1. FIND YOUR HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE'S WASHINGTON D.C. OFFICE PHONE NUMBER

Click here and search for the last address you lived at in the U.S. or your U.S. voting address (if you've never lived in the U.S., use the last address your American parent(s) lived).

 

CALL THE OFFICE

Call the office because calling is generally more effective than emailing to get the correct name. When the receptionist answers the phone say the following:

Hi, my name is [insert your name here], I am a constituent and I would like to know who is in charge of taxation issues on the Congress[wo]man’s legislative team. Would it be possible to get his or her email address?

The person on the phone should then give you the email address for the correct person of staff in charge of tax legislation.

Note: If you try calling and can’t get through, contact [email protected] and we’ll see if we have the contact information.

 

2. COME UP WITH AN AGENDA

Ultimately, this meeting should be about highlighting your specific issues as a constituent living abroad, so take the time to think about a few problems you want to bring up. Examples include:

• Double taxation
• Overly complex tax filing
• FATCA, problems opening/maintaining bank account
• Difficulty saving and investing abroad
• GILTI and the transition tax

Don't be afraid to ask for help, you don't have to do a call alone. Volunteers from the Taxation Task Force are able and willing to attend the meeting with you. You can even arrange the call and then allow our subject matter experts to run the meeting for you, if that's something you prefer. It is always beneficial to have at least a few people on the call, "strength in numbers", to help demonstrate support for the issue. Email us at [email protected] to get the ball rolling.

3. RESEARCH YOUR CONGRESS[WO]MAN

It is important to do a bit of research to see if your representative is a member of any relevant committees, and get a feel for what positions he/she may have on issues related to taxation and financial access. 

Think about how your problems as an American abroad tie into their positions. For example, if your representative is interested in small business and entrepreneurship, you should place special focus on GILTI and the transition tax if you’ve been impacted by these taxes. If your representative is concerned about retirement/social security, you should emphasize the punitive treatment of foreign savings and retirement accounts, etc. 

4. PREPARE THE MATERIAL YOU WANT TO DISCUSS

Now that you have an idea of what you want to discuss, you need to prepare some material in advance so the legislative assistant can review it. If you are unsure of where to start, take a look at the Democrats Abroad tax report. Read the report and pick out which parts are relevant for you. If you need some presentation ideas, take a look at this one. Furthermore, if you are not confident in holding a presentation yourself, email TTF ([email protected]) and ask for their support.

5. SEND AN EMAIL TO THE TAX STAFFER

Send the following e-mail to the legislative assistant and make sure to attach the material you have prepared:

 

To: Tax staff email

Cc: [email protected] (this is very important, don't forget to cc us so that we know that you contacted your reps! This helps us track who contacted whom.)

Subject: Meeting to Discuss Tax Issues for Americans Abroad

Dear [Tax staff's first and last name],

My name is [your name], I am a constituent from [city and state where you vote] living in [country you live in].

[Please add your own personal story about how you've been impacted by tax and financial access issues. The more personal, the better.]

Would it be possible to schedule a meeting this week or next week to discuss the wide range of tax problems facing Americans abroad? Please review the material attached to this e-mail for further details about the issues I would like to discuss with you.

Thanks,

[Your name]

If you do not receive a response within 48 hours, call the office (preferably right when they open the telephone line at 9 AM EST) and say the following:

Hi, my name is [insert your name here], I am a constituent and I am trying to get in touch with [staffer’s name] in order to book a meeting to discuss the taxation of Americans abroad. Would it be possible to speak with him/her?

 

The receptionist will most likely say that the staffer is unavailable to take a call. They might ask you for your name and voting address to confirm that you are a constituent. 

Tell the receptionist that you have e-mailed the staffer to book a meeting but have not yet received a response. Ask the receptionist if the tax staffer can please respond to your request for a meeting.

Immediately after the call, send a follow-up e-mail to the tax staffer:

To: Tax staff email

Cc: [email protected]

Subject: Follow-up on Meeting to Discuss Tax Issues for Americans Abroad

Dear [Tax staff's first and last name],

I have just called Congress[wo]man [name of your rep]'s office to see if you would be available for a meeting to discuss the tax issues facing Americans abroad. Do you have time for a call this week or next week?

Sincerely,

[Your name]
Constituent from [city, state]
Lives in [country]

6. PREPARING FOR THE MEETING

• Prepare to tell your personal story of tax problems and financial access issues. The more detailed, the better. It is much easier for them to understand an issue when they have a constituent (AKA you) concrete example of the problem. They are also more motivated to work on the issue if you’re able to clearly articulate the problem.

WHAT TO SAY IN A MEETING

• Always be respectful. Staff are humans, just like everyone else. They have families and lives just like the rest of us. We know that the situation you find yourself in is frustrating, but it’s not the tax staffer’s fault and he/she is an entrypoint for affecting legislative change.
• Aim to get the staffer to speak more than you during the call. If 
• Ask the tax staffer if he/she has lived abroad or knows anyone (friends/family) who live abroad. Ask if he/she is familiar with some of the tax problems we’re dealing with. If the tax staffer has heard about these problems, ask what they know. This will help you gauge their knowledge in order to keep the discussion at the right level.
• Give one or two concrete “asks” to your representative. Examples include requesting the tax staffer to ask the Congress[wo]man to join the Congressional Americans Abroad Caucus or ask him/her to co-sponsor a specific piece of legislation.

WHAT *NOT* TO SAY IN A MEETING

• Do not bring up politics. Keep the discussion focused on policy and your specific problems as a constituent.
• Do not use the term “citizenship-based taxation”. This term automatically associates taxation with a patriotic duty as an American citizen, so using it only makes it more difficult to make your case against it.
• Do not bring up “residency-based taxation” yourself. Instead, guide the discussion in that direction, if they know about RBT they will bring it up themselves.
  
• Do not spend the whole meeting venting your frustrations of the problems on the staffer. If you spend the whole meeting speaking and the staffer doesn't get a word in, you might temporarily feel better, but this doesn't get laws passed and is not an effective use of your time.
• Don’t say “Americans abroad experience x, y, and z”. Congressional staff serve constituents, not Americans abroad. They will prioritize what you want over what Americans abroad want.
• Don't tell a friend's story unless your friend joins you for the call and is able to tell the story themselves. Congressional staff want to hear your story and care about what you want as a constituent.

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!