FATCA Information

Like me, scores of expats in Mexico got blindsided by the Banamex closing of accounts and did not know where to go for information. Our formerly convenient banking has been disrupted by FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2010. This federal law was passed to crack down on the use of offshore banks, particularly in Zurich and Geneva, to hide taxable assets. While it is “the most important and controversial development in decades in the international fight against tax evasion,” its global reach and high cost of compliance has caused disruption and “fear and loathing” by moneymen as well as ordinary, law abiding U.S. citizens.

"The international board of Democrats Abroad has been working with U.S. officials to further amend the law and eliminate the problem for ex-pats. In another communication within the next two weeks, we will have an up-to-date report on the organization's efforts, exactly who is affected, and what effective action ex-pats can take to protect themselves and their bank accounts here."

I hope you will find these links helpful:

American Citizens Abroad. http://americansabroad.org/issues/fatca/

Berwick, Jeff. The dollar vigilante blog. "Breaking News: US Expats in Mexico Left Stranded In Latest FATCA Escalation." http://dollarvigilante.com/blog/2014/6/4/breaking-news-us-expats-in-mexico-left-stranded-in-latest-fa.html

Democrats Abroad.
https://www.democratsabroad.org/
https://www.democratsabroad.org/group/fbarfatca/july-2014-reforming-fatca-same-country-exception

_______"2014 Report to Members by the FBAR/FATCA Taskforce." Google for pdf.
Economist. Tax evasion: “Dropping the bomb. America’s fierce campaign against tax cheats is doing more harm than good.” The Economist, 2014-06-28. http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21605911-americas-fierce-campaign-against-tax-cheats-doing-more-harm-good-dropping
_______ "FATCA's flaws." America’s new law on tax compliance is heavy-handed, inequitable and hypocritical. The Economist, 2014-06-28. http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21605907-americas-new-law-tax-compliance-heavy-handed-inequitable-and-hypocritical-fatcas-flaws


Internal Revenue Service. http://www.irs.gov/
_______ "Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act." http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Corporations/Foreign-Account-Tax-Compliance-Act-FAT
_______ Statement of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. 2014-06-18. http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Statement-of-IRS-Commissioner-John-Koskinen
King, Brett. "When HSBC Closes Your Bank Account Without Telling You." HuffingtonPost, 2013-11-29. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brett-king/when-hsbc-closes-your-ban_b_4362504.html
_______Banking4Tomorrow. http://www.banking4tomorrow.com
U.S. Department of the Treasury. “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act” (FATCA). http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/treaties/Pages/FATCA.aspx

Wikipedia. “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Account_Tax_Compliance_Act

Wood, Robert W. “FATCA Carries Fat Price Tag.” Forbes, 2011-11-30. http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2011/11/30/fatca-carries-fat-price-tag/2/

From Ken Crosby: "While the relationship between Banamex and Banamex USA is complicated, as are the interrelationships between many financial organizations, it is misleading to say that Banamex is the "parent" of Banamex USA. Banamex is owned by Grupo Financiero Banamex, which in 1981 purchased the California Commerce Bank, which became Banamex's U.S. banking division. However, Grupo Financiero Banamex was purchased by Citigroup in 2001 and it operates as a subsidiary of Citigroup. The California Commercial Bank became Banamex USA, and both it and Banamex are subsidiaries of Citibank, the retail banking division of Citigroup (which, along with Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, is one of the four largest financial corporations in the U.S.)."