American Citizens Abroad (ACA) wrote directly to the Chairs of the House Ways & Means Committee “Listening Tour” Team reminding them that U.S. citizens living and working overseas need to be included in their listening tour and that hearings on their issues need to be held.
The House Ways & Means Committee majority recently announced a “Listening Tour” to better understand the concerns, problems and issues of US citizens and businesses as Congress begins to examine the expiring provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs ACT (TCJA).
ACA highlights to the tax teams assigned to the listening tour the myriad issues that U.S. citizens overseas have been facing, not only since the passage of TCJA, but also over time, that have not been considered or addressed by the tax writing committees on Capitol Hill.
“We are pleased to hear about the listening tour and offer that now it the time for Congress to do what it has never done in the past, specifically listen to the issues of everyday Americans who are living and working overseas,” said Marylouise Serrato, ACA Executive Director.
ACA notes that four of the tax teams created have a direct interest in what the overseas U.S. citizens community has to say: Working Families, American Workforce, US innovation, and Global Competitiveness.
ACA highlights the discriminatory tax policy that affects U.S. citizens overseas and how some of these policies could have been avoided if Congress had listened to organizations like ACA and individuals prior to passing legislation.
“We are a community of about 4 to 6 million citizens abroad. We understand that our reasons for living and working abroad are commonly misunderstood by our fellow citizens and by our government. Hearings with representatives from our community to explain our issues and demonstrate our value to the nation would greatly benefit the work of tax writers,” said Carmelan Polce, ACA Executive Committee Member.
“Now is the time for Congress to correct the problems related to tax policy by ‘listening’ to the overseas community and its representatives, better yet, hold hearings specifically in support of overseas Americans. This means not only asking corporations and businesses about international taxation but talking to the 'little guys' and the organizations representing them like ACA,” added Charles Bruce, ACA legal counsel.
Marylouise Serrato
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