I had been reading the Bank Comparison thread from the start and was itching to talk about FATCA and then finally someone did. But we will start this thread to continue comparisons of banks but from the American perspective as its they who are affected under FATCA.
FATCA means the banks have to report to IRS what US citizens have an account and the details in an effort to grab tax evaders. FATCA starts at the government level and is dependent on what agreements are in place with the US. Some countries like Singapore are so tied to US that the IRS has direct links to the banks and check balances themselves. SOME foreign entities have to withhold customer money if they refuse to sign up for FATCA. If VN sends a directive to the bank to comply with FATCA, the bank has the option of declining the account to save the burden of paperwork and then the US citizen is asked to clear out and thats it. In such a purpose, Obama hopes that the now-stray funds will be forced back to USA where those funds, and ensuing taxes, can be more easily tracked.
FATCA isnt new but the push for enforcement is on now, and existing accounts are safe but only temporarily. If the VN government chooses to say F-U to the US, accounts are safe if VN is willing to begin losing trade with the US or some other problem. What will it do? As for the banks, FATCA is transparent to the customer. The bank can be reporting in the background and never tell you a thing and you think you are safe. Bad news. Then its serious bad news for those americans who have not told the truth on 1040s.
You can google FATCA for latest doings.
But here is the rub! Its not enough to find a US friendly bank, you are not homefree.
Will you open for US citizen? yes no
Do you report via FATCA? yes no
Are you lying? yes no
If you have an existing account in any VN bank:
Have you reported me via FATCA? yes no
Are you going to throw me out? yes no
If the bank will open for you and the bank is under FATCA the info is going straight to IRS. Is that acceptable to you?
Americans and need to know if they can open an account and that its safe from FATCA. Its critical. But when you get denied its because the bank opted out of the reporting burden. Its cheaper to just decline the account.
Blame Obama, not the banks. FATCA passed as law two years into his first term. He is spearheading every possible initiative to recapture foreign wealth because the there are trillions of dollars outside USA, unaccounted for. If people have followed this, Swiss banks began this raveling by disclosing previously secret accounts and now those days are gone.
This thread is by and for americans, who need to bank in VN, in the climate of FATCA.
Americans Banking in VN - Compare banks - FATCA discussion
To start with, is your VN operating under FATCA or not? You have to know that first.
To answer that, first i refer to Jaitch's post in the other Compare Banks thread in which he said "Any bank which does not have an office in the USA will be happy to have US citizens as customers as they cannot be blackmailed. FACTA compliance only applies to banks operating in the USA."
I differ with that. My two banks in another country DO NOT have offices in USA but are FATCA banks. When I asked the banks directly, they totally lied and said they had NO IDEA what I was talking about. I went to the Central Bank of the country and they said the same thing.
How did i know they lied?
if you can click this IRS link, do. http://apps.irs.gov/app/fatcaFfiList/flu.jsf If you cannot, try a parent link here http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Corporati … nload-Tool
That link allows you to look up your own bank and see if they enrolled for FACTA reporting. BOTH of my banks are on the list but they denied this when i asked them directly.
To my knowledge, reading the IRS pages, ANY bank is affected, NOT only those with office in USA or not.
So, part of the purpose of this thread is to list out VN banks which are reporting or not, AND if they will open an account for an american or not. If they will open, and ARE FACTA-responsible, you better be telling the truth on your 1040, otherwise heavy penalties.
ONLY banks with OFFICES in the USA HAVE to report to the USA. Period. Other banks may, voluntarily, report under FACTA.
Whilst the USA might think it rules the world it does regulate banking operations outside it's territories.
But this might be superfluous since a recent G-group meeting said that countries will exchange tax data between each other starting later this year.
An ancient fable had the main character saying: "Render that which is of Caesar unto Caesar". Sounded like a good idea so I follow it.
I have three passports and I work in VN. I maintain accommodation addresses in all four countries and file returns based solely on my income derived from each country. This is no different than if I set up standalone incorporated companies in each jurisdiction and paid taxes as legally separate entities.
Some countries have unitary, or integrated, database systems so data collected for one purpose can be used for another. Canada is an exception, it's databases were set up deliberately so there was no 'overflow' from one purpose to another.
As for VN, I happily pay all taxes because I actually live here and use government services. All companies I am associated with pay their dues well before the 'drop dead' dates, as do many Foreign owned enterprises. My wife's hotels VAT cheques go in the same day as our monthly reports, we never await the invoice.
It's not a matter of tax evasion but rather a matter of data separation and privacy. Where I go and what I do is really no ones business other than the country I am residing in. When I am out of the States or Canada or the UK I am not using their services and am not a burden on the 'public purse'.
