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L’Agefi spoke with WLIM’s Jonathan Lachowitz about Switzerland switching from Model 2 of FATCA reporting to the IRS to Model 1, then, financial institutions will provide data to the Swiss Federal Tax Administration.
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“Where will you keep your money to ensure financial security? Jonathan Lachowitz, chairman of American Citizens Abroad, told The Wall Street Journal it is advised for Americans retiring abroad to keep most of their money in their U.S. bank accounts. Doing so allows them to take advantage of their 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts.”
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““Expats have to be motivated and persistent problem solvers,” said Jonathan Lachowitz, chairman of American Citizens Abroad, a nonprofit focused on tax and other issues that Americans living abroad face.
He recommends joining expat groups and online forums to find people who have already made the move. Banking, immigration and tax policies can change frequently, so double check everything you hear, said Lachowitz, who also is the founder of White Lighthouse Investment Management of Lexington, Mass., and Lausanne, Switzerland. “
“According to Jonathan Lachowitz, a certified financial planner who works in Switzerland and the US, “most American employers have overseas entities, so employees end up being locally hired. Some employees on a typical “expat” package will end up paying US social security but not local social security due to a totalization agreement, which is generally the countries that have the most Americans overseas.””
“…Jonathon Lachowitz added that interest in reforming CBT went beyond the ACA membership. “Our advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C., tell us that congressional offices are hearing from a wide range of individuals, businesses and organizations calling for tax reform for Americans overseas,” he said.”
“Founder of White Lighthouse in Lausanne, Jonathan Lachowitz is a specialist with planning offices active in Lausanne and the United States. The excruciating complexities of tax regimes do not scare him.”
It has now become difficult or impossible for some overseas Americans – especially those with lower incomes and savings amounts – to buy U.S.-listed exchange traded funds (ETFs).
“You’re hearing it already,” said Jonathan Lachowitz, a financial planner at White Lighthouse Investment Management, who said he has heard discussions about leaving the country and renouncing citizenship or other legal tax planning moves due to Democrats’ tax plans from several multimillionaires. “As the frustration mounts and tax burdens rise, people will consider it, just the way you have New Yorkers moving to Florida.”
“The impact on overseas Americans is potentially much more grave than for domestic Americans,” said Jonathan Lachowitz, chairman of the advocacy group American Citizens Abroad.
"The Tax Fairness for Americans Abroad: An Idea Worth Fighting For! campaign reflects what the founding fathers of America fought for, and won, the battle for tax fairness. Americans overseas want the same." said Jonathan Lachowitz, ACA Chairman.
It might be as straightforward as advanced tax or estate planning, or as narrow and sophisticated as what Jonathan Lachowitz, CFP, does for his clients. His firm, White Lighthouse Investment Management, specializes in cross-border financial planning. His knowledge of tax and estate planning in different countries makes him uniquely qualified for, for example, executives working abroad. “…The complexity of the work is almost beyond comprehension. Imagine doing estate planning for an American married to an Italian living and working in France with property in the United States, Italy, and France. No unlimited marital deduction for starters.”
“Jonathan Lachowitz specialises in cross-border financial planning and said: "People don't realise the complexity. Find a colleague who made a similar move recently.”
The ACA letter is signed by ACA executive director Marylouise Serrato; ACA chairman Jonathan Lachowitz, who is also a founder of White Lighthouse Investment Management, with offices in Massachusetts and Switzerland; and ACA’s legal counselor Charles Bruce, a lawyer with Bonnard Lawson.
“I prefer to fight to change the system. Since 2006 I’ve been a volunteer for American Citizens Abroad, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded in 1978 in Geneva and now based in Washington, DC. I’m part of the executive team there. Our mission is very clear: “educate, advocate and inform”. Our main purpose is not only to educate Americans overseas, but also to meet with US government officials in Washington to try and improve policy as it affects Americans overseas. Our most well-known project is advocacy for residency-based taxation. Our proposal has gotten a lot of traction in the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation for its professionalism and even-keeled approach.”
“I asked my two favorite financial gurus for their help: Jonathan Lachowitz and Joe Saul-Sehy. Jonathan runs White Lighthouse, an investment management firm (and, for full disclosure, my financial advisor), and Joe is a retired financial planner who now runs the top-rated podcast, Stacking Benjamins(again, for full disclosure, I'm a frequent, but unpaid, guest on this podcast).”
“Jennifer Keehl Davenport and her family moved to Zurich three years ago for her husband's job.
Despite the international address, they decided to continue investing in 529 plan college savings accounts, which they had opened for their two girls, now ages 4 and 8, before leaving the States.”
“People rarely understand the complexity of cross-border moves,” says Jonathan Lachowitz, founder of White Lighthouse Investment Management of Lexington, Mass., and Lausanne, Switzerland. “You have to give planning a lot of time.”
“FATCA requires foreign banks to report accounts of U.S. citizens to the U.S. government, and U.S. citizens living abroad must report their financial assets in foreign accounts if their foreign assets exceed a threshold. "Because of FATCA, a lot of banks don't want to work with Americans," Lachowitz says. Those that will may charge an extra fee.”
United States | Switzerland
Emphasizing Shared Values: An Economic Success Story
Economic & Business Guide 2014
“Americans living abroad are being cut off by banks and brokerages as financial institutions seek to steer clear of a U.S. crackdown on money laundering and tax evasion.”
