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Position Papers
for Overseas Americans Week 2008
Medicare for
Overseas Americans
Although many Americans who live overseas have contributed to
Medicare during their careers through pay-roll deductions, they
generally are not able to benefit from Medicare if they retire
outside the
USA. An exception to this rule has been made for military veterans
and their families, who retire abroad and do not have a military
medical facility within a reasonable distance of their domicile. The
Tricare Standard plan offers reimbursement for reasonable scheduled
medical expenses incurred by military retirees upon submission of
proper proof, amounting to 75% of expenses incurred.
...read
more
Download the
Medicare Position Paper .pdf
US Social
Security Aspects of Working Abroad
Americans who
work in a foreign country rarely focus on the long-term consequences
of doing so when they accept a job abroad, although the decision can
have an appreciable adverse effect on their American old-age pension
from Social Security. Since 1983 the US Social Security Act was
amended to «remove the advantage which the Social Security benefit
formula provides for persons earning substantial pensions from
non-US Social Security sources », essentially by reducing the amount
of American old-age pension they can earn by application of the
Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) offset. This penalty reduces
the retiree’s benefit check by as much as 50% of the first segment
of Social Security’s ‘Average Monthly Earnings’ for the retiree.
...read more
Download the
Social Security Position Paper .pdf
U.S.
Tax Policy on Americans Working Overseas
Hinders
Export Development and Costs Domestic Jobs
Competitive landscape –
As
the global economy evolves, more opportunities, especially in the
emerging markets, are present for American companies. Yet the U.S.
has become progressively less dominant as a trade partner for most
countries as US export growth has trailed the rest of the world. Our
share in world exports today is less than 9%, compared to more than
18% ten years ago. From 1996 to 2006 the U.S. trade deficit
multiplied 7 times reaching $764 billion in 2006, as imports grew
faster than exports. The trade deficit has accelerated from 1.4% of
GDP in 1996 to an unsustainable 5.8% of GDP in 2006. Imports of
goods exceed exports by 50%. The
U.S.
must become more export oriented.
In today’s global economy, this is the key source of domestic job
growth, national prosperity and tax revenue.
...read
more
Download the
Taxation Position Paper .pdf
Download the
Taxation Annex
pdf
Overseas Voting
Reform Proposals
Americans abroad are proud of their citizenship and vigilant in
guarding their constitutional right to help elect their President,
Vice President and Members of Congress. For most overseas Americans,
their right to vote is the primary means available to them to
participate in the American democratic process. Civilian voter
turnout overseas has increased steadily over the last few years, and
overseas Americans have historically had much higher election
participation rates than their state-side counterparts – typically
3+% of votes cast, although they comprise only about 2% of the
electorate. Over 50% of the local election officials surveyed after
the 2006 midterm elections noted increased overseas voter
participation compared with 2002. Unfortunately – and despite some
recent reforms – overseas voters continue to face a range of
obstacles and bureaucratic pitfalls that all too frequently
frustrate their efforts to exercise their cherished democratic
rights.
...read
more
Download the
Overseas Voting Position Paper .pdf
Violence Against
Women
VAWA, The
Violence Against Women Act of 2000, was the first comprehensive
federal legislation responding to violence against women in the
United States. This program continues to provide millions of
much-needed dollars per year in funding to help domestic violence
agencies serve victims in the USA. While we support and applaud VAWA
legislation, to date, no VAWA funding has been allocated to serve
the population of Americans living overseas.
...read more
Download the Violence Against Women
Position Paper .pdf
US Bank Accounts
Americans
residing overseas are denied access to banking facilities in the
United States, solely because of their foreign address. The number
of such instances has risen sharply since passage of the Patriot
Act. Banks refer to “Know Your Client” rules in this legislation as
the reason for refusing clients with overseas addresses, even if
they are U.S. citizens. Furthermore, the international reach of U.S.
reporting requirements related to U.S. citizens’ accounts has
regularly led foreign banks and branches and subsidiaries of
American banks to refuse American clients. The Qualified
Intermediary rules of the IRS are such that banks consider the
reporting requirements too high, and their legal and compliance
teams
do not want to take any risks.
...read more
Download the
US Bank Accounts
Position Paper .pdf
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Overseas Americans Week is sponsored by
an informal alliance of non-partisan American overseas organizations
Overseas Americans Week |
