Formation | 2013 |
---|---|
46-3677880 | |
Headquarters | Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S. [1] |
Chairman | Bruce Ash |
Vice Chairman and CEO | Solomon Yue |
General Counsel and Vice President, MENA | Marc Zell |
Website | republicansoverseas.com |
Republicans Overseas (RO) is a political organization created in 2013 for United States citizens who are living outside of the United States. RO is recognized by the Republican National Committee (RNC), and by other affiliated groups, such as College Republicans. It operates in the majority of countries around the world where there are large numbers of United States citizen residents. Similar to political action committees (PAC) and Super Pacs; RO is a 527 political organization that operates as a corporation with specific interests [2] of repealing the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and of generally representing Republicans living overseas.
The Republican Party does not organize a specific presidential primary for Republicans living overseas, so Republicans Overseas does not send any delegates to the Republican National Convention. This is in contrast to the Democratic Party, which runs the Democrats Abroad presidential primary. [3]
Republicans Overseas was established on September 18, 2013, as a 527 political organization and incorporated as a (C4) NPO on January 1, 2014. [4] [5] RO has no connection to the former Republicans Abroad, though, globally, many of its chapters have migrated from it to Republicans Overseas, following the 2013 demise of its international organization. Significant events in the history of the organization include: [6]
On January 24, 2014, the RNC passed a resolution to repeal FATCA which had been authored by Republicans Overseas.
On September 10, 2014, RO hosted Governor Rick Perry in Beijing.
In the summer of 2014, RO hosted Senator Mike Lee in London.
The RNC passed a "resolution opposing OECD's global reporting standards" on January 16, 2015, authored by RO.
On April 14, 2015, RO proposed a repeal of FATCA and an end to citizen-based taxation to the Senate Finance Committee, then, on July 14, filed lawsuit Crawford v. U.S. Department of Treasury with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to repeal FATCA. On September 26, plaintiffs demonstrated outside of the U.S. Embassy in London.
RO submitted a proposal to repeal FATCA and to replace CBT with (since named) Territorial Taxation for Individuals to the House Ways and Means Committee, on March 22, 2016.
On April 26, 2016, Judge Thomas M. Rose dismissed the RO's FATCA lawsuit on the grounds that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to pursue the suit.
RO Israel hosted a major rally in support of the Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign on October 26, 2016, known as the Jerusalem Forever Event.
On January 6, 2017, RO submitted a proposal on Territorial Taxation for Individuals to the House Ways and Means Committee.
RO UK hosted an inauguration event for President Trump on January 20, 2017.
In the summer of 2017, RO hosted Senator Rand Paul in Rome.
In March 2019, Marc Zell met with Mayor Moshe Lion for RO's formal proposal of holding its October annual international conference for GOP representatives residing in 62 countries at Jerusalem. [7]
In 2023, RO launched the Worldwide Freedom Initiative (WFI), [8] the brainchild of Solomon Yue, Kerry McQuisten, and Randy Yaloz. [9] The first WFI Summit is scheduled to be held in Paris, France, in November 2023.[ needs update ]
Republican Overseas is advised by its Advisory Committee, and operates under a Board of Governors, which includes: [10]
Executive Team:
Ambassador Michael G. DeSombre – Worldwide President (2013–2020)
Repealing FATCA is the leading priority for Republicans Overseas. Supporting this focus, the RNC, during their January 2014 RNC Winter meeting, passed a resolution to repeal FATCA with overwhelming support. [11] Additionally, in August 2014, the RNC unanimously passed a resolution supporting Residence Based Taxation, [12] and another resolution Opposing OECD's Global FATCA Common Reporting Standards in January 2015. [13]
RO views FATCA as violating fundamental constitutional rights of overseas U.S. citizens. [14] The law was passed by a Democratic controlled Congress in 2010, lacking a single House Republican vote, [15] and only 11 Senate Republican votes. The United States being the only country that taxes its citizens living abroad indefinitely, [16] many Americans are now denied banking privileges throughout the world because foreign financial institutions cannot justify enduring increased compliance costs due to new regulations, and refuse to be proxy agents for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). [17] FATCA has faced considerable criticism, including from Democrats Abroad, [18] the official expatriate wing of the Democratic Party. A lawsuit fighting against FATCA, Crawford v. U.S. Department of Treasury, with eight counts of constitutional violations, was filed on July 14, 2015, by Republican Overseas Action (ROA), a 501(c)(4) organization of RO. [19] The lawsuit plaintiffs included ex-2016 presidential candidate Senator Rand Paul. [19] [20] Democrats Abroad condemned ROA's FATCA lawsuit, specifically Senator Paul and James Bopp Jr., the lawsuit's lead attorney. [21] The RNC released a statement supporting RO and this legal undertaking. [22] On April 26, 2017, the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations held a hearing to review the unintended consequences of FATCA, which included testimony from Paul and Bopp, as well as Mark Crawford, Daniel Kuettel, Elise Bean and video testimony from Donna-Lane Nelson. [23] After initially condemning the Republican Overseas challenge of FATCA, Democrats Abroad shifted its position to support the repeal of FATCA. [24]
