Majority of USA expats resent IRS and FATCA

A recent survey conducted by major American tax advisory firm has shown the vast majority of US expats are angry about their tax-related treatment by their home country.

Out of an estimated nine million USA expats living across the world, only one third are content with the double-tax system and FATCA reporting rules as they are. The rest are furious at the restrictions and bureaucratic nightmares caused by the IRS, and 90 per cent are complaining they are unfairly treated by the Washington DC government. In addition, the survey identified an increase of 5 per cent in the numbers of respondents who are unhappy with the Trump presidency’s effect on the US government.

The survey results were released one day before Trump’s revealing of his plan for tax reform. At the same time, a call for FATCA’s immediate repeal was made by the influential Republican National Committee. Over half of the respondents to the survey backed scrapping the hugely unpopular law, with 10 per cent having had to find new banking services due to their original providers dumping US expat customers.

Greenback founder David McKeegan told reporters the survey results emphasise the dissatisfaction with the Trump presidency being felt by a majority of expat Americans. Expats require three things from this president, he says – firstly, citizen based taxation must be changed to residence based taxation. The US system is one of only a few countries which tax their citizens wherever they are domiciled, with expats now demanding simpler tax-filing rules and an increase in deductions, credits and exclusions as well as an end to FATCA.

McKeegan believes both interesting insights as well as alarming data resulted from the 2017 survey, stating one of the most disturbing findings seems to explain the drop in voter turnout and its effect on the election of Donald Trump as US president. It also demonstrates an ongoing trend towards the renunciation of US citizenship by expats who disagree with the new administration as well as the other issues covered by the survey.