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from the breaking-up-is-hard-to-do dept.
The USA has been making life difficult for Americans residing abroad; FATCA causes plenty of problems; but so does citizenship-based taxation. The IRS and Treasury department have made the reporting and taxation more onerous, and stepped up their collection efforts.
The result should be a surprise to no one: more and more Americans are handing in their US citizenship. Total numbers are unavailable (the lists published by the government include only a portion of the total), but undisputed is the fact that the numbers are increasing rapidly.
Having lots of citizens want to leave is...embarrassing. One solution could be to review the policies leading to people to hand in their citizenship. Another would be to make the fee unaffordable, especially for people living on second- or third-world incomes. It's obvious, of course, which route the USA has chosen: It now costs $2350 to hand in your US passport; more than 20 times the international average.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by curunir_wolf on Wednesday December 03 2014, @02:55PM
But I don't get why the US government thinks that it needs to know about your bank accounts in the country in which you reside.
That's so they can seize it if you do something they don't like - or even if you don't respond to their letters or your address changes and you don't tell them. It's a very common technique. "Hey, it looks like Joe Smith might owe some taxes, but the letter we sent to him got returned unopened." "No problem, just seize his bank account. That will get his attention."
The stupidest part is that they don't seem to care about my American bank accounts... at least I haven't seen a box on a tax form asking me to disclose how much I have in my USD checking account that I left open when I moved abroad.
That's because the US banks are already tied into the IRS. They have all the information and access to those banks that they need.
I mean, we're not millionaires flying around the world to our various vacation homes, stashing money in Swiss bank accounts to dodge taxes.
They're not really interested in those guys anyway. They can afford lawyers and tax accounts (and sometimes a senator or representative or two). It's just too much work to go after those guys for taxes. You're the low-hanging fruit, like all of the middle class.
I am a crackpot
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by slash2phar on Wednesday December 03 2014, @03:00PM
That's because the US banks are already tied into the IRS. They have all the information and access to those banks that they need.
And not only that.. you can't even activate a 'gift card' in the US without supplying name, address and social security number.
(Score: 2) by arashi no garou on Wednesday December 03 2014, @03:52PM
And not only that.. you can't even activate a 'gift card' in the US without supplying name, address and social security number.
I'm not sure where you're buying your gift cards, or where your benefactor is buying them. I can go to the local Kroger grocery store or Walmart supermarket and buy a Visa gift card with cash, activate it by calling the number on the back and punching in the card number and PIN, and I can then spend it anywhere that accepts Visa. They don't ask for any further information, in fact it's a computer and not a live person that does the activation. Ditto for store-specific gift cards, in fact those are activated at the register generally. For reference, I live near Atlanta, Georgia in the US.
So I'm calling bullshit hyperbole unless you can cite a source.
(Score: 2) by hubie on Wednesday December 03 2014, @06:35PM
I have received rebates in the form of debit cards that you have to call and activate just like you would a credit card. I have not yet activated the card, so I can't tell you what information (if any) I have to provide, but the rebate cards are honest-to-goodness pre-paid debit cards and come with the usual pamphlet of small-type disclosures and liability waivers that you'd get when your bank mails you a new debit/credit card.
(Score: 1) by Mr. Slippery on Wednesday December 03 2014, @07:00PM
What brand gift card? Can you use it online? It seems that you have to regsiter your card to provide an address in order to pass AVS and use a card on-line [theprivacyguy.com].
(Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday December 03 2014, @07:57PM
Some guys ranting blog post is hardly proof.
I've had several gift cards over the last year, mostly specific store cards, but also one Visa Gift card, and none of them required anything but a minimal activation, and a couple of these didn't even require that.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1) by slash2phar on Friday December 05 2014, @02:45AM
(Score: 2) by arashi no garou on Friday December 05 2014, @12:06PM
I seem to recall having used a Visa branded gift card online, and yes I had to supply my name and address (duh, online purchase = shipping address). But I've never once given my social security number for a gift card no matter how I used it. Are you sure you aren't using one of those prepaid debit cards, like GreenDot? That's a different animal; it's almost like having a bank account, which would explain giving out more info. I've never used one of those so I don't know their requirements, but I'd imagine it's more than just a gift card requires.
(Score: 1) by Lunix Nutcase on Wednesday December 03 2014, @06:52PM
Total fucking lie. I buy gland receive gift cards all the time. Never once gave any of that information.
(Score: 1) by Lunix Nutcase on Wednesday December 03 2014, @06:53PM
Gland = and
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 03 2014, @09:10PM
Autocorrect?