Taxation Task Force 2022 Midterms

NY12 House Candidate Q&A

Watch the recording from the Meet the Candidates event from July 7th! Click here to watch.

The New York 12th District House Democratic Primary is on Tuesday, August 23, 2022. Voter registration closed on July 5th. Your ballot must be postmarked by August 1, 2022 and received by August 12, 2022. Emailed ballots will go out on July 9th. We strongly recommend signing up for an emailed ballot so you can print and return as quickly as possible to meet the strict deadlines and to avoid delays due to the slow postal service. Be sure to return your ballot as soon as you receive it! To find out more about voting in the August 23th primary, go to VoteFromAbroad.org

About the New York 12th Congressional District

The new New York 12th district boundaries were approved on May 23rd which covers the Upper East and West sides of Manhattan. Click here to see a detailed map to see if you're a New York 12th district voter. The New York 12th District has one of the largest concentrations of Democrats living abroad and our votes could be the margin of victory in this race, so every vote from abroad matters!

Suraj Patel

Once elected, will you:

Join the Congressional Americans Abroad Caucus?

Yes

Co-sign these bills that will help Americans abroad?

Yes

Medicare portability: Would you support a pilot program allowing Americans currently receiving all or the majority of their Medicare benefits in the US to have the option of receiving these benefits overseas?

 Yes

Residency-based taxation (RBT): A majority of Americans abroad are working and middle class but are subject to excessively complex filing requirements and tax treatment more punitive than if we lived in the US. We suffer from unfair and outdated stereotypes that we are moving abroad to evade paying US taxes, when research confirms that most Americans move abroad to marry a non-US spouse or for work. Would you support adjustments to the tax code that align tax residency with physical residency, provided that they are resilient against abuse and are beneficial to the Internal Revenue Service? Such a change is commonly known and used in the rest of the world as “residency-based taxation.”

Yes

Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR): The reporting threshold of $10,000 has not been adjusted for inflation since its introduction in the 1970s. Would you support creating a higher reporting threshold for Americans living abroad and indexing the reporting threshold for inflation?

Yes

Global Intangible Low-taxed Income (GILTI) & Repatriation: Will you support an exemption for small American business owners from the erroneous filing and double taxation from the GILTI tax and retrospective relief from the repatriation tax?

Yes

Overall: Will you keep Americans abroad in mind when passing all legislation to ensure no further unintended consequences negatively impact Americans living outside the United States?

Yes

Jerry Nadler

Once elected, will you:

Join the Congressional Americans Abroad Caucus?

I am proud to already be a Member of this important caucus.

Co-sign these bills that will help Americans abroad?

I am an original cosponsor of H.R. 5723 and I have recently cosponsored H.R.5799, H.R.5800, and H.R.6057.

Medicare portability: Would you support a pilot program allowing Americans currently receiving all or the majority of their Medicare benefits in the US to have the option of receiving these benefits overseas?

Yes, I strongly support Americans abroad receiving all of their Medicare benefits. As you know, there are only three very limited situations when Medicare can pay for treatment Americans receive at foreign hospitals. This is unacceptable. I have instructed my staff to develop legislation to create a pilot program.

Residency-based taxation (RBT): A majority of Americans abroad are working and middle class but are subject to excessively complex filing requirements and tax treatment more punitive than if we lived in the US. We suffer from unfair and outdated stereotypes that we are moving abroad to evade paying US taxes, when research confirms that most Americans move abroad to marry a non-US spouse or for work. Would you support adjustments to the tax code that align tax residency with physical residency, provided that they are resilient against abuse and are beneficial to the Internal Revenue Service? Such a change is commonly known and used in the rest of the world as “residency-based taxation.”

As you likely know, residency based taxation is nearly universally relied on outside of the United States. It’s common sense that households should pay tax where they routinely consume public services. I support adjustments to the tax code that align tax residency with physical residency.

Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR): The reporting threshold of $10,000 has not been adjusted for inflation since its introduction in the 1970s. Would you support creating a higher reporting threshold for Americans living abroad and indexing the reporting threshold for inflation?

Yes, it’s nonsense that the number is not at the very least tied to inflation. Inflation alone would have increased that number by at least $65,000 (using the signing year of the Bank Secrecy Act that required FBAR).

Global Intangible Low-taxed Income (GILTI) & Repatriation: Will you support an exemption for small American business owners from the erroneous filing and double taxation from the GILTI tax and retrospective relief from the repatriation tax?

American small business owners should never be subjected to double taxation. I support this, and have asked my staff to look into legislation that will create an exemption.

Overall: Will you keep Americans abroad in mind when passing all legislation to ensure no further unintended consequences negatively impact Americans living outside the United States?

As a Member of the Americans Abroad Caucus and a cosponsor of all the legislation your organization listed, I will continue to advocate for Americans abroad. Even before receiving your questions, I had instructed my staff to take at least two legislative actions that pertain to your priorities, and I promise to pursue these actions and prioritize Americans abroad regardless of your endorsement decision.

