Center for Freedom and Prosperity
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
202-285-0244
www.freedomandprosperity.org
CF&P to Congress: Tax Reform Must Include FATCA Repeal
(Washington, D.C., Tuesday, April 16, 2013) The Center for Freedom & Prosperity submitted comments to the House Ways and Means Tax Reform Working Groups calling for repeal of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). In its submission, CF&P notes that FATCA would treat all Americans living and working abroad as criminals while also doing significant harm to the US economy.
CF&P President Andrew Quinlan noted, “FATCA is pound-for-pound the single worst tax law on the books. Any serious reform must start with FATCA repeal.”
Since its passage in 2010 as part of the HIRE Act, FATCA has come under increasingly heavy fire from foreign governments, financial institutions, taxpayer protection groups and privacy rights advocates. CF&P’s comments provide 5 main arguments against FATCA: 1) That is will not do much reduce the nation’s limited tax evasion, 2) That is is harming the US economy, 3) That it is devastating Americans abroad and violating fundamental privacy rights, 4) That the intergovernmental agreements undermine separation of powers and, 5) That it is a bad neighbor policy that is alienating the global community.
The comments observed that “Increasing tax compliance is a important policy goal, but it is hardly the only one of interest to lawmakers. The costs of tracking down ever last potential tax dollar must be weighed against competing goals, like promoting economic growth and preserving privacy rights.” They concluded, “FATCA was passed without proper consideration for its impact. No hearings were ever held, nor was the law ever debated in Congress. Haste is inappropriate when dramatically restructuring national tax policy. The current reform effort clearly recognizes this fact, and should thus consider FATCA repeal an essential part of successfully reforming the nation’s taxes.”
Brian Garst, CF&P’s Director of Government Affairs, added “There’s no big secret to building a good tax system. Ending double taxation on savings and investment, lowering rates, taxing only within our borders, these things are well known. Putting them into practice would increase both our prosperity and overall tax compliance rate. FATCA is simply unnecessary.”
Related links:
For additional comments:
Andrew Quinlan can be reached at 202-285-0244, andy@freedomandprosperity.org
Brian Garst can be reached at bgarst@freedomandprosperity.org
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