A dilemma, alerting the ‘accidental American’

Thank you for those links TheOAP.  I do notice that they all charge a membership fee though.  Don't fancy having to pay to have my voice represented re: taxation, think I'll stick with DA.

I’m afraid they do! But don’t give up on ACA. They publish all of their efforts on their site, and seem to be the leaders in most initiatives.

Forgive my naivety; does the Democrats Abroad actually challenge members of their own party in Congress relating to these issues? My Senator is Carl Levin who was, I think, one of the strongest supporters of FATCA.

I’m afraid they do! But don’t give up on ACA. They publish all of their efforts on their site, and seem to be the leaders in most initiatives.

Forgive my naivety; does the Democrats Abroad actually challenge members of their own party in Congress relating to these issues? My Senator is Carl Levin who was, I think, one of the strongest supporters of FATCA.

The politicians were grandstanding (who'd have thunk it) and didn't think about the consequences of FATCA for ordinary tax paying US citizens abroad who are now caught up in the net cast for "FAT CAt" tax dodgers. Once again taxing on the basis of residency would avoid these issues for the US expat. Sorry to sound like a broken record, but the US could learn a lot from the rest of the world when it comes to tax rules.

I am sure all of us agree with you. 

I don't remember anyone here being excited about filing our taxes every year, but none of us are members of Congress.

The US has a genuine problem with US residents who evade taxes using foreign accounts. The UK has the same problem but it also has a problem with rich citizens who claim residence in some tax haven. The US worldwide taxation rule avoids this problem and I can see why they would be reluctant to move to a territorial tax system. In fact, there's been some talk of the UK following the US in this.

There is a solution. The US could suspend taxation of citizens who can show they are resident and fully subject to taxation in a non-tax haven country. I'm sure that the IRS could verify this with HMRC and similar. There's already tax treaties which take care of who taxes what. I don't think this would cost the US much if anything. It's fair and it's symmetric. It doesn't open up loopholes for tax evaders. 

Come on - do the right thing, Senator Levin.

The last time I tried to contact my senator (Clinton, NY) about these issues it was difficult. The website said not to send letters by post (bombs, anthrax) and you couldn't send an email through their site without a zipcode. The only thing that worked was a fax. I never received any replies.

Hello Marty,

For anyone having similar difficulties, or who may need to know how to go about writing, Emailing, or faxing their Representatives, the following is an informative page from ACA:

http://www.aca.ch/joomla/images/pdfs/wrcong.pdf

One way is by reading the notes on your US passport. 

With regard to how one would have been informed of the US taxation policy in times gone by:  I just looked at my old US passport, issued in 1972 when I first went to the UK and also the one I was using when we married -- and there is nothing in there about taxation. I haven't yet gone through them all to find out when they did start adding that note.

With regard to how one would have been informed of the US taxation policy in times gone by:  I just looked at my old US passport, issued in 1972 when I first went to the UK and also the one I was using when we married -- and there is nothing in there about taxation. I haven't yet gone through them all to find out when they did start adding that note.

Mine from 1998 has the note about taxes & worldwide income.

With regard to how one would have been informed of the US taxation policy in times gone by:  I just looked at my old US passport, issued in 1972 when I first went to the UK and also the one I was using when we married -- and there is nothing in there about taxation. I haven't yet gone through them all to find out when they did start adding that note.

I’ve decided it’s time to put away the Christmas decorations, so whilst I was in the loft/place where the water tanks are/attic I rummaged through the files and found my old passports. I also found the letter informing me of ILR. It was from (the) IND.

The oldest passport was issued in 1976 (the large bi-centennial collector’s edition). It states:
1. I cannot travel to Cambodia, Cuba, North Korea, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam. Funny how times had changed. In 1968 the US Army offered me a free, all expenses paid tour of South Vietnam with no requirement of a passport.
2. Loss of Nationality if I took an oath to a foreign state.
3. A Warning to Dual Nationals.
4. For the Treasury: a note that I could not import goods of Southern Rhodesian origin, in addition to the above. But not a word about US taxes.

The next passport was issued in 1981. It states:
1. As above, but there was no longer a ‘Warning’ to dual nationals.
2. And still not a dicky bird about US taxes.

The next passport was issued in 1986 (for 10 years!). It states:
1. As above, but no more Rhodesia. It was replaced by goods of Nicaraguan origin.
2. Still no word on US taxes.

The next passport was issued in 1996. It states:
1. Nicaraguan goods have been replaced by Libyan, Iraqi, Yugoslav, Haitian, and Iranian goods.
2. A whole, dedicated paragraph concerning the IRS, and the requirement to file US taxes for those resident abroad.

So, no excuses from 1996 onwards at least.

Thanks for that detective work, theOAP. I didn't think there was any warning about taxation back in the "olden" days, although I believe it was the official policy. Don't know how they would have expected you to know.
[I was back in the USA by 1995 (and paying taxes here)]