Sen. Rand Paul Introduces Bill to Repeal Anti-Privacy Provisions in FATCA

FATCA is a law requiring every foreign bank to excessively monitor and report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the bank accounts of every American residing overseas – or risk severe punishment.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Rand Paul reintroduced S.663, a bill to repeal the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA is a law requiring every foreign bank to excessively monitor and report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the bank accounts of every American residing overseas – or risk severe punishment. Not only is this requirement a privacy concern of American citizens, it’s a costly burden on the banks. As a result, the private data of American accounts is forfeited and foreign banks have approached the onus of this law by shutting their doors to U.S. Citizens, leading to a hardship for millions of citizens working abroad. As the story so often goes in Washington, this bill’s original goal of catching a few tax cheats has instead threatened serious economic harm to the U.S., and most importantly, has punished millions of innocent Americans who try to bank while making a living overseas.

“FATCA is in complete violation of every Americans’ constitutional right to privacy and adds burdensome regulations that negatively impacts their ability to bank while residing overseas. Not only is FATCA dangerous with respect to the privacy protections owed to every American – home or abroad – it has threatened the livelihood of millions of Americans working or living overseas. The rest of the world is aware of the burdens and punishments this law has unfairly levied against the sovereignty of their laws, forcing foreign banks to divest in American interests. This is a tremendous detriment to our privacy and economic wellbeing. My bill would repeal and reverse the negative consequences of this law.”