II]
In Part I of this entry, I described the impact of long-awaited regulations from a secretive Treasury agency called the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Those regulations greatly expand the scope of investments that U.S. taxpayers need to acknowledge annually on Treasury Form TD F 90.22-1, the Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR) form. However, there [...]
It’s Official: You Must Report Offshore Insurance, Annuity, and Gold Accounts (Part I]
If you’re a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, you need to know about an obscure Treasury agency called FinCEN, the “Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Last March, FinCEN issued proposed regulations greatly expanding what U.S. taxpayers are supposed to disclose about their offshore holdings. The proposals were retroactive to 2009. I wrote about them here and [...]
Congress and the IRS Tell 500,000 Foreign Financial Institutions to “Get Lost”
In March, 2010 President Obama signed the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) , the largest-ever expansion of offshore disclosure requirements in U.S. history. These provisions were neatly tucked into the “HIRE Act,” a bill designed to provide incentives for businesses to hire new employees. I wrote about it here and here. For instance, once [...]