Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009

This page is a collection of information about the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009.  If it becomes necessary to change the name of the page (because, y’know, it’s 2010 now), I will.  And how about Congressional urges to make catchy acronyms?  Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.  FATCA.  Fatcat.  Get it?  Yuk yuk.  (Heavy sigh.)

You will find links here to primary information.  Commentary and analysys in the blog will be linked here, and useful information elsewhere on the web will be linked to here as well.

I’m only writing about the proposed legislation that will matter to our clients.  This is not an “All and Everything” exercise in legislative analysis.

If you have any suggestions — things that should be here — please let me know.

The Legislation

The text of the law as introduced and amended over time.  This beast starts of as H.R. 3933 in the House and S. 1394 in the Senate.

H.R. 3933 – the proposed law from the House of Representatives

Library of Congress (THOMAS) home page for H.R. 3933

Table of Contents for the text of the bill (Library of Congress (THOMAS))

Committee Reports

Analysis from the House Ways & Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, and the Joint Committee of Taxation.

Comments from the Treasury Department and IRS

When the IRS Commissioner speaks, we listen.  Tea leaves, people.  Tea leaves.  Read ‘em and weep.  This stuff is carefully vetted, Soviet Politburo-style, so read it on two levels — what is being said and which way the river is flowing.

Comments from Politicians

Pander to the lowest common denominator.  Apres moi, le deluge, etc.  As you read what they say, all I can tell you is “Consider the source.”

Comments from Lobbyists, Industry, and Professionals

Again, all I can say is “Consider the source.”  Read this and you’ll identify the icebergs upon which the Mighty Titanic will founder — the practical problems against which all political solutions ultimately founder.  One-sided, to be sure.  But useful.