Interesting to hear about more planned layoffs at IRS. Rumors in the press said that the IRS previously added 8000 new staff to help implement FATCA abroad as they need local language skills as well as local government and banking contacts.
I also saw article which used IRS statistics which said that due to previous budget cuts only 30% of people trying to use IRS call center were successful in getting through to service person. That same article said the IRS head hoped that people would use the call center only for simple questions as that would mean less time per call. I love their logicâŚcomplex questions are a no-no (you should spend money on an accountant to help you) while simple questions are acceptable as that wonât waste their time.
Personally, I was successful but was on hold 40 minutes. I talked to a service person for 45 minutes but she still disagreed that the IRS miscalculated how much in pre-payments I made. My accountant then contacted them and they finally agreed they miscalculated.
Ok, upon a bit more research and the way I understand it is that the 30% does indeed apply to all transactions made between the non-compliant bank and any US bank, not just on assets. In addition it also includes sale of a US property (read the securities principally if you can find it), which is in fact a tax on the asset value of the property, not just on on the income flow such as dividends. It is this 30% on the sale of property which is completely confiscatory. It matters not if they have assets in the US or not, the fact that they are still doing business in US dollars is what matters. So letâs say that you own a business and need to make a payment through one of these non-compliant banks in Taiwan, the US will recognize that these banks are not compliant and thus wack the bank with a 30% withholding tax, the bank may actually come back and nail you for that instead.
If a US bank or foreign bank which has registered under FATCA (a participating FFI) has to make the money transfer to the non-compliant bank, they are supposed to withold 30%. When the foreign bank does the withholding, this is called the pass-through provision; I believe that this aspect of FATCA becomes active only in 2017, but still prudence today is best to follow with these banks, so they may impliment it now.
Something you all may already know or understand to be coming true sooner or later is that the Chinese are making major steps for the RMB to become a recognized international currency, and I believe that one of the side effects of FATCA will be an acceleration of the movement of international transactions to the RMB to avoid the dollar. It is going to take time, but it is coming sooner or later. I wouldnât be surprised if more goes through the Euro as well due to FATCA.
Some of the details are too much for me but from my general reading of articles I do sense the IRS is continuing to expand what is covered by FATCA by simply including everything as per their definitions of terms and situations. Well, they created the game so they can change or expand the rules as they go along.
I think FATCA is going to be a factor in US currency future dominance. I think people and banks around the world see that the U.S. will try anything including âstrong armâ tactics (financial threats) to get what they want and it has created a very bad environment for future U.S. relations with the financial world. China will be helped by this.
I saw report that one Swiss bank dropped out of FATCA. Interesting. That is a major decision which a bank would not do without major due diligence to see the future viability of not being in the FATCA circle of compliant banks. I respect them for trying.
Well one good thing is congress isnât giving them enough money to do much harm at this point, hopefully vying us enough time to make other plans or get this thing repealed or instate some sort of residency based taxation, all of which are a long shot.
And yes FATCA is confusing, complicated, and annoying. What is covered and what is not covered no one really knows, this is the key point. If we donât understand, banks surely donât quite understand, and they are paying millions to accountants and lawyers to figure this all out. Of course they will change the rules, once they get the bank by the balls they can twist all they want, if the bank was stupid enough to sign the IGA in the first place⌠I think the US dollar is in deep trouble if they keep pushing these terrible economic policies, did you listen to this yet? zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-0 ⌠ing-system FATCA is mentioned somewhere in the middle I think, I cannot recall as it has been awhile since I watched it.
The US is creating problems for itself, no one is going to want to work with them and business is going to drastically change. FATCA is one big sanction against every country in the world.
Yes, some swiss banks are starting to give the US the finger. I find it amusing, but where is that going to leave Americans abroad⌠no banking⌠what a nightmare.
Well here is my update. I just received a call from First Bank asking me if I had a US ID and they wanted my Social Security number, not sure if they wanted it over the phone or not, but I rejected their request. And that was that⌠They said they would just put I did not provide it on the form to the FSC. Apparently all banks need to submit the information to the FSC and in turn the FSC will provide the information to the US government. Thereâs been some speculation that if governments around the world do not sign the agreement by the end of this year it may be null and void, but as the US government has been extending the dates, I am not sure what will happen in Taiwan yet⌠My guess it they will extend all of them⌠Not sure what will happen by not providing the SS number either, but I am going to be damned if I am going to open myself up to identity theft by providing it to a foreign governmentâŚ
Well is going to take time for IRS to go through all of the data pouring in. I do think they will set fines for non-cooperation (not providing SSN number and such) as this is the only way they can collect the huge amount they have promised.
