DNC Chair Tom Perez Praises Democrats Abroad for Record Overseas Turnout in Midterms ‘When we have unity of purpose, that’s how we win’ In an upbeat address in London last week, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Tom Perez saluted Democrats Abroad for mobilizing record numbers of overseas voters in the midterms, which saw a blue wave sweep the nation up and down the ballot. But he also warned that “our democracy is still on fire,” and called upon overseas Democrats to continue being “first responders” in the fight for American values. Quoting a song from Hamilton, Perez said, “History has its eyes on us. This is one of those where-were-you moments that someday our grandchildren will study,” alongside such dark chapters in our history as the Chinese Exclusion Act, the internment of Japanese Americans and the McCarthy era. But he stressed that what all these movements have in common is they ended — and they ended thanks to Americans who harnessed “the collective power of ‘we’.” “On the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, AL, Obama reminded us that the most important word in our democracy is that simple, two-letter word, ‘we’,” he said, noting the importance of collective action in the abolitionist, suffragette, labor, civil rights and LBGTQ movements — and most recently, the midterms. “What happened last November didn’t happen in a vacuum,” he said. “It was the collective power of ‘we’ at work. “We had historic gains in House that we haven’t seen since Watergate…but it’s not just the House that brings me here with optimism. The last time Democrats won this many governor seats was 1982. We also had a net gain in state legislative races of almost 400 seats. That’s why these elections matter.” However, he stressed, with the government still in the throes of its longest shutdown ever, and the inhumane policy of family separation still blighting our borders, the fight for American security, prosperity and values is far from over. “We have to continue to climb the mountain…but I firmly believe that first, two-letter word in the constitution is going to be the word that brings us back.” Looking ahead to the 2020 presidential race, Perez praised the deep and diverse field of Democratic candidates and affirmed the DNC’s commitment to ensuring a fair primary process for all. “We must never conflate unity with unanimity. So I’m not asking you to agree with everything in our platform,” he said. “But what I’m asking you to do is to recognize that what unites us far exceeds what our differences are. When we have that unity of purpose, that’s how we win.” To learn about Democrats Abroad’s efforts to get out the vote, click here. To volunteer for DA, click here. Story by Meghan Feeks, DA UK correspondent

Democrats Abroad welcomes the introduction of H.R. 7358, the Tax Fairness for Americans Abroad Act. H.R. 7358 is not a perfect bill and, coming on the eve of adjournment, it cannot be given serious consideration or debate. That said, it is a milestone for advocates of a switch from the current U.S. system of Citizenship Based Taxation to the globally-accepted norm of Residency Based Taxation (RBT), and raises to attention important issues that Congress must address with hearings in the 116th Congress.  The U.S. currently taxes its citizens on their worldwide income, even if they are living abroad.  Under RBT, Americans living outside of the U.S. would continue to report their U.S.-sourced income to the Internal Revenue Service but would report income generated in their country of residence – and pay tax on it – only to the local tax authority. Americans living abroad would no longer report income generated in their country of residence to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Democrats Abroad has supported a switch to RBT since we were founded over 50 years ago.  Over the last two years Democrats Abroad worked in collaboration with other organizations representing Americans abroad to lobby Congress in support of RBT.  We are pleased that we now have a framework for building a RBT model that we believe could achieve these important things – facilitate participation by those living abroad temporarily, for decades or for an indeterminate period of time; include provisions for all Americans abroad to transition into “non-residency” status for tax purposes; be revenue-neutral to the federal government; and contain anti-tax avoidance mechanisms to prevent abuse by U.S. taxpayers who are not bona fide residents abroad. We look forward to working with the 116th Congress to develop and introduce a bona fide RBT bill with public hearings into issues impacting Americans abroad ahead of discussions on specific reforms such as the introduction of RBT. Democrats Abroad and others have kept potential RBT bill co-sponsors apprised so that they are not at a standing start in January 2019.  We are committed to picking up where we left off and carrying on with our work to make the U.S. tax code fairer to Americans living abroad. This not only includes working to introduce RBT, but also to reform the GOP Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to include “transition tax” relief for American owners of small to medium sized businesses abroad and to exempt from FATCA reporting the financial accounts of bona fide Americans abroad in our countries of residence.