Younger people don't care so much about privacy, residents of Europe no doubt can remember what use was made of national databases during WW2.
If you are looking for a FACTA free bank, look at smaller banks and banks that state they use 'Correspondent' banks (agents).
Jaitch wrote:ONLY banks with OFFICES in the USA HAVE to report to the USA. Period. Other banks may, voluntarily, report under FACTA.
Whilst the USA might think it rules the world it does regulate banking operations outside it's territories.
But this might be superfluous since a recent G-group meeting said that countries will exchange tax data between each other starting later this year.
An ancient fable had the main character saying: "Render that which is of Caesar unto Caesar". Sounded like a good idea so I follow it.
I have three passports and I work in VN. I maintain accommodation addresses in all four countries and file returns based solely on my income derived from each country. This is no different than if I set up standalone incorporated companies in each jurisdiction and paid taxes as legally separate entities.
Some countries have unitary, or integrated, database systems so data collected for one purpose can be used for another. Canada is an exception, it's databases were set up deliberately so there was no 'overflow' from one purpose to another.
As for VN, I happily pay all taxes because I actually live here and use government services. All companies I am associated with pay their dues well before the 'drop dead' dates, as do many Foreign owned enterprises. My wife's hotels VAT cheques go in the same day as our monthly reports, we never await the invoice.
It's not a matter of tax evasion but rather a matter of data separation and privacy. Where I go and what I do is really no ones business other than the country I am residing in. When I am out of the States or Canada or the UK I am not using their services and am not a burden on the 'public purse'.
Younger people don't care so much about privacy, residents of Europe no doubt can remember what use was made of national databases during WW2.
If you are looking for a FACTA free bank, look at smaller banks and banks that state they use 'Correspondent' banks (agents).
Mr. Doctor Know-All is wrong again? Almost all countries tax foreign income only of residents, if at all. Only two countries tax the worldwide income of nonresidents who are citizens of the country - USA & Eritrea????
The United States taxes its citizens and resident foreigners on their worldwide income, and nonresident foreigners on their local income. US citizens residing in other countries may exclude some of their foreign income from US taxation, and take credit for income tax paid to other countries, but they must file a US tax return to claim the exclusion or credit even if they result in no tax liability. As European Citizen I dont have to report / file any tax if I live (resident) outside of my country?
Most countries tax worldwide income unless they meet certain criteria such as being outside of their home counties for "X" amount of days. I have lots of friends who live in the UK but work abroad and they still pay taxes to the UK
VungTauDon wrote:Most countries tax worldwide income unless they meet certain criteria such as being outside of their home counties for "X" amount of days. I have lots of friends who live in the UK but work abroad and they still pay taxes to the UK
Only 2 country tax because of citizenship USA & Eritrea! All other country tax you only if you still have your registered recidence in YOUR Country! So if you work abroad and still have your recidency in your country then you get taxed by YOUR country. If you work in Vietnam and you have your residency in Vietnam you dont get Taxed from any Country except as USA and Eritrea Passport holder :-) and you dont have to fill any taxform except from Vietnam! Thats a fact! What you say is a differnd issue - your recidency is e.g. England you have to pay Tax in England for sure also if you work abroad!
For some people the issue is straight tax evasion and for those, they certain want a FATCA-free bank. Myself, I always paid taxes so the issue is basic privacy....AND....the fact that should you get in a problem with IRS about something foreign its very easy for them to make a case and make your life hell, no matter how wrong they are. I just want them to stay out of my business and wait for my tax returns which are truthful.
Has anyone searched for their bank on the IRS site to see if the bank is reporting? Link above. Im hoping everyones banks will get a YES or NO in this thread.
AustriaKarl wrote:Mr. Doctor Know-All is wrong again? ... blah, blah, blah
Our friend from Austria thinks the HSBC bank is the best in the world.
Knowing this, why would anyone accept his advice!
P.S. Tens of countries require income external to the country in question - the trick is to know who has tax agreements.
VungTauDon wrote:Most countries tax worldwide income unless they meet certain criteria such as being outside of their home counties for "X" amount of days. I have lots of friends who live in the UK but work abroad and they still pay taxes to the UK
Britain and Canada don't have a tax agreement and therefore can't use data given to one as data that can be used in the other.
IF they signed an agreement, Britain would be liable to pay hundreds of millions of Pounds to former British residents living in Canada.
Jaitch wrote:VungTauDon wrote:Most countries tax worldwide income unless they meet certain criteria such as being outside of their home counties for "X" amount of days. I have lots of friends who live in the UK but work abroad and they still pay taxes to the UK
Britain and Canada don't have a tax agreement and therefore can't use data given to one as data that can be used in the other.