Frankly I think the IRS is not ever going to be able to sort through the massive amount of data they are going to be getting, have no idea where they are going to put it all. They will spend more tax payer dollars to build an archive for it all and it will take them decades to go through it⌠And now with the IRS getting a lesser budget, the problem will get even worse.
I highly doubt they are going to set fines or penalties for not being cooperative, because how will they know if the bank even called us to ask for our SS numbers? as we are not, so far, required to sign anything not to agree to it so far their is no way of knowing⌠The whole thing is such a disaster I am hoping that one way or another it will bring down the whole system⌠I am quite sure many Americans and Greencard holders are not going to comply with this ridiculous request. I am not confident that Taiwan banks can keep SS numbers private, and that is my biggest fear aside from the fact that it is none of the governmentâs business how much money I have overseas⌠When they start requiring Americans living in America to abide by the same standards, then I might be more agreeable to whole thing, but we both know that if the government ever tried to implement a locally based DATCA or DBAR system that the people would never go for it and it would collapse in an instantâŚ
[quote] Why would the US government go through all the enormous trouble and cost of implementing FATCA if itâs going to bring in such a relatively meager amount of money?
FATCAâs real purpose is not to collect money, but rather to pave the way for a global FATCA, informally known as GATCA.
You see, complying with FATCA often breaks the privacy laws of other countries. To get around this problem, the US government has been negotiating bilateral agreements with pretty much every country in the world.
However, itâs not practical for each and every country to create their own version of FATCA and accompanying web of bilateral agreements. It would be a very slow and tedious process.
So to address this issue, the central planners at the G20 and OECD devised what they call a new âglobal standardâ of automatic financial information exchange between governments (i.e., GATCA) modeled on the USâs FATCA.[/quote]
[quote] Itâs no secret that collectivists the world over have long fantasized about creating a global tax with a planetary taxation authority. Whether itâs the global carbon tax, a worldwide tax on financial transactions, or a UN tax on air and sea travel, all prior attempts at creating a global tax havenât really worked, as the infrastructure for collecting the data and enforcement wasnât in place.
However, that could all change with GATCA, which could provide a platform to make the disturbing dream of a global tax a reality.
[/quote]
Those of us who have been studying FATCA for years saw this coming, itâs known as GATCA, and it has already been implemented by the OECD. And it seems like that is here to stay as well.
Yes, a lot of countries seem to be thinking of using FATCA type tactics. I read article that about 10 years ago China sent tax officials to U.S. to study at the IRS to learn in-depth about tax policies and methods. The article said that China did not kick up a fuss about FATCA due to their own plans to track citizens and govt officials stashing money overseas. They are actually cooperating quite smoothly with the IRS. Makes you worry about the state of the world when these two superpowersâIRS and Chinaâhave you in their sightsâŚ
Just have the right opinions comrade, do your service for the relevant groups and this wonât be a problem. Here I thought i would never join the ranks of the under-banked.
Well this is how one bank is responding. I am distraught. Do it or we will close your accounts, thatâs what it is. Unfortunately I cannot post the photo here as it seems Forumosa does not allow pictures to be put into discussion threads without first uploading the photo to another website, if someone knows how to add a photo without doing that, let me know.
HSBC Taiwan has stated clearly that if one does not sign two documents, one being a W-9 and the other being a secrecy wavier that your accounts will be closed. I have 3 months to decide what I want to do⌠Just a heads up, the storm is coming and Taiwan has not technically even signed the agreement thatâŚ
Does anyone know where the official IRS exchange rate page has gone. Just started to fill out my FBAR form last week. On the instructions , they refer you to an IRS site to get the official exchange rate for the year. In typical IRS fashion, you go to the link and it redirects you to another link saying the original page was merged with another. Now on the original page, it says Select Exchange Rate under Reference and Guidance. Of course when you go to the new page under that section, the link is not there. I have sent these boneheads 2 emails asking them where the new link is. Havenât got a reply to either.
Thanks. They do say you can use a âverifiableâ one in place of the link they give. Of course they never define what is verifiable, but I am sure the AIT one is.
You are welcome. Basically I would consider AIT to be one of them also. And I believe their numbers are taken directly from the Treasuryâs website, perhaps an average over the year. If they do not accept AITs then they donât accept the treasuryâs I guess. Which would seem odd, but nowadays, who knows. Nevertheless in all the years I have lived in Taiwan I have always used AITs for taxes and FBARs.
