Could American expats lose their passports on January 1, 2016?

[edward222]

Credit to: Tax News : Could American expats lose their passports on January 1, 2016?

Proposed measure would allow US to revoke passport if individual has over $50,000 unpaid taxes

The 8 million Americans living overseas should “ensure their financial affairs are in order and compliant” before the New Year, or face having their passports revoked, warns a financial advisory organisation.

The company – deVere Group, which has 80,000 mainly expatriate clients globally – said this after it was reported that the US Congress is preparing to bring in a law to take passports from Americans who owe tax. It is likely to pass into law in December and come into effect on January 1.

hhhmmmm they are getting serious...

[HabBear]

We can't be too surprised. The US government is deeply in debt, corporations are relocating or merging with companies based in countries with more favorable tax laws, and spending isn't going down. The government is going to need to find more and more ways to collect more of the taxes owed.

There's a smarter way to handle your tax situation - and not paying them is not it. But there are accounts and other ways to shelter some money from taxes (not all however.) Take advantage of these options while you can!

Oh and the Presidential election is likely to influence this suspected regulatory move heavily, i doubt it'll happen by Jan 1, 2016.

[newcoins1978]

The US system taxes is a joke. There aare lawyers and actually smart people who are able to avoid paying taxes by law.

Why would they wait until the amount that they have to pay off is up until $50000? That's way too high to wait to provoke anything at all.

[botany]

The article doesn't say anything about the reasons why there are unpaid taxes - these taxes could have been disputed in court.
Would the government still have the power to revoke passports?

[HabBear]

The article doesn't say anything about the reasons why there are unpaid taxes - these taxes could have been disputed in court.
Would the government still have the power to revoke passports?

The US charges, err taxes, Expats heavily for income they earn outside the US.  Imagine how thrilled you'd be to work outside your home country, get taxed by the country you work in AND get taxed by your home country. And we're not talking about people who do work in a foreign country for a few months or a year. We're talking about people who have moved to another country, don't maintain any life if the US any longer.

It's insulting.

Anyway, several US citizens have made news for renouncing their citizenship simply because they don't want to be double taxed. No the US government is kind of making the same move in an attempt to collect on taxes legally owed.

[valdex]

Sounds ridiculous for me.

[mixan]

If they have over $50,000 in taxes unpaid, then I guess they would all migrate to Mexico. Is this the reverse of what the pollsters are trying to do the cross border illegals?
I know you can't pass between any countrie's borders with more than $10,000. So this is in extreme cases of tax evasion.

[NorrisK]

Maybe it is time for them to leave this bleeding country anyway? Find their safe haven in china?

The migration of people to the new wealthy world seems to be starting with stuff like this.

[botany]

The article doesn't say anything about the reasons why there are unpaid taxes - these taxes could have been disputed in court.
Would the government still have the power to revoke passports?

The US charges, err taxes, Expats heavily for income they earn outside the US.  Imagine how thrilled you'd be to work outside your home country, get taxed by the country you work in AND get taxed by your home country. And we're not talking about people who do work in a foreign country for a few months or a year. We're talking about people who have moved to another country, don't maintain any life if the US any longer.

It's insulting.

Anyway, several US citizens have made news for renouncing their citizenship simply because they don't want to be double taxed. No the US government is kind of making the same move in an attempt to collect on taxes legally owed.

I have been reading about this, and it seems that most taxes paid in the host country can be offset. While that is some relief, the concept of taxing your citizens living abroad does seem strange.

An excellent article on this can be found here
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-04-24/end-the-american-expat-tax

[gentlemand]

So citizenship depends on keeping your subscriptions paid up? What are said people supposed to do if they become stateless? At this rate the world's population will be living on barges in international waters pining at the unreachable lands they were born in.

[EternalWingsofGod]

If the expat has a passport equivilent as useful as the American passport then their is no reason to keep it just to be taxed based on where you live outside the country. In a sense it's more of a vanity tax than anything else because none of that money is used to help the expat, unless it affects their social service pensions etc, or they have a tax-sharing agreement with that member country.

[USB-S]

We can't be too surprised. The US government is deeply in debt, corporations are relocating or merging with companies based in countries with more favorable tax laws, and spending isn't going down. The government is going to need to find more and more ways to collect more of the taxes owed.

There's a smarter way to handle your tax situation - and not paying them is not it. But there are accounts and other ways to shelter some money from taxes (not all however.) Take advantage of these options while you can!

Oh and the Presidential election is likely to influence this suspected regulatory move heavily, i doubt it'll happen by Jan 1, 2016.

Not deeply in debt. The whole business model is a pyramid scheme to create debt. Having few guys repay them wouldn't help them. This shit is bound to collapse.

I bet those people who will lose their passports will apply for a new one in the country they are residing in. I bet they are glad that they got rid of their citizenship for free.

[erickimani]

that is a very big joke. I believe everyone who owes the government such huge amounts of money is a big person person. the middle class are the only ones who are forced to pay taxes by the law while those with power, the same law allows them to avoid taxes. this would be a good move to revoke the taxes if only they will do it without favor otherwise its a waste of time. the same people will challenge them in a court of law and prove why they dont have to pay the taxes. isn't that democracy?anyway all the best to the government

[n2004al]

Credit to: Tax News : Could American expats lose their passports on January 1, 2016?

Proposed measure would allow US to revoke passport if individual has over $50,000 unpaid taxes

The 8 million Americans living overseas should “ensure their financial affairs are in order and compliant” before the New Year, or face having their passports revoked, warns a financial advisory organisation.

The company – deVere Group, which has 80,000 mainly expatriate clients globally – said this after it was reported that the US Congress is preparing to bring in a law to take passports from Americans who owe tax. It is likely to pass into law in December and come into effect on January 1.

hhhmmmm they are getting serious...

If the USA Government and various Authorities which have to do with this affair do this, then can be told that this is another fact about the power and the strength of the state in this country. That mean that for this kind of state don't exist two kind of peoples: the stupids ones which pay all the taxes and are ok with everything have to do with the state and the intelligents which make everything to not pay their duties and to ridiculed with the firsts. Not coincidentally the United States are an world leader country. What must to do that even in my country exist or be created such kind of state?

[edward222]

I don't think the Supreme Court will go along with it.

If they are going to revoke passports it should be for the youngsters going to Syria for Isis training. That should be citizenship revoked and not just passport.

If a person is known to owe over $50,000 in taxes, most likely they aren't going to travel back to the USA, so revoking their passport doesn't do much. IRS isn't going to physically send someone overseas to take their passport away from them. They still have a passport, just can't renew it and can't enter the USA unless they get a foreign passport which isn't all that difficult if they are legally in whatever country they live in now.

[countryfree]

If this becomes law, which I doubt, it would only mean those people would need to go back to the US to renew their passport. There, it's likely they will have to pay their tax before getting a new passport, but those people would keep their American citizenship, and the right to travel everywhere as long as their passport is valid.

[Pab]

People didnt believe that fromJ anuary EU banks will send to his cliants a qustions to find USA residents
If EU  citzens will not answer bank has to  block his account

EU comission agree even it is against EU privacy policy

Looks like we can expect  very serious problems in financial system in near future

[countryfree]

People didnt believe that fromJ anuary EU banks will send to his cliants a qustions to find USA residents
If EU  citzens will not answer bank has to  block his account

EU comission agree even it is against EU privacy policy

Looks like we can expect  very serious problems in financial system in near future

Nothing new here. If you're American, it has become nearly impossible to open a bank account in the EU. Accepting American customers means having to deal with the American tax authorities, and that's too much trouble for the average European bank, so Americans are just told to go elsewhere.