The Alliance for the Defeat of Citizenship Taxation will retain James J. Butera in the lawsuit against the United States regarding citizenship-based taxation.
In a related matter, on September 8, 2014, our sister organization, the Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereigntyhired Washington-based attorney James Butera of Jones Alkers LLP to advocate specifically for “Accidental Americans” – “those who are not U.S. citizens in any normal sense of the word” but who meet the technical, administrative definition of “U.S. person” but who have lived all their lives in Canada and feel no real connection to the United States.
“Growing numbers of Canadians dispute the right of the United States to impose U.S. citizenship on them without their express consent,” Mr. Butera says.
from The Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty website:
WASHINGTON D.C. ATTORNEY Mr. Jim Butera of Jones Walker LLP files a submission on behalf of the Alliance to the United States Department of State pointing out that the renunciation fee increase from US$450 to US$2,350 violates the Expatriate Act of 1868 and the U.S. Administrative Procedure Act and must be immediately suspended. Read Mr. Butera’s able submission and our press release in English and in French.
Mr. Butera has a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Centre and was admitted to the Bar of the District of Columbia in 1973. His areas of specialty are Banking & Financial Services and Government Relations & Legislative Advocacy. He has argued cases in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims,U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mr. Butera entered law school at Georgetown University Law Center after serving as Captain in the United States Marine Corps. He served two combat tours in Vietnam as a Lieutenant. His decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, a Navy Commendation and two Presidential Unit Citations. He has published law review articles on a variety of topics, and was a contributing author to Jaws of Victory, an analysis of presidential politics published by Little, Brown & Co.
After graduating with his juris doctor degree, he began his law and government relations career on the staff of the American Bankers Association. From 1974 to 1989, he handled federal government matters for the National Council of Savings Institutions, a major Washington-based national trade association. During his tenure at that association, Mr. Butera directed its government affairs program and served as the organization’s Executive Vice President. Mr. Butera served on a federally-appointed financial institutions Advisory Council in 1987 and 1988. In 1988, he was among the industry experts selected to prepare The American Agenda, under the direction of former Presidents Carter and Ford, to identify the major banking issues facing the incoming Administration.
Mr. Butera has been at the forefront of another FATCA-related case since 2013; the Florida and Texas Bankers Associations filed suit in order to prevent releasing private banking information of their clients. Please see:
Complaint
Decision
An appeal to re-hear the case was denied.
The Cato Institute has some interesting observations about the case; along with the National Federation of Independent Business has filed an amicus brief in support of Supreme Court review.
The Florida and Texas Bankers Associations are trying to challenge this regulation, but are being frustrated by interpretative jiggery-pokery that prevents their serious legal arguments from even being heard. While the federal district court allowed this lawsuit to proceed, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reversed course and held that the associations couldn’t challenge the regulation because, under the Anti-Injunction Act (AIA), one can’t challenge a tax until the government has attempted to enforce the allegedly improper law and collect the attendant tax.
And from Bloomberg BNA we have:
To be sure, we haven’t heard the end of either of these debates. But the debates should be allowed to play out in the courts.
On June 2, 2016, the SCOTUS wil review the decisions and consider whether they will hear the case.
Mr. Butera is clearly suited to best represent our interests and we look forward to moving ahead on this issue.
Progress!
Yes, I am REALLY looking forward to the CBT issue being dealt with. That said, there are so many other things that would make sense to do.
Example, the post regarding the tax treaties. EVERY “US Person” living outside the US should begin to pummel their politicians and tax agencies to stop allowing the savings clause when they re-do their treaties. What to say of that new nonsense in the 2016 US Model Treaty.
June 2 has come and gone, has the Supreme Court rendered a decision to hear the case?