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TAX REFORM FOR AMERICANS ABROAD
CALL OR WRITE YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES
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Democrats Abroad reaffirms its commitment to tax policy that -
Democrats Abroad supports tax reforms that -
Democrats Abroad has published a “laundry list” of tax code provisions that discriminate against Americans abroad.
You can download the list here: bit.ly/23TaxProblemsForAmericansAbroad
THE DEMOCRATS ABROAD TAX ADVOCACY STATEMENT
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TAX REFORM FOR AMERICANS ABROAD
Democrats Abroad is committed to Residency-Based Taxation to address the vast majority of the tax problems faced by Americans abroad without creating tax loopholes.
Work is going on to develop a model to introduce RBT this year. We wholeheartedly support that work.
We are also speaking to Congress about a range of reforms that we think Congress can implement this year because they work for the times we are in and they align with the Biden agenda.
We need you to reach out to your elected representatives to ask for their support.
No one can persuade your Representative as compellingly as you can.
This campaign participation guide will help you to do that.
Congress will pass legislation this year designed restore the health of the nation and to put the U.S. economy back on its feet.
We believe it can include reforms to provide much-needed tax relief to U.S. citizens abroad.
We support a switch to Residency Based Taxation and endorse the following provisions to provide urgent tax relief to Americans abroad:
Plus increased IRS support - to provide accessible affordable assistance to ordinary overseas filers.
TAX REFORM FOR AMERICANS ABROAD
UPDATE ON DEMOCRATS ABROAD TAX REFORM FOR AMERICANS ABROAD
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WE NEED YOU TO HELP US FIGHT
1. CALL YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVE
Advice for finding your members of Congress and scripts for making the calls are in this Guide.
2. You can also use the messaging system on the website of your elected representatives to deliver your concerns. You can use the language for writing a letter or postcard included in this Guide to draft your online or email message.
TAX REFORM FOR AMERICANS ABROAD
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3. Write a letter or send a postcard.
Your written correspondence will help to reinforce the calls. Please write!
Sample language for writing letters or postcards is in this Guide.
4. If you get a response from a Congressional office or a member of Congress, please let us know in this google form.
If the link does not open, you can cut and paste this link into your web browser: http://bit.ly/TaxReformforAmericansAbroad
FIND YOUR SENATORS AND
MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Your elected representatives are the member of the House of Representatives and the two Senators of the district/state in which you last voted in the U.S.
If you don’t know your member of Congress and/or your senators, you can look them up using these online tools with zip code of the last place you lived in the U.S.
U.S. House of Representatives
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
To find the address and phone number of your representative, look on the home page of their website, usually at the bottom. Sometimes this information is at the right side of the page.
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TAX REFORM FOR AMERICANS ABROAD
U.S. Senate
If you know your voting state you can find your 2 U.S. senators in the table at this link:
https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/
Clicking on the Senator’s name will take you to their website. To find the address and phone number of your Senator, look on the homepage of the website, usually at the bottom. Sometimes this information is on the right side of the page. You also may find a “Contacts” tab at the top of the home page.
FIGHT FOR TAX REFORM – Add your voice to the fight
Call Your Member of the House of Representatives AND Senators and tell them:
My name is _________________ and I vote in your district/state. I live in [name of country] and like other Americans living abroad, have to file taxes both in the US and in [name of country].
Every year, millions of Americans living outside the U.S. are struggling with a U.S. tax code that’s rigged against us. The tax system impacts Americans abroad unfairly because we were - and continue to be - forgotten during the tax writing process. For example, despite being taxed like Americans at home, the advanced Child Tax Credit Congress passed in March is not accessible for American parents living abroad.
Virtually every other country subjects its expats to a residency-based taxation system, rather than double-taxing them as the US currently does. If the US were to switch to residency-based taxation, I’d still have to report my US-based income to the IRS, but would not be taxed on income for which I already pay taxes in [name of country].
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TAX REFORM FOR AMERICANS ABROAD
Besides being double-taxed, there are a number of other ways in which the current U.S. tax system harms Americans living outside the country.
Can I send your legislative assistant who handles tax matters a briefing note which summarizes the concerns and demands of Americans abroad?
[Write down the name, title, email address of the person you’ll send the note. Email them with this link: bit.ly/23TaxProblemsForAmericansAbroad].
Thank you very much for your time, your service to [name of elected official] and for your help.
FIGHT FOR TAX REFORM – Write your Senator and Representative
Writer’s Name
Address
Representative’s name
Address
Date
Dear Representative ____________
Re: Seeking your support for tax reform for Americans abroad
I vote in your district/state and I live in [name of country]. Like other Americans living abroad, I am required to file taxes both in the US and [name of country].
Every year, millions of Americans living outside the U.S. are struggling with a U.S. tax code that’s rigged against us. The tax system impacts Americans abroad unfairly because we were - and continue to be - forgotten during the tax writing process. For example, despite being taxed like Americans at home, the advanced Child Tax Credit Congress passed in March is not likewise accessible for American parents living abroad.
Virtually every other country subjects its expats to a residency-based taxation system, rather than double-taxing them as the US currently does. If the US were to switch to residency-based taxation, I’d still have to report my US-based income to the IRS, but would not be taxed on income for which I already pay taxes in [name of country].
Besides being double-taxed, there are a number of other ways in which the current U.S. tax system harms Americans living outside the country. For example, most of us are forced to go to absurd lengths to file taxes from abroad though we rarely owe any tax.
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TAX REFORM FOR AMERICANS ABROAD
FATCA, which was clearly designed to go after the rich 1% fat cats hiding money in the Caymans, ends up putting middle class Americans abroad at a number of financial risks, like being locked out from banking, savings, and investments. The GILTI tax, which was clearly designed for giants like Google, ends up crippling American small business owners overseas.
My personal story is as follows… .
I value my US citizenship, vote every year I can, and pay attention to U.S. politics as much if not more than the average citizen. But I believe it’s deeply unfair that I am taxed in [country of residence] as well as in the US on income I make abroad. I also think it is totally unreasonable for me to be forced to spend money on tax preparers to help me file a tax return that shows the IRS I owe $0 in tax.
Thanks for your consideration,
Name
Voting Address
Voting city, state, zip code
FIGHT FOR TAX REFORM – Send a Postcard
Better yet, get a group together and write a whole batch of postcards!!
Sample postcard language
Dear Representative/Senator ____________
I vote in your district and live in [name of country]. Like 6.5 million other Americans, I am uniquely harmed by the tax system because I live abroad. These problems were completely disregarded by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. We value our citizenship and love our country, and the vast majority of us are middle class Americans, not the fatcat tax avoiders the current tax code was designed to pursue.
Please do not exclude us from the transformational tax policy being developed this year.
Thank You
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TAX REFORM FOR AMERICANS ABROAD
THANK YOU!!
Questions? Get in touch with the Democrats Abroad Taxation Task Force at TaxationTF@democratsabroad.org
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Tax reform will happen when enough Americans abroad reach out to their elected representatives and demand it.
TAX REFORM FOR AMERICANS ABROAD