We need your help this week. You can really make a difference!
Nearly 7,000 Americans abroad responded to our tax survey in 2022. Now we need to make every Member of Congress aware of our findings in order to advance our advocacy goals. This will only take you an estimated 20 minutes, and it is much easier than you think!
Step 1: Find your two Senators’ and one Representative’s phone numbers
- Click here and search for your last US address or your US voting address, or your parents last US address if you have never lived in the US.
- Grab the Washington D.C. phone numbers (area code 202) for all three members.
Step 2: Call their offices!
- Call first, in order to identify the correct person to send your email to.
- When receptionist answers, read the following script:
Hi, my name is [name], I am a constituent and I would like to send a copy of a recently released report on tax problems for Americans abroad to the person in charge of tax on the Congress[wo/man]'s legislative team. This is an issue that matters to me since I live abroad in [country]. Could you tell me his or her email address so I can send a copy of the report?
- Call during Washington D.C. office hours (9am to 5pm ET, weekdays) to increase your chances of success.
- Do not leave voicemail. After three unsuccessful attempts, email us at [email protected] and we'll see if we can help.
- Call your House representative first if you don’t have time for all three.
- Minimum credit (usually about $5) can get you connected through any internet device to reduce costs if you cannot make an international call.
Step 3: Send a separate email to each Member’s tax staff
• Copy, paste, and customize the following text to a separate email for each contact. For Democrats, attach the full report and one-page summary. For Republicans, attach this report and this one-page summary.
To: Tax staff email
Bcc: [email protected] (this is very important, don't forget to bcc us so that we know that you contacted your reps! This helps us track who contacted whom.)
Dear [Tax staff's first and last name],
My name is [your name], I am a proud constituent living in [city and country you live in].
Please find attached a one pager and copy of a recently released report on Americans abroad tax and financial access issues. I would like to connect you with the authors of the report who can best explain the issues, what is your earliest availability for a zoom call?
[Please add your own personal story about how you've been impacted by tax and financial access issues. The more personal, the better.]
Solutions to these issues of concern to the estimated nine million(!) Americans abroad are non-controversial and bipartisan. With the 118th Congress off to a fresh start, fixing these problems could garner bipartisan support.
Thanks,
[Your name]
If you can't send an attachment with your email, use these links to share the report:
Democrat Full report: https://www.democratsabroad.org/taxreportpdf
Democrat One pager: https://www.democratsabroad.org/taxreportonepagerpdf
Republican Full report: https://tinyurl.com/ExpatTaxReport2022
Republican One pager: https://tinyurl.com/ExpatTaxOnePager
If you do not receive a reply within 24 hours, send a follow-up email.
- Ask for confirmation that they received your email for their records (1-2 minutes of your time).
- Message them on their social media platforms to help bump your email up to the top of their inbox.
- If the Congressional staff requests additional information or wants to speak to you about the report but you're not confident in doing this, reply that writers of the report will be happy to speak with them (forward us the email and then we'll advise you on next steps)
- If you receive any reply, please forward it to [email protected] so we know how the member's office responds.
Thank you so much for helping us with this very important work.
- If you have any questions on this action, please email us at [email protected].
- Feel free to share this webpage with anyone you think is interested in helping fix the tax problems for Americans abroad!