WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Citizens Abroad (ACA) Executive Director Marylouise Serrato was recently featured on The Tax Foundation's podcast, "The Deduction." The episode entitled "Do Americans Abroad Still Pay U.S. Taxes," Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) (taxfoundation.org), hosted by Kyle Hulehan and Dan Carvagal takes a deep dive into the current U.S. tax policy of citizenship-based taxation (CBT). The podcast highlights the problems related to the current tax policy and why a move to residence-based taxation (RBT) is the right tax policy for U.S. citizens living and working overseas. Residence-based taxation would tax U.S. citizens based on where their income is earned and not on the basis of their citizenship Taxation - American Citizens Abroad (americansabroad.org).
The podcast explains how citizenship-based taxation makes U.S. citizens uncompetitive and how the tax code and reporting forms are confusing and costly for U.S. citizens filing from overseas. This forces many to hire professional tax preparers even when their filing should be simple and straight forward. It also limits U.S. citizens overseas' ability to invest and plan for their lives overseas. The podcast highlights the legislation currently in Congress addressing the tax and compliance issues as well as, explains ACA's side-by-side tax policy comparative residency-based-taxation-aca-side-by-side-comparison-4-20-2022.pdf (nationbuilder.com) and ACA's research ACA Global Foundation & Research - American Citizens Abroad (americansabroad.org) done in support of residence-based taxation.
"The side-by-side tax policy comparative shows where you need to cut into the current tax code in order to move to a residence-based taxation model," said Marylouise Serrato. Mrs. Serrato stresses the importance of having good numbers and data as any change in legislation or regulations will most probably be subject to costing. "To come out with a good revenue estimate you need to start with a solid number on the community size and their current compliancy, ACA has this data with its research. Congress needs to hold hearings to get this research on official record with the tax writing committees," Serrato added.
"ACA recently registered as lobbyists and this will greatly increase our ability to support legislation on behalf of U.S. citizens living and working overseas. We will leverage our lobbyists, political action committee and media coverage to advance our issues. Podcasts with organizations like The Tax Foundation are an important part of our lobbying efforts. It is great to see organizations such as The Tax Foundation interested in this topic," added Jonathan Lachowitz, ACA Chairman.
Contact: Marylouise Serrato
marylouise.serrato@americansabroad.org
+1 202 322 8441