Although Republicans Overseas, as an organization, focuses primarily on the repeal of FATCA, some of its members, including chairman Bruce Ash and Vice Chairman Solomon Yue, serve on the rules committee of the Republican National Committee (RNC). In that capacity Ash and Yue have advocated positions that go beyond the primary mission of Republicans Overseas, for example advocating for the candidacy of presidential candidate Donald Trump. Ash, in particular, is not only the chairman of Republicans Overseas, but also the chairman of the rules committee of the RNC. [25]
The Tax Fairness for Americans Abroad Act of 2018 (TFFAAA) was introduced just prior to the closing of the 115th Congress by Congressman George Holding (R-NC). Slated to be read in 2019 by the 116th Congress; the bi-partisan bill proposes a change from citizenship-based to residency-based taxation for nonresident citizens by amending the IRS Code of 1986. Republicans Overseas has been a key supporter of the TFFAAA, hosting Congressman Holding on April 24, 2019, in the UK, at a members' informational seminar led by Holding and Solomon Yue. [26] RO co-founder Yue is quoted as saying that "The TFFAAA will amend the Internal Revenue Code by offering overseas Americans a status similar to that enjoyed by corporations where foreign-sourced income is taxed in the country where it is earned." [27]
Republicans Overseas has numerous chapters worldwide. [28]
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fundraising and election strategy. It does not have direct authority over elected officials. It is also responsible for organizing and running the Republican National Convention. When a Republican is president, the White House controls the committee. According to Boris Heersink, "political scientists have traditionally described the parties' national committees as inconsequential but impartial service providers."
Paul Davis Ryan is an American politician who served as the 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the vice presidential nominee in the 2012 election with Mitt Romney, losing to incumbent President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
The 1992 Republican National Convention was held in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, from August 17 to August 20, 1992. The convention nominated President George H. W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle for reelection. It was Bush's fourth consecutive appearance as a candidate on a major party ticket; only Bush and Franklin D. Roosevelt have been nominated on four consecutive presidential tickets. Richard Nixon and Roosevelt were nominated five times, but not consecutively.
Democrats Abroad is the official organization of the Democratic Party for United States citizens living temporarily or permanently abroad. The organization is given state-level recognition by the Democratic National Committee.
The 1964 Republican National Convention took place in the Cow Palace, Daly City, California, from July 13 to July 16, 1964. Before 1964, there had been only one national Republican convention on the West Coast, the 1956 Republican National Convention, which also took place in the Cow Palace. Many believed that a convention in San Francisco indicated the rising power of the Republican Party in the west.
Richard Norman Bond is a former chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC).
Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. is an American attorney, political executive, and lobbyist who was chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1983 to 1989. Fahrenkopf is co-founder, and currently co-chairman, of the Commission on Presidential Debates, which conducts the United States general election presidential and vice presidential debates. In the private sector, Fahrenkopf most recently served as the American Gaming Association's first president, and retired from the position in 2013.
International taxation is the study or determination of tax on a person or business subject to the tax laws of different countries, or the international aspects of an individual country's tax laws as the case may be. Governments usually limit the scope of their income taxation in some manner territorially or provide for offsets to taxation relating to extraterritorial income. The manner of limitation generally takes the form of a territorial, residence-based, or exclusionary system. Some governments have attempted to mitigate the differing limitations of each of these three broad systems by enacting a hybrid system with characteristics of two or more.
