23 National Organizations Support the Repeal of FATCA

“Dear Speaker Ryan, Majority Leader McConnell, Rep. Brady, and Sen. Hatch:

As free-market and taxpayer protection organizations representing millions of Americans, we urge that repeal of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)—a plank in the 2016 Republican Party Platform—be included in any tax reform package sent to the White House.

Enacted in 2010 by a Democrat-controlled Congress and signed into law by President Obama, FATCA purports to catch rich tax cheats hiding their wealth overseas but instead has ensnared innocent Americans in an appallingly draconian scheme that true wealthy tax evaders can still easily avoid. It treats any American asset held abroad as tantamount to criminality, demanding reams of private financial data without the need for a warrant or a showing of probable cause.

Since FATCA’s introduction, Americans living overseas have lost access to their banking and investment accounts as foreign financial institutions drop clients rightly perceived as toxic. This has not only impacted the welfare of the estimated nine million Americans who live and work abroad but hampers small businesses owned and operated by Americans attempting to compete internationally.”