Dems Abroad: Americans Abroad Caucus co-chair Maloney planning to re-introduce two expat-friendly bills
New York Representative Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat who is co-chair of a Congressional group known as the Americans Abroad Caucus, is planning to re-introduce two bills of interest to Americans abroad, one of which calls for the creation of a "standing commission" that would review all laws that are currently having an adverse impact on Americans resident abroad, and also work to prevent new laws from being enacted that inadvertently harm non-resident Americans.
The other bill, known as the Overseas Americans Financial Access Act, would exempt the bank accounts and other financial accounts of Americans abroad, held in the countries in which they now legally reside, from having to be reported to the IRS under FATCA, as is currently now the case. The American Citizens Abroad has been camapaigning for the last few years in favor of such an exemption, which it refers to as the "Same Country Exemption," and which it notes is also known as the Safe Harbor Rule.
News of Rep. Maloney's plans to re-introduce her bills was posted on the Democrats Abroad's website earlier this month.
Also in Democrats Abroad's Taxation Task Force chairperson Carmelan Polce's update on the work currently being done by Democrats in Congress was the revelation that legislation aimed at replacing the U.S.'s current citizenship-based tax regime with a residence-based system – widely seen as the best way of making life easier for Americans living abroad, as it would eliminate the need for Americans who pay tax to other countries and in many cases no longer have ties to the U.S. to have to file U.S. tax returns every year – is "currently in the hands of Ways and Means Committee staffers."
According to Polce's posting, the Democrats' "RBT champions Ways and Means Committee," as well as "all of our colleague organizations advocating for expat tax reform" are "taking a fresh view of the policy aims, have undertaken preliminary work on the 2019 [RBT] bill, and are making it a 'high priority August recess project'.
"In our view this is really great and important," Polce added.
She noted that the fact that any bill that were to result from this Ways and Means Committee work will end up being regarded as "a W&MC work product" is seen as like to give it "a much better chance of getting through to the Committee review process, which is a critical step along the path" to its becoming law.
She urged "RBT activists" and others "keen to see a great bill emerge" to make their feelings on the matter known to their congressional representatives.
To see Polce's update in full on the Democrats Abroad's website, click here.
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