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发帖数: 4704 | 1 Wealthy Americans Queue to Give Up Passports in Swiss Capital
2012-05-01 22:01:00.2 GMT
By Giles Broom
May 2 (Bloomberg) -- Rich Americans renouncing U.S.
citizenship rose sevenfold since UBS AG whistle-blower Bradley Birkenfeld
triggered a crackdown on tax evasion four years ago.
About 1,780 expatriates gave up their nationality at U.S.
embassies last year, up from 235 in 2008, according to Andy Sundberg,
secretary of Geneva’s Overseas American Academy, citing figures from the
government’s Federal Register. The embassy in Bern, the Swiss capital,
redeployed staff to clear a backlog as Americans queued to relinquish their
passports.
The U.S., the only nation in the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development that taxes citizens wherever they reside, is searching for
tax cheats in offshore centers, including Switzerland, as the government
tries to curb the budget deficit. Shunned by Swiss and German banks and
facing tougher asset-disclosure rules under the Foreign Account Tax
Compliance Act, more of the estimated 6 million Americans living overseas
are weighing the cost of holding a U.S. passport.
“It started with the fallout from UBS and non-U.S. banks feeling it’s
too risky to deal with Americans abroad,” said Matthew Ledvina, a U.S. tax
lawyer at Anaford AG in Zurich. “It will increase because Fatca will
require banks to track down people, some of whom will make voluntary
disclosures before renouncing their citizenship.”
Renunciations are higher in Switzerland because American expatriates
expect extra scrutiny of their affairs after the UBS case and as the U.S.
probes 11 other Swiss financial firms for aiding offshore tax evasion, said
Martin Naville, head of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce in Zurich.
Absurd Tax Laws
“Most of the real cross-border tax troubles have been around
Switzerland,” Naville said. “We’ve got absurd tax laws coming into force
because of the activities of certain people who tried to hide money.”
During a 10-minute renunciation ceremony in a booth with bullet-proof
glass windows, embassy staff ask exiting Americans whether they are acting
voluntarily and understand the implications of giving up their passports.
They pay a fee of $450 to renounce and may incur an “exit tax” on
unrealized capital gains if their assets exceed $2 million or their average
annual U.S. tax bill is more than $151,000 during the past five years.
They receive a certificate within three months, telling them they are
no longer American citizens and entitled to the services and protection of
the U.S. government.
Taxman Cometh
The U.S. embassy in Bern declined to comment on renunciations. The U.S.
State Department doesn’t disclose annual figures, said Elizabeth Finan a
spokeswoman for the Washington- based department, adding that “on average”
1,100 people give up their citizenship each year.
While the U.S. taxes citizens regardless of where they reside, overseas
income of as much as $95,100 is exempt and credits help compensate for
foreign taxes paid. Americans living in Switzerland can’t take advantage of
the absence of a capital gains tax in the Alpine country or tax deductions
allowed on pension contributions.
“Every dollar you save, you lose to the U.S. tax man,”
said tax lawyer Ledvina. “That’s one reason why people give up citizenship
.”
Americans, who disclose their non-U.S. bank accounts to the IRS, must
file the more expansive 8938 form beginning this year that asks for all
foreign financial assets, including insurance contracts, loans and
shareholdings in non-U.S. companies.
Imperial Overreach
The 2010 Fatca law requires banks to withhold 30 percent from “certain
U.S.-connected payments” to some accounts of American clients who don’t
disclose enough information to the IRS.
“There is incredible frustration at the audacity and imperial
overreach of this law,” said David Kuenzi, a tax adviser at Thun Financial
Advisors in Madison, Wisconsin, referring to Fatca.
Failure to file the 8938 form can result in a fine of as much as $50,
000. Clients can also be penalized half the amount in an undeclared foreign
bank account under the Banks Secrecy Act of 1970.
“It’s a big brother concept,” said Brent Lipschultz, a partner at
New York-based accounting firm EisnerAmper.
The implementation of Fatca from next year comes after UBS, Switzerland
’s largest bank, paid a $780 million penalty in 2009 and handed over data
on about 4,700 accounts to settle a tax- evasion dispute with the U.S.
Whistle-blower Birkenfeld was sentenced to 40 months in a U.S. prison in
2009 after informing the government and Senate about his American clients at
the Geneva branch of Zurich-based UBS.
Voluntary Disclosures
The UBS settlement led to about 33,000 voluntary disclosures to the IRS
in the three years through 2011 and the repatriation of billions of dollars
to the U.S. Swiss banks saw their offshore North American assets shrink by
about 60 percent to 60 billion Swiss francs ($66 billion) in 2010 from three
years earlier, according to Boston Consulting Group.
American Citizens Abroad, a Geneva-based organization that campaigns
for taxation based on residency, said the government doesn’t always
distinguish between U.S.-based tax dodgers with offshore accounts and
expatriates that need foreign banking services.
“The perception is that any American living overseas is there for a
nefarious reason,” said Marylouise Serrato, executive director of the
organization that has members in 90 countries. “There isn’t a deep
understanding in the U.S. of why American citizens would move overseas.”
Civil War Hangover
Taxing Americans resident overseas is a “hangover from the Civil War”
and the introduction of federal income tax in 1861, according to Jackie
Bugnion of American Citizens Abroad. The rules make it harder for Americans
to hold foreign bank accounts and gain access to mortgages, she said.
German lenders Deutsche Bank AG and HVB Group terminated the securities
accounts of some U.S. citizens following the announcement of stricter
reporting requirements. Swiss Raiffeisen Group, Switzerland’s third-biggest
banking network, decided at the end of last year to sever ties with U.S.-
domiciled clients and refuse new applications from any American, said
Philippe Thevoz, a spokesman for the St.Gallen, Switzerland-based firm.
The additional compliance costs for companies to ensure that Americans
they hire are filing the correct U.S. tax returns and asset-declaration
forms are at least $5,000 per person, said Ledvina. Where individuals are
getting their returns prepared, the expense may amount to $1,500 to $2,000,
which is pushing expatriates to consider giving up citizenship.
“The compliance costs are high and they’re getting worse,” Ledvina
said. “It’s hard to serve two authorities and the problem for Americans
abroad is that the IRS doesn’t care.”
--Editors: Dylan Griffiths, Tim Quinson.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Giles Broom in Geneva at +41-22-317-9212 or g****[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Frank Connelly at +33-1-5365-5063 or f*******[email protected] |
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