Another year, another deadline. The ATO has until 30 September to hand over another tranche of Australian bank details to the IRS under the FATCA IGA. Last year they were almost a week early when they handed over details of more than 30,000 accounts containing more than $5 billion for an average balance greater than $160,000. What will they send this year? Continue reading “Questions for the ATO”
Month: September 2016
Has FATCA affected you?
As we approach another September 30th, the ATO is surely preparing their next data dump for the IRS. As we wait to see how much of our private financial data has been shared with a foreign nation, I thought it would be useful to find out how FATCA has affected normal Australians. I have put together a short survey. Please share it with your Australian-resident friends – whether or not they are US-tainted. Banks are asking everyone whether they’re American, not just people, like me, who can’t get rid of their accent!
Steering Committee
If we’re going to have any real impact, we need a plan. To that end, I am gathering together a Steering Committee to assist in strategy and action. I have already asked some people to join the Steering Committee and will introduce members to the group (both on the blog and on Facebook) as they agree to serve. Current Steering Committee members are Karen Alpert and Carl Greenstreet.
The committee will ideally consist of 4-6 individuals from around the country. With Carl’s feedback, I have put together a Steering Committee Charter that describes the roles and responsibilities of Steering Committee members. Subcommittees will assist the Steering Committee with Education, Blog posts, Legislative Action, Allied Action, News, and Media.
If you would like to volunteer for one of the subcommittees, please complete this form
Is Super equivalent to Social Security?
This post is inspired by a paragraph near the end of this blog post by Marsha-laine Dungog:
We would encourage U.S. expats to seize the current momentum and push for legislation that will “enshrine” the Super’s objectives as one that will “provide income in retirement to substitute or supplement the Age Pension.”[41] This would conclusively lay all doubts to rest that the Super should be analyzed in a manner that is consistent with (and therefore taxed similarly to) U.S. Social Security. The treatment of SG Contributions as foreign social security is consistent with the statutory mandate under Australian Superannuation law requiring employer contributions to be made pursuant to the taxing authority of the Commonwealth of Australia (Commonwealth) and not on account of a contractual relationship between employer and employee. Consequently, earnings accrued on SG contributions and distributions therefrom should also be classified as foreign social security benefits which are already excluded from U.S. taxation under Article 18(2) of the Tax Treaty.[42]
This got me thinking. In what ways is Super equivalent to Social Security? And does the proposed legislation1 actually do anything? Finally, what action is needed in Australia to clarify this issue? Continue reading “Is Super equivalent to Social Security?”
The thin edge of the wedge?
On Wednesday (31 August) the Israeli High Court temporarily blocked preparations for Israel to share data with the IRS under Israel’s FATCA IGA. (Article in Haaretz)(pdf) This is a temporary injunction, with a court date of 15 September for arguments to be heard against the Israeli FATCA IGA. The plaintiffs in the case argued that FATCA violated their rights to privacy and equal treatment and that there was no compelling public purpose to the law. Similar lawsuits against FATCA have been filed in Canada and the US.