FBAR/FATCA Task Force meeting with regulators yields valuable feedback

During the 2014 Democrats Abroad Congressional door knock, the FBAR/FATCA Task Force scheduled a comprehensive slate of meetings with regulators and legislators in order to advance our recommended reforms to the law’s implementation rules.  Meetings included the following groups:  Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation; the Senate Committee on Finance; the IRS; the IRS’s National Taxpayer Advocate; the Department of Treasury; the General Accountability Office; and myriad Congressmen including Senators sitting on the Senate Finance Committee Carl Levin, Bob Casey, Bill Nelson, Bob Menendez and Ben Cardin and ranking Democrats on the House Ways & Means Committee Sandy Levin and Charlie Rangel.  

Democrats Abroad Position on FATCA

• Democrats Abroad supports strong policy that discourages and apprehends tax cheats.

• Congress passed FATCA to bring an end to illegal tax avoidance by Americans in the US who use overseas financial accounts to secret untaxed earnings out of the country.

• But Congress did not fully anticipate the impact the regulations would have on overseas Americans and we, therefore, are now burdened with a tax reporting obligation that treats us like suspected tax cheats and money launderers.

• Fortunately for overseas Americans, we can address the unintended adverse consequences of this important piece of anti-tax evasion legislation by reforming the regulations that implement it.