tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post8543811580938992721..comments2023-09-23T11:16:00.352+02:00Comments on The Franco-American Flophouse has moved: More Data about Americans AbroadVictoria FERAUGEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-39057870991361670792014-12-10T02:56:31.755+01:002014-12-10T02:56:31.755+01:00Haven't heard much from you lately, I hope you...Haven't heard much from you lately, I hope you are ok, or are you just overwhelmed with your move and all? In case you don't know, Dr KvK has a new survey for expats out! Take care. <br />https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/the_US_and_yoububblebustinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01789474207408205280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-16867132790585208572013-05-10T17:10:48.849+02:002013-05-10T17:10:48.849+02:00P.S. About those forms, use registered mail - or t...P.S. About those forms, use registered mail - or take them to the Embassy. There's a nice fellow in there who will take them.Rosy the Riveternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-48262655789868923552013-05-10T17:06:10.744+02:002013-05-10T17:06:10.744+02:00I've been thinking of you too, Victoria, and w...I've been thinking of you too, Victoria, and will be over ASAP. I'm still in Italy where I've been doing conferences at 2 universities. Funny how the students here are hungry for American stuff. Yet not too many Americans I know back home are interested in our lives over here. Meantime, as my trip winds down and I contemplate arriving home to the mess I left there, I know the first thing I have to do is FBAR and TD and 1040 myself to Kingdom Come - for absolutely no good reason. But I'm VERY VERY VERY GOLAD YOU4RE ALRIGHT! :-)Rosy the Riveternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-57128079104606072102013-05-09T09:00:35.923+02:002013-05-09T09:00:35.923+02:00@anonymous, You are absolutely right and I know a...@anonymous, You are absolutely right and I know a few here in France (independent contractors too).<br /><br />@Lucy, Good point. And it happened to us when we sold our two little apartments in Toulouse and then bought our house a year or so later. I filled out the 8938 last tax season and it was so silly - just a rehash of what they had already asked for on the FBAR.<br /><br />Both scare me because my entire financial life is one those forms which I then mail to the US. If someone with evil intent got ahold of them they could have a great time.Victoria FERAUGEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-86366375175946950842013-05-08T13:06:42.007+02:002013-05-08T13:06:42.007+02:00There is one thing about the FBAR and Form 8938 th...There is one thing about the FBAR and Form 8938 that drives me nuts and, surely in some circles, tends to reinforce the "fat cat" image: try selling a small apartment, receiving the money in a checking account then, while you wait to pay for your next apartment, distributing it among the various interest-bearing accounts you may have, then transferring it back into the checking account to pay for the new apartment. The same money will appear in each of those accounts as the highest amount in the year... makes this particular retiree and self-employed translator look pretty well off!<br /><br />(Thanks for this posting, Victoria! and for the concentrated tidbits from Amanda's great research...)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00323396057164196017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-57117112526461144952013-05-07T19:05:12.868+02:002013-05-07T19:05:12.868+02:00Very nice post. But you forgot to mention expat sm...Very nice post. But you forgot to mention expat small business owners. <br /><br />There are plenty of them out there and they get punished the worst. <br /><br />The CFC laws are so complicated it may as well be just plain illegal for an American to own a small business outside the Homeland. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-91587801548660393262013-05-07T12:49:16.732+02:002013-05-07T12:49:16.732+02:00P. Moore
My sense is if you want to run into weal...P. Moore<br /><br />My sense is if you want to run into wealthy Americans abroad more often or not London is the place to find them. This of course is tied to the Finance and Insurance industries. Whenever you run into people who defend FATCA there defense inevitably tied to the financial services industry along the following lines:<br /><br />1. A lot of non US banks ala SocGen, RBC, BNP Parisbas really want to do business in the US. FATCA is simply a legitimate cost of business imposed on them by the US for the ability to do business in the US.<br /><br />2. A lot of Americans living abroad make a lot of money working in banking in London.<br /><br />3. The financial services sector in London tends to be more loosely regulated than in New York. More lavish entertaining, more visits to strip clubs, more prostitution, heavier drinking and drug use. (All true and completely irrelevant to the issue at hand and besides it is not as if NYC is shrinking violet in the areas above).Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03894651289037073128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-53543140332046084232013-05-07T09:25:30.484+02:002013-05-07T09:25:30.484+02:00@bubblebustin, I participated too and was fascinat...@bubblebustin, I participated too and was fascinated by the results. It confirmed a few of my observations about ex-military and surprised me with the low numbers of company transfers. I'm eagerly awaiting her book and I just looked and don't see it on Amazon. The title is supposed to me American Transnationalism in Perspective.