Whats led her to consider such a drastic step is a recent American law that has had an impact on many of the estimated 6 million to 8 million U.S. citizens who, like Besser, make their homes outside the United States. The federal measure, approved in 2010, was aimed at cracking down on tax evasion. But it has also resulted in law-abiding Americans abroad being denied bank accounts or mortgages in the countries where they live and forced to reveal financial information about their loved ones. In response, some Americans abroad have decided that their citizenship is not worth the cost or hassle, nor the intrusion on their privacy. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, imposes stricter reporting requirements on Americans with significant assets outside the U.S. The act also demands that all foreign banks — whether theyre based in Britain, Botswana or Brazil — disclose to the U.S. government information on accounts held by Americans, under threat of stiff financial sanction.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 01:36:15 +0000
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