So in fact, many of us are experiencing taxation without representation... and you know what happened last time this occurred!
fduvall
A major problem for many US expats is we do not have a Senator or Congressperson. As an expat, unless you own property or keep residency in a state for some reason, there IS no one to represent you. That is one reason why expats are an easy target.
The US media is eviscerating Mitt Romney over his Swiss bank account and the democrats are using Swiss accounts as a political grenade. I doubt you'll find many politicians willing to take up the cause of US citizens and Swiss bank accounts.
Just wait until BRIC countries start reducing their holdings of US Treasuries and when the Eurozone starts to unfold and resolve itself; that will put enormous upward pressure on US treasury yields and Congress will be giving much less of a damn about the well-being of US expats and a lot more of a damn about raising taxes and bring US expats to pay their "higher fair share". Add on top of that the demographics of baby boomers retiring.
Prepare to get shafted even more in the upcoming years! US citizenship will reach an all time level of toxicity.
Think of it as the Roman Empire in its dying decades. In order to socialize our present, we are feudalizing our future.
most definitely feel the "special handling"
Under the mattress or in the mug certainly doesn't qualify as FFI and is hence outside FATCA's scope, so are reinforced safes at home.
The irony is that if we are pushed out of banks and hide our assets at home, we have no FATCA and FBAR obligations and we can lie on our 1040s since our money would be completely non-traceable. I would love to see how much money the IRS would want to invest in completely non-traceable income.
Many dual citizens are relinquishing their US Citizenship. so many that the US Embassy in Bern had to hire more staff to handle the overload!
If you are never going to move back, then why not free yourself from this burden?
If US dual citizens are actually doing this, it is a big mistake.
Believe me, trying to reapply for US Citizenship or even a Green Card after willful renouncement of citizenship is almost impossible. You never know what the future brings and whether or not you may wish to exercise your US Citizenship (for example, to collect Social Security benefits while living abroad). If it is done with the intent of avoiding prosecution, renouncing their citizenship won't prevent future prosecution or extradition (if the offense is serious enough and the DoJ wants/gets an indictment); in fact, the act is even admissible as character evidence.
Former US Citizens are still eligible for their Social Security. While renouncing Citizenship is a big step, if a person has no intent of ever returning to the US to live, then why keep it? For someone who has lived and worked and has a retirement plan in Switzerland, why retain US Citizenship? A future in Switzerland makes a lot more sense, especially if it is where your children were born and make their home.
It is correct that once you renounce, that's it.
While it is true that they are still eligible, we have seen clients with difficulty actually receiving their payments and it is a bureaucratic nightmare to straighten that out.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services rarely re-approves a LPR petition for someone who has renounced citizenship. That "rarely" becomes "never" if the Petitioner's renounced their citizenship to evade U.S. laws, including U.S. tax laws.
It's every person's right to renounce their citizenship, but it's easy to show through rational choice theory that such a decision is against their interests, even if the Petitioner has no intent to reside in the United States in the future. U.S. Citizenship is forever. Once you have citizenship, it is irrevocable with no residency requirement. It's not hurting that person. No one knows what the future may bring. That person may develop a rare disease with the only research hospital in the world able to treat that person being within the United State (I know, because this happened to me). Perhaps the economy will take a turn for the worse in Switzerland, or the person loses their job - one never knows. Or they could have a change of heart, want to move somewhere, or find something (job, real estate, whatever), in the United States. Or they could get in trouble and wish for the security of US protection. Who knows, everyone is different. By renouncing their United States citizenship,t hey're closing out a large part of their world, and in doing so, potentially hurting their future.
Dear JDeere
It is always great to hear the opinions of a Homelander. You are most correct that citizenship renunciation is a difficult decision and can be viewed as a drastic step. I am certain that those considering this step have thought it through and carefully weighed the options.
The USA has launched a pilot war on its US citizens in Switzerland. As a result, US citizens in this country can no longer obtain basic banking services such as savings accounts and mortgages and are also being discriminated against in the labor market. We are in a similar situation to the blacks in the US southern states in the past and have either the option of returning to the Homeland, continuing on as second-class citizens here or renouncing US citizenship*. Since for many, home is where the family is, which is Switzerland, renunciation of this weight around our necks is a logical step.
Both the US Ambassador to Switzerland and the head of the American-Swiss Chamber of Commerce have recommended that US citizenship be jettisoned for those who don't need it and don't plan to live in the US in the future.
Thank you for your understanding and support during these difficult times.
DuePonte
* - Another option is to move to a EU country, where Swiss citizens can normally live without immigration issues, but we expect the US war against its overseas citizens to spread so there is little point in doing this.
I've filed a request for a recommendation to renounce US citizenship from my US representation, and I'll be taking this up the chain of command.
Of course, this won't have any impact on anything, but at least I'll be able to show that I tried something:
These words are utterly meaningless when one is being denied the ability to refinance one's mortgage simply because one is a US person.
If you seriously believe what you are writing then call your representation and start making lots of noise.
Nonsense. Under existing conditions, it is a federal crime in the US to be a US citizen since the US government is pressuring banks to deny Americans mortgages due to their national origin. Why should an individual want to be a member of a US federal crime?
Social Security will be heavily slashed with the WEP penalty. If the US government wishes to steal whatever is left, then such won't make it less criminal.
There's some truth in your words but the problem with living abroad is that being a US citizen has become a handicap. Double taxes, troubles with banks, the lack of agreements between US and Switzerland, etc. Unless one someday wants to live in the US, having a US passport only brings disadvantages.
I agree with a lot of what you have said and have been struggling these past months with our upcoming decisions because of FATCA. What would you recommend for all of us over here, who are either losing our access to bank accounts, or will in the near future? I think our choices are limited: 1. leave and return to the U.S., 2. give up our U.S. citizenship, or 3. for those who are dual citizens, try to hide the U.S. citizenship and wait to see what happens, hoping that FATCA will be somehow changed or reconsidered.
I, for one, do not want to be forced to return to the U.S. and although I do not want to close doors there forever, it may be the only option.
there is such a big difference to someone living in Switzerland with an account and needing a bank to have a credit rep...and someone (a politician) trying to hide money, tho you are correct no politician is going to try to make the differentiation as it's election season and grenades are necessary.
There an account of a US citizen renunciation in Switzerland posted today on the Canadian website IsaacBrockSociety.ca. Link is below:
http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2012/03/...#comment-51226
(see comment by "Lisa" dated September 1, 2012):
It appears that the US Embassy in Bern has increased its capacity and improved its US citizenship renuniciation process to deal with the high number of renunciants.
Don't ask your representative to renounce your citizenship. Go directly to the US Embassy in Bern.
Not an easy situation, but would you rather that a banking policy dictate whether or not you keep your citizenship?
Switzerland's banking industry has thrived for decades on hiding assets (read: tax evasion). Give the current economic climate, large nations such as the United States and Germany are going to have to look everywhere they can to collect revenues and meet budget shortfalls. That is the simple economic reality. Switzerland's banking industry never anticipated this, but it was forseeable that a global economic crisis would put pressure on countries and banks known engage in hiding assets for the purposes of tax evasion. They have only themselves to blame for lack of contingency preparation. And that gets to the heart of the point I'm making - you're faced right now with some tough decisions. What future harm could you incur if you renounce your citizenship? That is a serious question you cannot afford to take lightly.