"A great wave of oppressive tyranny isn´t going to strike, but rather a slow seepage of oppressive laws and regulations from within will sink the American dream of liberty." ~ George Baumler (Libertarian, Blogger 'Baumler's Rant')

Across the world, but particularly in OECD countries, a growing number of regulations are being enacted at a continuously accelerating pace. Ultimately, this trend leads to a convoluted system of barriers to your personal movement and the movement of your wealth.

America has certainly been at the forefront in this regard. On March 18th, 2010, as part of the HIRE Act and as a politically safe "revenue offset for the tax being waived under the HIRE Act incentives," the US Administration enacted the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). For the first time, we informed you about FATCA in the Update of April 8th, 2010.

We warned you back then of our concerns that this law should not only concern Americans and that it might well be the beginning of a very dangerous course − a course risky for your wealth and your freedom.

Instead of repairing fiscal and monetary problems by addressing their root causes, an internationally concerted and politically opportune crusade against 'tax havens,' 'tax evaders' and 'offshore investment strategies' was launched. What might be considered the enforcement of law has long become a game of capital exchange controls, protectionism and citizen intimidation.

Taking FATCA to the Next Level

Citizen transparency, with everything you do being passed under the government's microscope, appears to be the common objective across indebted nations. In this context, on February 8th, 2012, the IRS released the latest proposed FATCA regulations. On the same day, the US Treasury released a joint statement with the governments of the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain announcing an inter-governmental framework for FATCA implementation and tax compliance.

This latest development has created a lot of attention, and it should alert you, too − not because you are a tax evader, but because you may value your rights to property, privacy and freedom. It should concern you because you may have to protect yourself from not only the unforeseen, but also rather the foreseeable, consequences of sovereign de facto bankruptcy.

Our Attempt to Help and Clarify

Much has been reported on the topic of FATCA over the past several weeks. Some of our readers have asked us for clarification − in an easy to understand language. Regulations written in big government language are by design never meant to be clear or easy to understand. Nevertheless, we would like to provide some assistance here. Bernarda Pesantez, in the article here, has prepared a concise and yet relatively (or sensibly) comprehensive summary.

I strongly recommend you take the time to read this thoroughly. The implications are potentially broad in scope and scale. FATCA has been taken to the next level and is no longer just a US matter. Via the proposed inter-governmental Partner Framework, the foundation for an international system of automatic information exchange has been built.

Unfortunately, I have to tell you that I expect A LOT MORE of the kind to be headed our way. The FATCA Partner 'innovation' already enjoys a growing following amongst politicians in the European Union and, obviously, amongst the ranks of OECD bureaucrats.