American Expats Left Frustrated As Banks Cut Services Abroad

[jpbago]

The laws are being put in place to protect the good guys and not to do you harm so what harm did we do by just living abroad?

There is no need to vpn or hide coz we didn't do anything wrong did we?

It's all because if you are American you'd have to pay irrespective of where you live!

Name one more country that does this aside from the USA? None!

I can now understand why denouncing the US citizenship is on the rise.

 

Canada Revenue Agency requires Canadians to report on our tax returns if we have more than $100,000 overseas.

[OnMyWay]

If this is the same program that started last year, its not all that big a deal. My tax lady back in the states sent me a form. We listed our bank accounts here in the Philippines and the amounts in them. Signed it, scanned it, emailed it back to her and it was done :mocking: . Got our federal refund directly deposisted into our state side bank account :thumbsup: and whammo,,,,,,,,,,taxes are done for another year.

 

Scott, the IRS portion is only part of the problem.  I also filed the forms and it was not a big deal.

 

The bigger issue is that U.S. banks and brokerages are closing expat accounts because the government has made compliance very tedious and expensive for them to comply with the laws.

 

If all your U.S. bank and brokerage accounts were closed, what would you do?  My retirement plan is based on my U.S. investments.  Without investment income, I am scr*wed.

Edited September 13, 2014 by OnMyWay

[MikeB]

The bigger issue is that U.S. banks and brokerages are closing expat accounts because the government has made compliance very tedious and expensive for them to comply with the laws.

There is also the issue of fraud and the fact that it is almost impossible to collect a debt from overseas. If you are living "permanently" in the Philippines, unless you have a million or so dollars in the acct, the banks consider you a liability. I had this conversation with the manager of the fraud dept of my former bank. When they start quoting the Patriot Act you are not going to win the argument. The US mailing address is another of the hidden costs of living overseas. 

[Alby]

Scott, I usually do my taxes myself for years. However, in later years I started to do so many reports about where my money is. So, the US government is slowly clamping down to the point if suffocating us.

If all if your US banks and investments are off limit to Americans abroad, how would they live? Would there be a US expat concept even?

In short, why bother become an American?

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[Tukaram (Tim)]

I just never told anyone I moved.  I do all my banking online via VPN, and have a MagicJack phone for "local" US calls.  I use a mail forwarding service and somehow my drivers license and voters registration were allowed to use the same address.  

 

But I am not interested in investing overseas either.   

 

Interesting bit:  "Congress enacted it in 2010 after learning that foreign banks, especially in Switzerland..."   Really?  They just learned about Swiss bank accounts in 2010?  I find that hard to believe.    :tiphat:

[Alby]

Tuka, that forwarding address might have saved you!

Coz they'd usually check it and addresses like mine would show up as a commercial forwarding company when they are looking for a physical one.

Yours sounds it shows as residential so they think it's ok :)

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[Americano]

My US bank account is with a US Army credit union therefore many of their account holders are in other countries so I shouldn't have any problems with them closing my account.  I informed my credit union that I was going to move to the Philippines in November 2009 and haven't had any problems with my account.

[tomaw]

The article mentions banks checking if you're logging into your acct from overseas but if you're using a US debit card to get cash or a credit card to make purchases in a foreign country you have to notify the bank of your location or the transaction will likely be declined. Especially from a 3rd world country. So they know where you are if they're interested, I don't see that using a VPN accomplishes much. You may be ok if you stay under the radar but if you report a fraud incident (or the bank detects one) that could be the end of the acct. Hard to deny it when you have years of foreign withdrawals.  As for transferring your assets to the wife's foreign acct, no risk there huh?

. Notifying your bank when you are overseas is just common sense and for your protection. It is really nothing new. Using your ATM/debit card should be no problem as long as your American bank knows what's going on. The only thing is you may have to pay some fees every time you use the ATM. I understand if you have a gold account in a US Citibank you avoid such fees' but that means keeping $40,000 in your account.

[robert k]

The problem was they made foreign banks leery of allowing Americans to have accounts.

[Alby]

I opened a BPI peso savings and checking this week and will do USD next week.

The bank manager asked me to get a confirmation letter from my US bank (duh)!

I said, but I already have a BDO account, a BPI family express account plus my ACR card and US passport what's the deal? She said regulations (another way of saying I have no clue).

She opened my accounts after I said, it's fine ... I will just do it at another bank.

My reason for the BPI account was the BPI Family express doesn't allow USD->Peso exchanges on the web.

It's a bummer coz I'd have to go to a physical BPI family branch to do it and they are few and different than BPI itself. They just their website and name :)

BDO does costly wire transfer ($10 USD) and has no online exchanges like BPI does.

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