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American Citizens Abroad, Inc.’s statement on recent

Senate Finance Committee Report (Credit Suisse’s Role in US Tax Evasion Schemes)

Bad behavior on the part of foreign banks and high net worth individuals engaged in tax evasion schemes benefits no one and is particularly harmful to US citizens legitimately living and working overseas.  From ACA’s meetings with staff of the Senate Finance Committee, where our research and advocacy work has been widely presented, it is clear that the Committee is aware of the difference between US citizens resident or living in the United States and holding “offshore” accounts and US citizens living and working overseas whose “in country of residence” (i.e., foreign financial accounts) represent their financial accounts used to manage their local in country living and investing needs.  This thanks in large part to ACA’s two research reports fielded in 2018 and updated again in 2022.

ACA’s meetings with Committees such as the Senate Finance Committee and our regular advocacy in Washington, DC are critical to educating Congress on these differences, however, reports such as Senator Wyden’s Senate Finance Committee report supports why ACA is calling for hearings on the issues affecting US citizens living and working overseas.  Committees that have come to ACA for information and knowledge need to have this data put on the official record with Congress and the Administration.  In this way the work that the Congress should legitimately do to combat tax evasion can be accomplished without adversely affecting US citizens who are living overseas and working in jobs from NGOs to large international corporations and everything in-between. 

The focus of the Senate Finance Committee report was to investigate Credit Suisse’s ongoing violations of its original plea deal in assisting and abetting tax evasion.  The report is singularly focused on combating this type of behavior with regard to high-net worth individuals and questionable foreign banking and reporting practices.  The Senate Finance Committee report shows that the problem with overseas tax evasion is related primarily to high-net-worth US citizens generally resident in the United States and not average US citizens living and working overseas, as the recent IRS report also supports. That said, continued reinforcement of messaging as to the demographics and make-up of the community of US citizens living and working overseas to Congress and Committees, as ACA does 24/7, is needed and is the underpinning of our advocacy work up on Capitol Hill.