New York, June 12, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- There are an estimated 6.3 million Americans living abroad and while they aren't currently on US soil, they are Americans who care deeply about their home country. Greenback Expat Tax Services, who specializes in the preparation of US expat tax returns for thousands of Americans living abroad, recently surveyed US expats and discovered what they want and need as US citizens overseas.
1) Fair Representation
Greenback's survey of over 700 American expats shows that 80% do not feel their interests are well-represented in the US government.
"In addition to the sometimes frustrating process of voting while living abroad, many American expats feel that their government has simply forgotten about them," says David McKeegan, President of Greenback Expat Tax Services. "Politicians are not actively campaigning for their interests, despite the fact that if this population resided in one state, they would comprise the 18th largest state in the US."
2) US Taxes and Renouncing Citizenship
Americans overseas are still required to file a tax return each year with the IRS and Greenback's survey found that 70% of respondents felt they should not be required to do so.
There is speculation that the rising number of Americans renouncing their US citizenship can be attributed to the burden of filing US taxes. Of Greenback's survey respondents, 18% said they were seriously considering renunciation and only 5% indicated they had definite plans to do so.
"Despite the reports, Americans don't appear eager to relinquish their passports, but they certainly feel they should receive a pardon on filing US taxes," McKeegan comments.
3) More Information
Of the expat population, it is estimated that only half are actually filing US taxes. Many are completely unaware of the major tax issues that affect them.
FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, is a major US initiative to uncover tax cheats hiding money overseas. FATCA creates specific reporting requirements for those who have specified assets overseas, yet many expats are completely unaware of its existence-40% of survey respondents had not heard of FATCA.
"Our research shows that US expats are not receiving the information they desperately need," says McKeegan. "This lack of awareness can be extremely costly, as penalties for failing to file FATCA or FBAR, Foreign Bank Account Report, could be thousands of dollars and possibly even criminal prosecution."
If you are a journalist and interested in receiving the results of Greenback's survey to share with your readers, please contact Carrie McKeegan at cmckeegan@greenbacktaxservices.com.
More About Greenback Expat Tax Services
Greenback Expat Tax Services specializes in the preparation of US expat taxes for Americans living abroad. Greenback offers straightforward pricing, a simple, hassle-free process and CPAs and IRS Enrolled Agents who have extensive experience in the field of expat tax preparation. For more information, please visit http://www.greenbacktaxservices.com.