The 1956 Republican National Convention was held by the Republican Party of the United States at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California, from August 20 to August 23, 1956. U.S. Senator William F. Knowland was temporary chairman and former speaker of the House Joseph W. Martin Jr. served as permanent chairman. It renominated President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Vice President Richard M. Nixon as the party's candidates for the 1956 presidential election.
The 2012 Republican National Convention was a gathering held by the U.S. Republican Party during which delegates officially nominated former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin for president and vice president, respectively, for the 2012 election. Prominent members of the party delivered speeches and discussed the convention theme, "A Better Future." The convention was held during the week of August 27, 2012, in Tampa, Florida at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. The city, which expected demonstrations and possible vandalism, used a federal grant to bolster its police force in preparation. Due to the approach of Hurricane Isaac, convention officials changed the convention schedule on August 26, 2012; the convention came to order on August 27, 2012, and then immediately recessed until the following afternoon because of the risk of Isaac hitting Tampa.
James Bopp Jr. is an American conservative lawyer. He is most known for his work associated with election laws, anti-abortion model legislation, and campaign finance.
Jeffrey Darren Duncan is a United States representative for South Carolina's 3rd congressional district since 2011. His district comprises nine counties, two of these counties being manufacturing centers for the state. On January 17, 2024, Duncan announced that he would not run for re-election. Duncan previously served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2002 to 2010 when he retired to run for the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a 2010 U.S. federal law requiring all non-U.S. foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to search their records for customers with indicia of a connection to the U.S., including indications in records of birth or prior residency in the U.S., or the like, and to report such assets and identities of such persons to the United States Department of the Treasury. FATCA also requires such persons to report their non-U.S. financial assets annually to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on form 8938, which is in addition to the older and further redundant requirement to report them annually to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on form 114. Like U.S. income tax law, FATCA applies to U.S. residents and also to U.S. citizens and green card holders residing in other countries.
A. J. Spiker serves as an adviser to RandPAC and is a former state chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa (RPI). As state chairman, he served as a member of the Republican National Committee (RNC).
American Citizens Abroad, Inc. (ACA) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit, non-partisan organization, organized as a Delaware corporation. Its sister organization, American Citizens Abroad Global Foundation (ACAGF), is a 501(c)(3) non-profit non-partisan charitable organization focused on education and research. ACA is a leading representative of American citizens residing outside the USA.
Rand Paul is a member of the Republican Party, a U.S. Senator representing the state of Kentucky since 2011, and a former candidate for president of the United States. His voting record was rated 26% liberal in 2011 by National Journal.
The FATCA agreement is an international agreement signed between Canada and the United States that allows the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act in Canada. It is one of 30 intergovernmental agreements the US has concluded with other countries to implement the FATCA.
An accidental American is someone whom US law deems to be an American citizen, but who has only a tenuous connection with that country. For example, American nationality law provides that anyone born on US territory is a US citizen, including those who leave as infants or young children, even if neither parent is a US citizen. US law also ascribes American citizenship to some children born abroad to a US citizen parent, even if those children never enter the United States. Since the early 2000s, the term "accidental American" has been adopted by several activist groups to protest tax treaties and Inter-Governmental Agreements which treat such people as American citizens who are therefore potentially subject to tax and financial reporting requirements – requirements which few other countries impose on their nonresident citizens. Accidental Americans may be unaware of these requirements, or their US citizen status, until they encounter problems accessing bank services in their home countries, for example, or are barred from entering the US on a non-US passport. Furthermore, the US State Department now charges USD 2350 to renounce citizenship, while tax reporting requirements associated with legal expatriation may pose additional financial burdens.
Solomon Yue Jr. is an American Republican Party activist and businessperson. He is the founder and vice chairman and CEO of Republicans Overseas and a Republican national committeeman from Oregon Republican Party.
Kerry McQuisten is an American politician and business owner. She has served as a member of the city council of Baker City, Oregon, and was appointed as its mayor from 2021-2023. She ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Oregon in 2022, has been an activist for changes to firearms legislation in the state, and is a senior advisor and spokeswoman for the voter advocacy group Republicans Overseas.
The Republican Party doesn't give its overseas members a specific primary vote, although they can lodge absentee ballots for their home states. "I've seen some chatter from our members, but I haven't seen any strong opinions [on a Republicans Overseas primary]," Republicans Overseas Hong Kong secretary Tariq Dennison said.