All posts tagged Washington

American Citizens Abroad Wants Your Taxation Testimonials

by waybeyondthebeltway on September 25, 2010 in Americans Abroad, Taxes, Washington with 6 Comments

The Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Taxpayers Advocate Service (TAS) has developed an online service for reporting systematic tax filing problems, SAMS (Systemic Advocacy Management System). TAS cannot address tax policy issues, which is the domain of Congress, but can address practical issues related to filing which affect groups of taxpayers, Overseas Americans being one such group.

Comments submitted can only be submitted on behalf of a group of taxpayers and not by individual taxpayers.  American Citizens Abroad (ACA) has already submitted a report concerning the IRS’ across the board application of penalties with regard to omissions and errors in FBAR (FBAR stands for Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) filing ($10,000 per instance or 20% of the highest account value) regardless of whether of not taxes were owed.  This is a severe interpretation of the FBAR regulations that is causing catastrophic financial repercussions for some individuals.

It is important to register complaints with SAMS because these become official communication on which the NTA (National Taxpayers Association) can build a case with the IRS for modifications.

ACA is urging Americans overseas to contact us with their testimonials and stories related to overseas tax filing and problems related to IRS and Treasury reporting so that we can submit comments on behalf of overseas American taxpayers.  Please forward us your comments, problems and concerns on tax filing issues, increased costs and complexities of filing, inconsistencies in filing requirements, paperwork, as well as, cases of double taxation, levying of penalties and fees.

If you have a case to report please do so by visiting our website input page at http://www.aca.ch/persexp.php.  You will find a prompt for this link on the ACA homepage under “News Headlines,” Problems with banking and taxes.

ACA will all use these testimonials to advance this issue to the Americans Abroad Caucus and the US Congress.

Constitution Day

by waybeyondthebeltway on September 25, 2010 in Congress & Elections, General Interest, Government, Presidency, Representation, Washington with No comments

Better late than never… Friday, September 17 was Constitution Day, if you missed it, take a moment to read this excellent post by two American educators living abroad, Marina Mecl and Gladys Cagle Pieniazek. As Marina and Gladys point out, Consitution Day is a good time to read through this historic and vibrant document which is the embodiment of the founding fathers vision for our country. Given today’s political climate and the lack of civil public discourse on public policy, it’s also important to remember that this historic consensus was reached only after much heated debate and compromise.

Obama-Biden Citizen’s Briefing Book

by waybeyondthebeltway on January 18, 2009 in Americans Abroad, General Interest, Government, Presidency, Public Service with 1 Comment

Tapping the power of the Internet in another step towards good government, openness and inclusiveness, the Obama-Biden Administration is offering citizens an unprecedented opportunity to provide input into policy. The Citizen’s Briefing Book allows individuals to share their ideas “on any issue facing the new administration, then rate or comment on other ideas. The best rated ideas will be gathered into a Citizen’s Briefing Book to be delivered to President Obama after he is sworn in.”

Take a look and get involved.

What’s wrong with Washington?

by waybeyondthebeltway on September 28, 2008 in Americans Abroad with No comments

As if in direct answer to this question, Political Wire posted a story about New York Times and Newsweek coverage of Senator John McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis and payments made to his firm by Freddie Mac. Davis’ firm was reportedly paid $15,000 a month by Freddie Mac according to the New York Times. What’s worse, the payments only ended last in August.  Freddie Mac was seized by the federal government shortly thereafter. The Times reports that the disclosure of the payments contradicts McCain’s statement over the weekend that  Davis “had no involvement with the company for the last several years.”

Surprisingly, but unfortunately not shockingly, it’s not known what Davis did for the money. Newsweek reports the payments were approved by Hollis McLoughlin, Freddie Mac’s senior vice president for external relations, because Davis “was John McCain’s campaign manager and it was felt you couldn’t say no.”

Changing the Narrative

by waybeyondthebeltway on April 14, 2008 in Americans Abroad, Congress & Elections, Washington with No comments

The narrative about Americans abroad is too often that of the tax evader, criminal or general malcontent. Naturally, this is an inaccurate stereotype and, therefore, not a representative description of most of the +6 million Americans living, working and serving overseas.

So how do we change the narrative? What are your stories of Americans abroad: their patriotism, their example and their quiet diplomacy? Beyond Borders: Portraits of American Women from around the World is step in the right direction. It is a project celebrating American women living abroad who demonstrate “the positive side of the American spirit and culture.”

If you have a story to tell, let us know, or better yet, let your Senators and Representatives know. If you don’t know already, you can quickly find your Senators and your Representative at Congress.org. Alternatively, you can also find your Representative by visiting www.house.gov and typing in the zip code (in the top left corner of the page) of your last place of residence in the U.S., and your Senators by visiting www.senate.gov and selecting your last state of residence from the drop-down list at the top right of the page.

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