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Now celebrating over 35 years of service to Americans residing abroad, ACA, Inc. has held unwavering positions on several issues directly affecting citizens residing abroad: Children's citizenship, Medicare, Social Security, Taxation, Voting, and Congressional representation.

POSITION STATEMENTS

Citizenship: All Americans should enjoy the same right to transmit US citizenship to all of their children at birth, including all children born to or adopted by a US citizen abroad.

Medicare: Americans abroad who are eligible for Medicare benefits in the US should be able to sign up without premium penalties for late enrollment upon return to the US.

Social Security: Americans abroad should not be penalized simply because they spent part of their careers abroad, or because they retire abroad and/or have a foreign spouse or adopted children. ACA supports the Social Security Fairness Act, which would eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).

Taxation: Eliminate citizenship-based taxation and replace it with residence-based taxation:
RBT Proposal. This proposal would tax Americans overseas on the basis of residency therefore no taxation on income earned outside the United States. Withholding taxes would only be collected on US source passive income (including dividends, interest, royalties, pensions, etc.) of overseas Americans on the same basis as the US currently collects
 withholding taxes from non-resident foreigners on US source income.

Banking Access: ACA opposes legislation such as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR) which is causing foreign banks and financial institutions to deny Americans overseas the necessary banking tools to live and work, as well as opposing elements of the Patriot Act which are denying Americans overseas their state-side banking services. ACA advocates excluding bona-fide residents living and working overseas from filing foreign bank account reports such as Form 8938 (FATCA) and TD F90-22.1 (FBAR) and easing Patriot Act guidance to facilitate state-side banking access for Americans overseas.




Voting: ACA favors the unhindered exercise of voting rights for eligible overseas Americans, whether military or civilian. ACA has consistently supported defensive legislation and litigants engaged in the business of assuring this fundamental right is available without excessive bureaucracy. We favor the use of clear, simple and straightforward voting and ballot request documentation, and rigorous procedures enabling confirmation that all ballots voted were properly tabulated.

Representation: ACA believes that the only effective long-term solution for Americans overseas to have their voice heard is direct representation in Congress through Delegates elected by the overseas community.