Congress is in the process of developing important, transformational policy that will strengthen communities and advance opportunities for all Americans.  We Americans who live outside the United States must be included.  Those in the best position to persuade Congress to do that are constituents, so we are zooming them together to talk about tax reform for Americans abroad. 

Tax reform will happen when enough Americans abroad reach out to their members of Congress and demand it — that’s why we’re asking for your help.  We’ve prepared three tax action items for the coming week, as well as an advocacy guide, to make sure that our voices are heard back home. 

Democrats Abroad has written to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig about the proposal included, amongst many other measures, in the American Familes Plan Tax Compliance Agenda, to introduce reporting, by banks in the United States and not in the United States, on total cash inflows and outflows of the accounts of U.S. taxpayers.  For Americans abroad we fear it will expand the bank lockout, further restrict access to savings and investment vehicles and exacerbate stresses in dual-national families.  You can download our letter here.

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Further to perplexing advice about the Advanced Child Tax Credit published last week by the IRS, Democrats Abroad has written to the Treasury Secretary and IRS Commissioner seeking clarification about eligibility for the expanded Child Tax Credit established by Congress in the American Rescue Plan Act.  Some believe the advice indicates that American parents abroad have been deemed ineligible, but the language is not clear.  Read our letter here.  Watch the DemsAbroad Child Tax Credit Webinar here.

On Wednesday May 12 the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures (the key tax writing subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee) held a hearing on Funding our Nation's Priorities:  Reforming the Tax Code's Advantageous Treatment of the Wealthy.  Democrats Abroad has submitted this statement for the hearing record and is following up the comments and recommendations in our statement during hearings with Ways and Means Committee members.  We encourage tax reform advocates to make a submission of their own.

Democrats Abroad has published a submission in response to the Senate "Closing the Tax Gap: Lost Revenue from Non-Compliance and the Role of Offshore Tax Evasion" hearing.  Our submission references our research on the taxation of Americans abroad, includes comments from Americans abroad who contributed to our research and outlines the reform recommendations for the American Jobs Plan/Made in America Tax Plan that would restructure tax enforcement to focus on bad actors and not ordinary, law-abiding Americans abroad.  Click here to download our submission.   Supporters of Tax reform for Americans abroad are encouraged to submit their own statement.  Information is here.  Submissions are due by Tuesday May 25th.

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Democrats Abroad has published a submission in response to the Senate "Creating Opportunities Through a Fairer Tax Code" hearing.  Our submission outlines our tax reform priorities and recommendations for inclusion in the American Jobs Plan/Made in America Tax Plan and American Families Plan.  Click here to download our submission.   Supporters of Tax reform for Americans abroad are encouraged to submit their own statement.  Information is here.

Democrats Abroad has published a submission in response to an invitation from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to provide comment on the introduction of the new beneficial ownership reporting requirement which was enacted in the Corporate Transparency Act of 2021 (CTA).  Congress expects the new law to form an important part of the IRS tax enforcement system cracking down on the use of foreign financial accounts in tax secrecy jurisdictions to commit financial crimes.  Democrats Abroad believes the implementation of mandatory reporting of (currently anonymous) shell companies gives us an opening to ask for foreign financial account reporting modifications to ease the burden on Americans abroad.  Click here to download our submission.

Having a Congress that understands and supports the Americans abroad community is essential to building critical Congressional support for our reform recommendations. That's why we are working to increase membership in the Congressional Americans Abroad Caucus - a group of Congressional leaders motivated to address the unique issues of the Americans abroad community.

Invite your Congressperson to join the American Abroad Caucus TODAY.

Find a script, ways to get in touch and more details about the caucus and our caucus membership drive.  CLICK HERE if you are on a handheld device.  CLICK HERE to download our Americans Abroad Caucus Membership Drive Participation Guide. 

On Friday 23 April the IRS published a bulletin describing the 2 million payments they distributed in the 6th batch of Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) from the American Rescue Plan Act.  This is the U.S. Government's 3rd round of EIPs since the pandemic started: EIP1 = $1200 (Mar 2020); EIP2 = $600 (Dec 2020); EIP3 = $1400 (Feb 2021).  The IRS 23 April bulletin is copied in full at the very end of this post.

Democrats Abroad continues to hear from eligible Americans abroad waiting for their EIP(s) and wanting to contact the IRS.  The IRS has published this information about how to contact them from abroad.  The International Call Center contact numbers listed at this website, open Monday through Friday from 6am to 11pm Eastern time, are: 

Tel: 267-941-1000 (not toll-free)
Fax: 681-247-3101 (for international tax account issues only)

You have the best chance of being near the front of the queue if you begin dialing at 6am US Eastern time, though many have reported long wait times even if they started dialing early.

You might also try to reach the IRS with a question through your member of the House of Representatives.  Your Representative has constituent services officers, usually in the district office, to handle a range of constituent issues.  You can request that your Representative's Constituent Advocate access the Congressional Liaison to the IRS on your behalf.  You may be able to get in contact with the IRS in this way, though, again, many have reported to us that their outreach to constituent services staff was fruitless.  It's no magic bullet, but it is worth a try.  Here's how:

1.  If you do not know who your Representative is then use this link to find the name of your Representative by entering the zip code of your voting address.  

2.  Once you have the name of your Representative you can use this link to find the name of their Constituent Services Officers/Constituent Advocates.  Put your Rep's last name in the Search bar at the top of the page and hit return.  The search will produce a list of ALL of your Representatives staff members and their titles.  The staff member you are searching for will be identified as Constituent Advocate or Constituent Services Officer.  The phone number and email address of the Constituent Advocate is listed next to the person's name.