The U.S. Department of State (DOS) estimates that more than six million U.S. citizens live outside the United States. But no one knows for certain—and it's likely the numbers are higher than the DOS estimate
February 18, 2010
/** */February 16, 2010
Expatriation: Don’t Believe the Official Statistics
/** * */In a recent posting , I wrote how and why a U.S. citizen or long-term resident might want to expatriate; i.e., sever all legal ties and responsibilities to the U.S.
February 8, 2010
Obama Wants to Perform a "Root Canal" on Your Offshore Investments [Part I]
/** * */Yes, I know you think it belongs to you. But, Obama and his inside-the-beltway friends know better than you what to do with your money. And, after all, they really need it. You know, with a projected $1.6 trillion deficit and all that. On February 1, the Obamites released their financial fiasco for fiscal year 2011, otherwise known as the proposed federal budget. A key portion of the budget is the revenue proposals, contained in a document referred to as the Greenbook , because—surprise! —It’s printed with a green cover. If you suffer from insomnia, download the Greenbook from the Treasury Web site and spend a few hours looking it over. You’ll save on your Ambien prescription. And, you’ll gain fascinating insights into vital national priorities like the “Inland Waterways Trust Fund.” But I digress. The real point of the Greenbook is to outline how the Obamites’ plans on how they intend to forcibly extract money from you, a concept otherwise know as “taxation.” Think of it as sort of a root canal, but on your money, not your mouth. Since my consulting practice focuses on international tax, I spent a recent sleepless night reading up on the Treasury’s modest proposals to “Combat Under-Reporting of Income on Accounts and Entities in Offshore Jurisdictions.” Here’s a summary—in as plain English as I can muster—of their proposals. “Require Increased Reporting on Certain Foreign Accounts.” Basically, this would impose a 30% tax on many types of U.S-source income to foreign financial institutions (FFIs). The definition of a FFI is very broad, and includes “certain entities engaged primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting, or trading in securities, partnership interests, commodities, or any interests in the foregoing.” In any words, “hedge funds.” And that’s not all. The rules “would be designed so as not to disrupt ordinary and customary market transactions.” Well, of course! H.R.
