The Republican National Committee Friday approved a resolution calling for the repeal of a tax law that critics contend is contributing to an increase of Americans living abroad renouncing their citizenship.
At its annual meeting in Washington, RNC members backed a resolution to repeal the Federal Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA. The 2010 law which goes into effect in July requires foreign international financial institutions to provide the Internal Revenue Service with information on U.S. citizens living abroad who hold more than $50,000 in their accounts at the end of the year.
Congress passed the law in an effort to crack down on Americans who evade paying taxes by hiding financial assets overseas. But the law has been sharply criticized by banks, libertarian groups, and Americans living in Canada and overseas who say it's made it very difficult for them to open bank accounts, obtain loans or conduct other financial transactions because several foreign financial institutions won't take them on as clients because they don't want to have to deal with the IRS.
Some U.S. ex-patriot groups say the law is partially responsible for the increase in the number of Americans renouncing their citizenship. That number has grown from 742 in 2009 to more than 1,854 last year, according to State Department figures.