Tag Archives: US

Thailand Signs Agreement To Assist US In Tax Collection

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The Thailand Revenue Department has announced that Thailand and the USA have preliminarily agreed to a tax information sharing agreement.  Pursuant to the agreement the Thai Revenue Department and the US Treasury will be required to share the financial information of both countries including banks, mutual funds and life insurance firms.

Thailand’s provision of information would assist with the US’s collection of information with regard to the enforcement of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FACTA).

FACTA is a US federal law which requires Americans, including those living abroad to file an annual report to the US Treasury Department, regarding any financial accounts or assets held in foreign countries.

There is no exception in FACTA for American expatriates who reside outside of the USA.  In other words, US expats living abroad must provide a detailed accounting of their financial accounts and assets held in their country of residence (as well as other non-US assets).

Another 80 countries are in talks with the US regarding similar agreements for tax information sharing.

 

 

Thailand Expat Arrested For Fleeing US To Avoid Child Support

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A US expat who was residing in  Thailand has pled guilty to fleeing the United States in 2007 to avoid paying child support according to The United States Attorneys Office, Western District Missouri.

Randy Lee Essary, admitted that he has failed to pay any court-ordered child support for his son for more than eight years and owes $164,891.

Essary now faces a sentence of up to two years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution.

The case is significant insofar as it demonstrates that fleeing the US with the intent to avoid paying court ordered child support is a serious case and will be prosecuted by the US Federal authorities.   Fleeing the US to avoid child support is a separate offense from the failure to pay child.   The feeling case is covered by Federal jurisdiction,. whereas in most cases, child support is a state legal matter.

Read the full report here

 

 

Memo Ordering Death Of Awlaki Must Be Disclosed

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Federal agencies must reveal a memorandum that outlines the legal basis for assassinating Anwar al-Awlaki while the U.S. citizen was living Yemen, the 2nd Circuit unanimously ruled today according to Courthouse News.
Anwar al-Awlaki was living in Yemen when the CIA and Joint Special Operations Command bombed him and another U.S. citizen, al-Qaida propagandist Samir Khan, on Sept. 30, 2011. A separate strike killed al-Awlaki’s U.S. citizen son, 16-year-old Abdulrahman, weeks later.
Their families have recently lost a lawsuit to claim compensation as a result of the deaths, so this judgment is considered to be a miniature victory.
“The government can’t pretend that everything about the targeted killing program is a classified secret while senior officials selectively disclose information to paint the program in the most favorable light,” Jameel Jaffer, in charge of the ACLU Center for Democracy, said in an email. “The public has a right to know why the administration believes it can carry out targeted killings of American citizens who are located far away from any conventional battlefield.”
The agencies also must provide information about why they refused to confirm or deny the existence of other documents.
Read the full report here 

US Can Block Visas For Espionage Suspects

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A new act, recently passed by the U.S. Congress has given the US Government the power to block visas. It is thought the premise behind the Act is to block Hamid Aboutalebi, Iran’s newly appointed ambassador to the UN, from entering the United States reports CCTV English.

CCTV reports that the US is defending its decision for reasons of espionage and terrorism.

Iran has announced its decision to sue the US over the new law. The Islamic republic also said it has a number of options to take against Washington’s move.

Read the full story here

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Adultery Will No Longer Be A Crime In New Hampshire

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The USA Today, reports that the New Hampshire state Senate voted on Thursday 17 April 2014 to repeal its anti-adultery law, by sending the bill to the Governor Maggie Hassan, who is thought likely to sign it into law. Under the present law, a convicted adulterer can be punished with a fine of up to USD 1,200.

“States’ anti-adultery laws are rarely enforced, a vestige of our country’s Puritanical beginnings”, says Naomi Cahn, a law professor at the George Washington University Law School.

States with anti-cheating laws generally define adultery as a married person having sexual intercourse with someone other than their spouse.

Adultery is not a criminal offense in Thailand, but it can be used as a ground to divorce a cheating spouse. Adultery is also a civil offense in Thailand meaning that an adulterer can be sued in Civil Court by an aggrieved spouse.

Read the full article here 

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