Retiree Activities Office, Thailand

Expats are rooting for this Trump tax policy
After Donald Trump won the election, many Democrats said they wanted to leave the country. If the president-elect follows through on one of his many tax proposals, it might get a little bit easier, Vivienne Walt reports for DealBook.

In a video address last month, Trump told the nine million or so Americans who live in other countries: “I’m going to end double taxation on overseas citizens. You’ve been wanting this for years, and nobody has listened to you.”

He was referring to the United States’ citizen-based tax system, which is virtually unique in the world and requires Americans living abroad — even those who were born in the United States but never lived there — to file U.S. taxes. Under the 2010 Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, foreign banks are obligated to report U.S. clients’ accounts to the I.R.S. yearly.

Some expats feel caught in a maze. Fearing 30 percent penalties, many banks have simply shut accounts of those with even tenuous U.S. links, or rejected taking them as clients. And expats are sometimes stunned to learn they owe taxes to the U.S. government.

“We sold our small, solely Canada company but had to pay the I.R.S. more than 20,000 Canadian dollars (about $14,391),” said Suzanne Herman, 68, in Gibsons, British Columbia, who left the United States at age 12. She paid the I.R.S. $5,700 in penalties for her 2008 house sale in Canada, and now pays $2,880 a year for U.S. tax preparation.

For many like Herman, the simplest option is to renounce their U.S. citizenship, and the numbers doing so have rocketed tenfold since 2020.

FATCA’s dragnet: Democratic lawmakers argued in Senate hearings in April that FATCA enforcement targeted wealthy tax evaders, not unwitting foreigners.

Expats say that’s misleading. “There is this mythology that Americans outside the U.S. are rich fat-cat tax cheats,” said Keith Redmond, an American who lives in Paris and a co-founder of Stop Extraterritorial American Taxation. “Americans overseas are average folk.”

The requirement for banks to share data with the I.R.S. has flouted other countries’ norms. The European Union ruled in 2021 that FATCA’s data sharing violated its privacy laws. But governments and banks felt they had little choice but to comply. “As long as the dollar is the reserve currency, other countries will fall in line,” Redmond said. “They really need to push back.”

Will Trump follow through? Expats are tempering their expectations, knowing Trump has broken promises before. “It is just words,” said Anthony Parent, a Connecticut lawyer who handles FATCA problems, told DealBook. “He said, ‘I will end this,’” Parent said of Trump. If he fails to do so, “it will never come again.”

This is pure truth

For my Bangkok friends. 555555

Murray Head - One Night In Bangkok "From CHESS" (Official Video) From the album CHESS THE ORIGINAL RECORDING by Benny Andersson, Tim Rice and Björn Ulvaeus.https://open.spotify.com/album/53iVCfjIQVviKXCprQ9gKxMusic video b...

https://twitter.com/ACSBKK/status/1350267791232921608?s=19

ACS Bangkok on Twitter “Beginning Jan 26th, ALL passengers arriving in the U.S. are required to have a negative COVID test taken 72 hours prior to departure. See testing locations below. For more details see the U.S. Embassy's email alert, check our website, or enroll in STEP: https://t.co/1UvT6J4hJh.”

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USVAVBA/bulletins/2a60c22

OCONUS Connection Both the Germany and Korea BDD offices are open for in-person assistance, by appointment only. Contact information is provided below.

https://th.usembassy.gov/health-alert-u-s-embassy-bangkok-thailand-april-28-2020/

Health Alert – U.S. Embassy Bangkok, Thailand (April 28, 2020) | U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Thailand Health Alert – U.S. Embassy Bangkok, Thailand (April 28, 2020) Location:  Thailand Event: National State of Emergency Officially Extended; Additional Flights from Surat Thani Airport Beginning May 1; Samui Airport Set to Resume Bangkok Route May 15 National State of Emergency/Nation-...

OCONUS Connection Due to COVID-19, Overseas Military Services Coordinators are currently providing support to Veterans, service members, and dependents living overseas at the e-mail addresses below. Please use the e-mail address for the installation nearest to your residence. The OMSCs are monitoring the e-mails dail...

Medal of Honor Recipient Bennie Adkins Dies of Coronavirus at 86 Retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins, a Medal of Honor recipient and Special Forces legend, passed away on Friday.

https://th.usembassy.gov/health-alert-u-s-embassy-bangkok-thailand-april-3-2020-info-on-repatriation-flights/

Health Alert – Information on Repatriation Flights – U.S. Embassy Bangkok, Thailand (April 3, 2020) | U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Thailand Health Alert – Information on Repatriation Flights – U.S. Embassy Bangkok, Thailand (April 3, 2020) Location: Thailand Event: International commercial flight options currently exist in Thailand. U.S. citizens who wish to return to the United States should make commercial arrangements as soon as ...