Carolyn Maloney

Once elected, will you:

Join the Congressional Americans Abroad Caucus?

I am proud to be the founder and Chairwoman of the Americans Abroad Caucus. These issues have been a key priority for me and my district for over 10 years. In this Congress, we have solicited and locked down more cosponsors and more support from Congress than before. I am optimistic that this work will pay off, thanks in large part to the advocates who have worked out to secure even more support for this legislation. Together, we can and will make these changes happen.

Co-sign these bills that will help Americans abroad?

Two of these bills are work that I have proudly led for years, and the other two are ones that I have co-led with my colleagues who are active on these issues, Rep. Larsen, Rep. Beyer, along with our Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Titus and Rep. Salazar. We have promoted tax fairness for Americans abroad for years, and in the 117th Congress, we are seeing more support now than ever for all four of these important bills.

Medicare portability: Would you support a pilot program allowing Americans currently receiving all or the majority of their Medicare benefits in the US to have the option of receiving these benefits overseas?

Absolutely. My record on these issues is nothing if not strong, and if this is a priority for Democrats Abroad, I am happy to champion this effort and get my colleagues on the Caucus involved as well.

Residency-based taxation (RBT): A majority of Americans abroad are working and middle class but are subject to excessively complex filing requirements and tax treatment more punitive than if we lived in the US. We suffer from unfair and outdated stereotypes that we are moving abroad to evade paying US taxes, when research confirms that most Americans move abroad to marry a non-US spouse or for work. Would you support adjustments to the tax code that align tax residency with physical residency, provided that they are resilient against abuse and are beneficial to the Internal Revenue Service? Such a change is commonly known and used in the rest of the world as “residency-based taxation.”

The U.S. is one of the few developed nations that utilizes citizenship-based in lieu of residency-based taxation. We must evolve and adapt to a world where an increasing number of Americans are now global. That is the premise of the Tax Simplification for Americans Abroad Act, as well as the Commission on Americans Living Abroad Act. Both of these bills seek to remedy these issues, make the tax filing process less painful, and explore additional policy solutions to make sure that citizens can live abroad freely, unburdened by a bureaucratic and inefficient tax code.

Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR): The reporting threshold of $10,000 has not been adjusted for inflation since its introduction in the 1970s. Would you support creating a higher reporting threshold for Americans living abroad and indexing the reporting threshold for inflation?

I support this, and I will continue to push for moving the legislation mentioned above so that this problem can see a sensible solution. There is no reason that our banking system should be burdened by excessive reporting. As a leading member of the Financial Services Committee, I am confident when I say that our banking system relies on targeted, accurate reporting – not excessive overreporting of the daily activities of lawful citizens abroad. My bill, the Overseas Financial Access Act, will make adjust the tax code to make it easier for foreign banks to comfortably work with US citizens abroad, adjusting the language as to not penalize citizens. This bill is under the jurisdiction of the Ways and Means Committee that oversees taxation, so my staff has been reaching out to their Committee and a few key members on it, to see what we can do to move this bill through.

Global Intangible Low-taxed Income (GILTI) & Repatriation: Will you support an exemption for small American business owners from the erroneous filing and double taxation from the GILTI tax and retrospective relief from the repatriation tax?

I support this initiative, and I think that modifying the GILTI provisions within the tax code are long overdue in general. These issues got some traction under Build Back Better, and they remain a priority. I am optimistic that bipartisan adjustments to GILTI are on the table for us when we reconsider a reconciliation package, and I am going to continue making this issue a priority when those negotiations commence.

Overall: Will you keep Americans abroad in mind when passing all legislation to ensure no further unintended consequences negatively impact Americans living outside the United States?

I absolutely will. I am proud to have worked with the team here at Democrats Abroad on advocating for these important changes, and I am so happy to have worked with Rebecca Lammers and the wonderful team advocating on these issues. When we first started this Caucus in the 111th Congress, it only had 25 members. Now we’re up to 34 and counting. When I first led the Overseas Americans Financial Access Act, it had only one cosponsor. Now in the 117th Congress, we’re at 10, and we’re working on getting the whole caucus onboard.  

By the end of September, my goal is to increase the number of Republicans in both the caucus and on our leading legislation to increase the bipartisan support, clearing a smooth path for the bill moving in the Ways and Means Committee and then on the House floor under suspension of the rules, which is a straightforward path to passing a bill when it already has solid bipartisan support. We are well on our way to doing this. We must continue to work hard, promote these issues, and secure support for our bills, and I am so grateful for the work that this team has done in advancing these issues through their advocacy. I am proud to be a leader on these issues, and I look forward to continuing this important work going forward.

*Democrats Abroad has not endorsed any candidate(s) and is committed to remaining neutral for the duration of the primary. ALL candidates for this race were invited to answer the list of questions. Candidate answers are published in the order received.