Center for Freedom and Prosperity
For Immediate Release
Monday, July 8, 2013
202-285-0244
www.freedomandprosperity.org
Congressman Posey Rebukes
Secretary Lew On FATCA
(Washington, D.C., Monday, July 8, 2013) The Center for Freedom and Prosperity announces its support for Congressman Bill Posey’s (R-FL) recent letter challenging Treasury Secretary Lew regarding implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). In the letter Rep. Posey, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, expressed his deep concerns with regard to efforts of the Treasury Department to burden American banks with unauthorized and costly reporting requirements, and called for Treasury to halt implementation until the administration’s request for additional authority can be vetted by Congress. The letter, along with recent legislation introduced by Sen. Rand Paul to repeal FATCA (S. 887), provides further proof that Congress does not support the Treasury Department’s overreach.
Rep. Posey’s letter highlights Treasury’s pursuit of “intergovernmental agreements” (IGAs) which are committing the US to policies never authorized by Congress, such as requirements that domestic institutions collect and report information on nonresident aliens. Noting that the IGAs are not being submitted to the Senate for its advice and consent, Rep. Posey challenged the Secretary to cite the specific statute authorizing pursuit of IGAs.
Rep. Posey concludes, as did a coalition of taxpayer protection and free market groups, that FATCA is fatally flawed. The Congressman recommends that FATCA be “substantially amended or repealed, and replaced with a cooperative scheme that penalizes actual tax evasion without harming the innocent,” and calls on Treasury to institute of moratorium on both FATCA enforcement and the negotiation of IGAs until the Financial Services Committee can review that administration’s request for enhanced authority.
CF&P President Andrew Quinlan commented, “Despite significant evidence that its single-minded pursuit of FATCA enforcement has upended the international financial sector, strained relations with our neighbors, and threatened the stability of the US economy all in exchange for a penance of additional revenue, the Treasury Department has refused to budge.” He concluded, “We agree with Representative Posey that it is time for Congress to correct its grievously mistaken decision to eliminate the right to privacy for millions of innocent Americans while saddling the world with the costs of FATCA.”
Text of Congressman Posey’s letter:
http://freedomandprosperity.org/files/fatca/07-2013_PoseyFATCAltrLew.pdf
For more information on FATCA visit CF&P’s dedicated web page:
http://freedomandprosperity.org/issues/foreign-account-tax-compliance-act/
For additional comments:
Andrew Quinlan can be reached at 202-285-0244, andy@freedomandprosperity.org
Brian Garst, Director of Government Affairs, can be reached at bgarst@freedomandprosperity.org
###
