Greenback Expat Tax Services has announced that their 2015 Annual U.S. Expat Opinion Survey is now online and will be accepting respondents through April 20th, 2015. U.S. expats are encouraged to share their opinions and experiences in the annual survey, which is conducted in cooperation with the American Citizens Abroad Global Foundation (ACAGF).
The 2015 survey seeks to gather important information from U.S. expats about filing U.S. taxes, U.S. government representation, renouncing citizenship, Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and other US tax and expat lifestyle issues.
“Our goal is to provide expats with an opportunity to voice their opinions on U.S. taxes, expat lifestyles overseas and the global tax issues that impact them most,” said David McKeegan, Co-President and Co-Founder of Greenback Expat Tax Services. “Gaining a better understanding of their opinions about U.S. tax compliance and culture gives all U.S. expats a stronger platform to be heard, providing a voice to the estimated 7.6 million Americans living abroad.”
The 2015 US Expat Opinion Survey was created in cooperation with the ACAGF, a section 501(c)(3) charitable organization working principally on educational matters to promote the interest of Americans living abroad. According to Marylouise Serrato, Executive Director American Citizens Abroad, Inc., a “sister” section 501(c)(4) organization, the survey responses are critical for helping them represent the best interests of these US citizens.
“When we meet with legislators and other officials on behalf of U.S. expats, we need to know what is most important to them and how these issues impact their lives abroad,” says Serrato. “We encourage U.S. expats to complete the survey, as less than 4 minutes of their time will give us needed insights to their experiences.”
The brief survey asks expats about a variety of critical tax issues, such as FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Reporting), Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and the new act, FATCA. FATCA, which went into effect last year, is designed to identify American taxpayers who are hiding assets abroad in order to avoid U.S. taxes. Foreign financial institutions are being required to report on the accounts of their American clients. There are reports of some banks refusing to work with Americans in order to avoid FATCA’s detailed reporting requirements, causing serious financial issues for U.S. expats.
U.S. expats who complete Greenback’s survey receive $25 off their 2014 Federal Tax Return preparation. To receive the discount, participants simply complete the survey and register between March 2nd, 2015 and April 20th, 2015 and complete their return by May 20th, 2015.
Those interested can complete the survey here.
David and Carrie McKeegan, the founders of Greenback Expat Tax Services, were recently interviewed in Global Living Magazine. Click here to read the full interview.
Greenback Expat Tax Services specializes in the preparation of U.S. expat taxes for Americans living abroad. Visit their website at www.greenbacktaxservices.com or contact them directly at info@greenbacktaxservices.com.
The American Citizens Abroad Global Foundation is a tax exempt public charity. Its purposes are to promote the well-being of U.S. citizens living outside the U.S., to identify issues and activities that affect them, to develop information about these subjects, to provide this information to Americans abroad and to governments, including the U.S. government. ACAGF is nonpartisan and non-commercial. It does not provide legal, accounting or return preparation services, nor does it promote the interests of one of more providers of such services.