IF they signed an agreement, Britain would be liable to pay hundreds of millions of Pounds to former British residents living in Canada.
wrong wrong wrong - but not my problem Doctor Know-All
Hate to tell you Jaitch but he is right,only the USA and Eritrea tax due to citizenship not residency.
This may help.....http://hodgen.com/does-the-united-states-stand-alone/
http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Seniors-&-Retirees
Seniors & Retirees
1040 Central
1040 Central has been updated for the last few weeks of Filing Season 2014.
Do You Need to File a Federal Income Tax Return?
Every year millions of people file federal income tax returns even though they are not required to. Find out if your income is below the filing requirement.
Life Events That May Have Tax Consequences for Seniors and Retirees
Some events in the lives of seniors and retirees may affect their tax responsibilities. This page contains links to more information.
Are Your Social Security Benefits Taxable?
How much, if any, of your social security benefits are taxable depends on your total income and marital status.
Frequently Asked Questions for Seniors
This page highlights places to go for answers to questions frequently asked by seniors.
Not going to reply Jaitch,wrong again.
http://www.irs.gov/uac/Are-Your-Social- … Taxable%3F
Are Your Social Security Benefits Taxable?
IRS Tax Tip 2011-26, February 07, 2011
Generally, if Social Security benefits were your only income for 2010, your benefits are not taxable and you probably do not need to file a federal income tax return.
If you received income from other sources, your benefits will not be taxed unless your modified adjusted gross income is more than the base amount for your filing status.
First, add one-half of the total Social Security benefits you received to all your other income, including any tax exempt interest and other exclusions from income.
The 2010 base amounts are:
$32,000 for married couples filing jointly.
$25,000 for single, head of household, qualifying widow/widower with a dependent child, or married individuals filing separately who did not live with their spouses at any time during the year.
$0 for married persons filing separately who lived together during the year.
For additional information on the taxability of Social Security benefits, see IRS Publication 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits. Publication 915 is available on this website or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
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IRS Warns Financial Institutions of Scams Designed to Steal FATCA-Related Account Data
Español
IR-2014-92, Sept. 24, 2014
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today issued a fraud alert for international financial institutions complying with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Scam artists posing as the IRS have fraudulently solicited financial institutions seeking account holder identity and financial account information.
The IRS does not require financial institutions to provide specific account holder identity information or financial account information over the phone or by fax or email. Further, the IRS does not solicit FATCA registration passwords or similar confidential account access information.
“Tax scams using the IRS name can take many forms and they are not limited by national borders,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. “People should always be cautious before sending sensitive information to anyone.”
Financial institutions directly registered to comply with FATCA and those in jurisdictions that are treated as having in effect intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) to implement FATCA through intergovernmental cooperation have been approached by persons representing themselves as the IRS. The IRS has reports of incidents from multiple countries and continents.
These fraudulent solicitations are known as “phishing” scams. These types of scams are typically carried out through the use of unsolicited emails and/or websites that pose as legitimate contacts in order to deceptively obtain personal or financial information.
Financial institutions or their representatives that suspect they are the subject of a “phishing” scam should report the matter to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at 800-366-4484, or through TIGTA's secure website. Any suspicious emails that contain attachments or links in the message should not be opened, and the email should be forwarded to [email protected].
More information on prior alerts and scams can be found on IRS.gov.
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Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 03-Oct-2014
I used to work for Standard Chartered Bank HCMC branch where all the customers have to fill in the FATCA form.
If you are still seeking for the answers. I may do a quick review on some international banks policy on FATCA and do a feedback.
Kandee wrote:I used to work for Standard Chartered Bank HCMC branch where all the customers have to fill in the FATCA form.
If you are still seeking for the answers. I may do a quick review on some international banks policy on FATCA and do a feedback.
Greetings from Canada!
I have only recently found/joined Expatblog and am discovering a whole world of interesting issues. The main issue which brought me to Expatblog was my wish to:
(1) find out information on what other US expats around the world were having to deal with in relation to FATCA, and
(2) to inform other US expats around the world that in Canada there now is an active group which has mounted an in-the-courts federal law suit against FATCA and the IGA.
I have just posted the following on another country's forum that focuses on US Taxes/ FATCA. Thought you folks in Belgium, might be interested to know of our work, too:
The Canadian Charter Challenge is, as far as we know, the ONLY such ongoing litigation against FATCA in THE WORLD. Republicans Overseas have linked with a lawyer (Jim Bopp) to bring forward a Constitutional Challenge case inside the USA (since FATCA contravenes several US Citizen "inalienanable rights" from the Bill of Rights), and there have been news articles about their position, but this effort seems to be stalled awaiting more funding support before proceeding.
