Download a template you can use here.
Do you think that the U.S. system of extraterritorial taxation “works quite well?” That’s what one of the witnesses at a recent hearing of the Senate Fiance Committee claimed. (Testimony of David Gamage, video here at 1:16:50).
On 27 April 2021 the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on “”Creating Opportunity Through a Fairer Tax System.” You can read more about the hearing and the experts providing testimony in our previous post. As mentioned in that post, there is an opportunity to give the Committee your feedback on the impact of U.S. international tax policy on the lives of Americans who live outside of the U.S.
More specifically, this is an opportunity for you to refute Gamage’s claim and explain why the current system not only does not “work quite well,” but is profoundly dysfunctional.
SEAT has submitted a statement to the Committee. You can read it here. We encourage you to provide your own personal statement. Unless Congress hears from actual Americans living overseas, they will certainly continue to ignore the effects of U.S. international tax policy on the lives of US citizens around the globe. If you don’t know how to get started, you can download one of our templates and edit it to fit your personal situation. Your submission must be received no later than 10 May 2021 – so don’t delay!
How You Can Submit A Statement
SEAT has prepared a template to assist you in drafting your submission to the Committee. Download and edit it to add your name and address as well as any further detail you’d like to provide the Committee on how U.S. extraterritorial taxation is affecting you personally. Personal stories have much more impact than form letters, so we encourage you to edit the template. It is very important that the Committee receive a large number of submissions, so even if you don’t want to add your own story, please make a submission.
Once you’ve downloaded and edited one of the templates listed above, send it via email to Statementsfortherecord@finance.senate.gov. Be sure you have followed the submission guidelines at https://www.finance.senate.gov/hearings/creating-opportunity-through-a-fairer-tax-system and in our previous post. Specifically, your submission must be a single spaced Word document not to exceed 10 pages with your full name and address on the front page. It must be received by the Committee no later than 10 May 2021.
The current US imposition of taxes and reporting requirements on US citizens who are citizens and residents of other countries is nothing less than financial slavery and a financial Berlin Wall. The US should stand against slavery and tyranny in all its forms instead of being an enforcer of such outlandish laws. Just because it is a law and has been so does not make it right just like how slavery was the law of the land prior to the emancipation proclamation. It is time for a new emancipation proclamation in the form of financial freedom to those currently unfortunate to be have been born in the US but do not live within its borders. Just as I was following orders was not accepted by those during trial in Nuremberg those US officials currently pushing this unjust and unequal policy should be prosecuted for their actions once this horrendous policy of citizenship based taxation is repealed. Let there be no mistake history is not on the side of those who favor oppression and one day Americans will be free to live and invest locally and not have to live in fear of the US government.
This is how I began my submission to the Senate Finance Committee:
Imagine you were born in Canada, but moved to Texas as a young person, obtained US citizenship and built your family life and career in Texas. You love your life in Texas, but there is one BIG catch: you have to pay higher Canadian tax rates on your income, often on top of the taxes you are already paying in the US, for services such as Canadian nationalized health care that you never personally benefit from. You can’t take advantage of US tax programs such as 401K plans and education deductions because they are not “Canadian approved” programs, so you have to pay even higher tax to Canada on the income you are supposed to be able to deduct. Furthermore, Texas banks have to report all of your financial records to the Canadian tax authorities, and as a result very few banks will accept you as a client, so you can’t shop around for a better mortgage or a higher savings interest rate. On top of this, jobs in which you would have bank authority or signatory power don’t want to hire you even if you are the best candidate because all of the organization’s financial information would have to be sent to the Canadian financial authorities. Finally, you are effectively barred from investing in any kind of mutual funds or investment instruments in Texas because they are treated by Canada as “offshore” accounts overseen by the Canadian Financial Crimes Unit, with onerous reporting requirements and punitive tax rates. All of this because you were born in Canada, and because of your place of origin you are treated differently from / more punitively than other Americans—even those born in other countries who are living in the US. Then imagine that your repeated calls to change the system to something more equitable were systematically ignored by both Canadian and US authorities. Sound unfair? This is the reality I have to contend with every day as a “US person” residing in Switzerland.