<br /><br />@rosy, I've been thinking of you lately. When you have a chance come over for a cup of coffee and we can sit in the garden. I love how you described why you left - science and IT in and foreign culture out. I wonder if that is still true today in the US?<br /><br />@P.Moore, Thank you! Yep, I've never met any of those rich tax evaders either. Clearly we are not moving in the right (or the wrong) circles.<br /><br />@anonymous, Thank you so much for the links. Looks like I have a few more titles to explore.<br /><br />@Swisstechie, Thank you for your kind words and for visiting the Flophouse. :-)<br /><br />@stateless, I agree and I think that narrative is so powerful (and has been bought hook, line and sinker by homeland voters) that I honestly think efforts against citizenship-based taxation won't yield any fruit anytime soon. Renouncing may be the best bet.<br /><br />Victoria FERAUGEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-35845998598579771412013-05-07T08:33:24.123+02:002013-05-07T08:33:24.123+02:00Thank you for this well-written and thoughtful pie...Thank you for this well-written and thoughtful piece on Americans abroad. One of my favorite sentences in the summary of Prof. von Koppenfels' research is: "Overall, my research suggests no connection between popular images of Americans living overseas as uniformly quite wealthy and the diverse reality of Americans living overseas." This conclusion seems realistic for those of us who rely on public transportation to work and for shopping. <br /><br />Professor von Koppenfels also reported her research in another format available at the ACA website:<br />http://americansabroad.org/files/8613/5972/6757/acapiecejan2013.pdf <br />Innocentenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-50604710345876585132013-05-07T06:21:37.850+02:002013-05-07T06:21:37.850+02:00Law makers don't care about collateral damage,...Law makers don't care about collateral damage, the purpose of FATCA is to keep the wealth from leaving the United States and to force home a lot of the wealth that has already escaped.<br /><br />It's not about the wealthy, it's about the soon to be wiped out middle class, laws are passed by not by telling the truth but by telling a certain narrative that can be sold to the voters.<br /><br />Renounce before you can't, things are going to get a lot worse and more laws will be passed to try and pressure you back to the homeland.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-69928998247872633892013-05-07T05:21:36.811+02:002013-05-07T05:21:36.811+02:00Very nicely written, thanks so much!Very nicely written, thanks so much!SwissTechienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-63981150518618203702013-05-07T04:57:56.826+02:002013-05-07T04:57:56.826+02:00.... my research and, by extension, you, were ment....... my research and, by extension, you, were mentioned in a recent article in the International Herald Tribune: <br />she was hoping to have her book published within a few months of the following article<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/27/us/politics/votes-from-expatriates-could-play-crucial-role-in-election.html. Thank you again for participating in the survey!!<br /><br />a list of her books can be found here<br />http://www.kent.ac.uk/brussels/staff/profiles/brussels/koppenfels.html <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-15999010678675522972013-05-06T21:36:00.504+02:002013-05-06T21:36:00.504+02:00Super post, Victoria! When I think of all the head...Super post, Victoria! When I think of all the headache & heartache that FATCA is causing and all the ridiculous costs involved in compliance only to see there is nothing in it with respect to Americans abroad, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Of course, in my several decades living in Canada, I have yet to meet a rich tax evading American...in fact I don't know any rich Americans living in Canada. Your blog is full of evidence which shows what little value the US gets out of its Congress and tax policy.P. Moorenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-11540786162783679552013-05-06T15:45:47.729+02:002013-05-06T15:45:47.729+02:00Well said, as usual, Victoria. Well, if the US adm...Well said, as usual, Victoria. Well, if the US administrations didn't know much about Americans residing abroad before, thanks to our favorite FATCA, they will now. And what a surprise that will be ! Not filthy-rich yacht owners floating, champagne flutes in hand, off Monte Carlo, but ordinary hard-working joes. I for one came over because I couldn't get a job teaching languages in US universities because nobody wanted to learn them. Science and IT were in, foreign culture was out. So cheers! And have fun filling out the TDs and FBARs and assorted silliness.:-)Rosy the Riveternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-30426885278400425982013-05-06T13:38:52.576+02:002013-05-06T13:38:52.576+02:00I'm so happy that this study was done and my h...I'm so happy that this study was done and my husband and I chose to participate in it. I wonder though, which group of expats was more likely to have participated in it, the IT worker or the yacht cruising billionaire?<br />I can't wait for the results to be released. Thanks for the teaser!bubblebustinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01789474207408205280noreply@blogger.com