In our September 4, 2022, issue of the AARO News and Views we highlighted the importance for AARO members that the US Supreme Court granted review (grant of certiorari) of the case Alexandru Bittner v. United States, concerning the calculation of penalties for failure to file a Foreign Bank Account Report aka FBAR (whether Mr. Bittner should pay $50,000 or $2.7 million). The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on November 2, 2022. Please read the article about the case and the Supreme Court hearing written by AARO’s VP Advocacy Fred Einbinder.

In July of this year AARO President Doris Speer wrote to members of the Senate Committees on Finance and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions calling attention to the exclusion from the financial system that American expats too often face, notably as regards to access to retirement plans and savings vehicles.

Over the past several years, Congress has introduced several bills to reform or repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). One of them, the Social Security Fairness Act, H.R. 82, now has 295 co-sponsors (207 Democrats and 88 Republicans) and moves will likely be made this fall to bring it to the House floor for a vote.

The SECURE Act 2.0 (“Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022”) aims to expand coverage of employer-sponsored plans and increase retirement savings, as well as simplifying and clarifying rules. With suitable modification it offers an attractive vehicle for addressing one of the most severe problems facing expats: access to savings vehicles and retirement plans.

In April, AARO made a submission to the Senate Finance Committee relating to its hearing of March 25 on U.S. International Tax Policy. The Committee is advanced in following up with proposed legislation.

AARO conducted a survey in October/November 2020 to aid us in our advocacy efforts. The results of the survey have been very informative and give us fuller insights into your issues.

The eleventh, and final, article, “My Social Security Was Reduced! It’s called WEP.” has been posted.

From late October until mid-December 2020, Stop Extraterritorial American Taxation (SEAT) carried out a study to better understand the effects of the extraterritorial application of U.S. taxation and banking policies on persons living overseas.

AARO has prepared a set of talking points to support ongoing discussions to end the citizen-based taxation system in the U.S. and move to an alternate method. Links to supporting documentation are included with the talking points.

The National Taxpayer Advocate has released its annual report to Congress proposing legislative recommendations to resolve taxpayer problems.