The Canadian lawsuit, being supported by the Alliance For The Defence of Canadian Sovereignty (adcs dash adsc dot ca) came about as an offshoot from an earlier (and still very VERY viable) grass roots blog site called the Isaacbrocksociety, The IBS has as it's motto "Liberty and Justice for All United States Persons Abroad". It's blog site has been vigorously going for now 3 years (since the word of FATCA and more heavy-handed filing rules started to appear). You can read about this IBS history, and about some of our accomplishments (e.g. presentations to the US Congress, to the Canadian Parliament, a UN Human Rights Complaint against CBT) by typing into Googlesearch Synopsis; History of Isaac Brock Society. Here you will see links to ADCS, an Archive of our daily posts and +++ other background information.
The main topic at IBS has been FATCA, but also ranting about CBT (citizen-based-taxes), the situation of Accidental Americans (born in the US but to non-US parents then brought back to their home country as an infant/young child yet the US still claims them as "taxable citizens"), answering questions from posters all over the world who are just facing their "OMG, I might have US TAX obligations" moment, plus ongoing sharing of links to print and internet news articles RE FATCA, FBAR, the increase in US renunciations, and many many other related topics. Many of our "members" make amazingly articulate comments to these articles, raising important questions and perspectives from an Expat's point of view for folks in the "homeland" to consider/reconsider).
When the Canadian IGA was passed in late June 2014 (hidden in a 300-pg omnibus "Budget Bill", similar to how FATCA was passed hidden in the HIRE Act), IBS members were immediately ready to move into legal action. Central members of IBS had already connected with a renowned Canadian Constitutional Lawyer and had established ADCS as a registered business entity for raising funds towards this legal action. Since July, we have gathered 1/2 of the required $500,000.00 (Cdn$) to bring this case to the first federal court hearing; as of today, we need $42,760 more in January to make the February 1, 2015 installment of $200,000 (and $200,000 further will be needed at the beginning of May and the beginning of August). ADCS has received donations from supporters living in many countries, not just from within Canada; we have even had donations from folks INSIDE the US who think FATCA is outrageous.
While James noted that this lawsuit is against "the Attorney-General of Canada", it is actually against the Government of Canada (now tightly led by the Conservative Party that preferred to eliminate problems for the banking industry rather than support it's citizens). You can read the claim at the ADCS site but, basically, it is that signing on to FATCA via the IGA contravenes various basic tenants of Canadian law as documented in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms (and numerous laws that have branched from this basic legal platform). In short, we are arguing that foreign law (in this case US law) should not supersede sovereign Canadian law, one of which is that there shall be no discrimination in Canada based on nationality or parentage.
This post is already quite long, so I don't want to add much more except to encourage you to
(1) please check out these Canadian sites (and add your voice - - we have quite a number of posters from other countries and really want to know of your experience too) and
(2) please share this information about our legal challenge against FATCA (as noted above, the ONLY active one in the WORLD) with as many US expats as you know there (or in other countries) and
(3) please consider making a small (or not so small) supportive contribution to this historic effort. If we cannot raise sufficient funds to go forth, all US expats will lose this opportunity and it is extremely unlikely that any such challenge against this imperialistic economic and legal invasion will ever again be attempted. Our hope is that if we are successful, this may encourage other countries to review, reconsider, and stand up to these world-wide US's demands.
May 2015 be an amazing year for us all,
LLGM
Did you read the thread before you posted? I even put the letters in RED. Its by and for americans and to list VN banks which impose FATCA. Now you troll to beg for money? Huh? Your post should be removed.
CVCO - Clearly this is a thread where people living overseas are finding out about/ interested in FATCA issues
So I added my newbie-to-this-blogsite info RE FATCA, including mention of the Isaacbrocksociety site from Canada which has been focusing on FATCA for 3 years. They have had millions of visitors and posters from all over the world and are a font of valuable, excellent information (links to print and web articles and youtubes, discussion about how to deal with tax and citizenship technical issues, understanding US and international legalities, etc). My post did not beg for money - - just wanting folks on your side of the world to be aware of this singular-in-the-world legal effort and asking you to check it out (and CONSIDER helping out) - - I dont read that as "begging". Remove the post if you wish - - it was just meant to put out a friendly feeler, and maybe I won't like the feel of this thread/group.
What is you troll from Malysia doing in a VN Blog? You think only your BS. is importand?
cvco wrote:Did you read the thread before you posted? I even put the letters in RED. Its by and for americans and to list VN banks which impose FATCA. Now you troll to beg for money? Huh? Your post should be removed.
What you troll from Malysia doing in a VN Blog? You think only your BS. is importand?
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